台灣講古：從老屋尋找日本過去留下的痕跡

choi

威克, 台灣講古：從老屋尋找日本過去留下的痕跡. BBC Chinese, Mar 17, 2016.
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad ... tory_tw_japan_trace

Note:
(1) caption of photo 1: "日本的住宅以木頭為主要建築材料，而閩南則是以泥石為主 * * *"

I did not know this, but come to the conclusion that this is correct, reflecting on old houses, especially in the countryside.
(2) "其實日本在統治台灣的初期，大部分的時間是忙於平定台灣人民的反日情緒，要到大正年間 [1912-1926; 大正天皇 was the only son of 明治天皇 who reached adulthood], 日本才開始大規模和有計劃地建設台灣。"
(3) caption of photo 2: "在日本統治台灣時期，也開設了日文稱作料亭的高級餐廳，供在台灣的日本人宴客作樂。"

ryōtei  料亭
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryōtei

The ja.wikipedia.org displays photos of two ryōteis, which are wooden Japanese buildings, and states "個室で供される事が多い" (my translation: often supplies private rooms).

(4) "當時的總督府就是現在的總統府，而總督官邸就是現在的台北賓館"
(a) 台北賓館. 中華民國外交部, undated
www.mofa.gov.tw/tgh/default.html
(home page: "臺北賓館建物自1901年肇建以來, 風華未減")

關於臺北賓館 > 建築風華: "臺北賓館起造於1899年，由日本建築師宮尾麟、野村一郎設計；1911年改建工程經森山松之助設計 * * * 為磚及石材、鋼筋混泥土構造之兩層樓建築物。 * * * 受到日本於明治維新後引進的西方歷史樣式建築影響，臺北賓館有馬薩式斜頂、希臘山牆、羅馬柱式和華麗的巴洛克風格雕飾。

mansard roof
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansard_roof
(a gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows; was popularized in the early 17th century by François Mansart (1598–1666), an accomplished architect of the French Baroque period)
(b) 臺北賓館
https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/臺北賓館
(門牌號碼為凱達格蘭大道1號; section 1.2.1 第一代總督官邸: 1901年落成, 屬於磚造與石材混合使用的二層樓建築，屋頂為木製屋架、石板屋瓦; section 1.2.2 第二代總督官邸: 總督官邸興建十幾年後因空間不敷使用，且原本木製的屋頂已經遭到白蟻侵蝕、腐壞，於是在1911年開始改建, 1913年改建完成_

choi

(5) "以台南的土地銀行為例，其前身是日本勸業銀行台南支行，雖然是棟西方式的建築，但是外牆的裝飾卻與西方常見的獅子之類裝飾不同，而是日本人眼中和華人眼中財神差不多的大福。[旁邊則是可以清楚看到象徵日本的菊花徽飾]"

Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank  株式会社第一勧業銀行
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai-Ichi_Kangyo_Bank
(DKB; based in Tokyo; created in 1971 through merger of Dai-Ichi Bank 第一銀行 [the first bank, and first national bank, of Japan] and Nippon Kangyo Bank 日本勧業銀行 ("founded in 1897 as a governmental institution providing long-term light industrial and agricultural loans"); DKB combined with Fuji Bank and the Industrial Bank of Japan in 2000 to form Mizuho 瑞穂 Financial Group)
(a) Japanese vocabulary does not have 大福.
(b) Seven Lucky Gods  七福神
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Lucky_Gods
(Among them are Hotei 布袋 [仏], Bishamonten 毘沙門天 [one of the 四天王], and  "Ebisu 恵比須/恵比寿, god of fishers or merchants, often depicted carrying a sea bream [a kind of fish]")
(i) Ebisu: "唯一日本由来の神である"  ja.wikipedia.org  

(my translation: Ebisu is the only indigenous god of Japan, among the Seven Lucky Gods.
(ii) There appears to be no ranking among the Seven Lucky Gods. Indeed, the order of introduction (of the gods) in ja.wikipedia.org is almost (but not entirely) inverse to that in en,wikipedia.org.
(iii) At last, daifuku  大福
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/大福
(photos)
is a Japanese confection.

(6) caption of photo 4: "許多隨著國民政府到台灣的知名文人，被當局安頓在接收來的日本官舍，圖為梁實秋的故居。"
(a) By the door is a plaque inscribed with 雅舍.
(b) 梁實秋故居
https://www.facebook.com/theLianghouse
( (臺北市大安區) 雲和街11號)
(c) "繼胡適、錢穆、殷海光、林語堂之後，坐落於雲和街11號的「梁實秋故居」於2012年底正式對外開放，成為台北市第五座文學家故居。"

(7) "日式老屋，[in colonial times] 房間之間是用日本式的薄拉門分隔、飯廳是以席地而坐為原始設計等等，所以大多的住戶會逐步的改建，以便符合自己的居住需要，但是這也令老屋失去了原先的風貌。"

For 薄拉門, see shōji 障子
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shōji

choi

(8) "日本人原本沒有穿拖鞋的習慣，而許多外省人則是沒有不穿鞋走在地板上的習慣，逐漸地兩者融合，繡花拖鞋踩在日式老屋嘰嘎作響的地板，成了習慣。"
(a) Nancy Kerstetter, Japanese Shoe Etiquette. Village Hiker Publishing Co, undated
http://villagehiker.com/travel/t ... uette-in-japan.html

Quote:

"If the flooring of your bedroom is tatami — a woven straw mat — remove slippers before stepping on it. Only bare or sock feet are allowed on these floors. [photo caption: No shoes or slippers of any type are permitted on tatami floors.]

"Toilet slippers stay inside the toilet room. You switch from indoor slippers to toilet slippers on a wooden platform at some inns. Switch back to indoor slippers before reentering the rest of the living area.

My comment: Presumably the indoor skippers are for wooden floors, which were rare in old Japan. Toilet floors are tiled, at least in Taiwan, but we (Taiwanese) walk bare foot in bathroom, too, which may be wet and slippery. Indeed my grandmother slipped and hurt herself; from American point of view, this is unsafe. I am clueless what kind of floor Japanese wooden houses are made of: wood or tiled concrete in modern times as well a century ago.  
(b) Do you take off your shoes?. Japan Reference, Jan 23, 2004.
http://www.jref.com/forum/thread ... ff-your-shoes.6683/

Maciano on Jan 23, 2004:

"Their is a good explanation to this. Japanese houses are traditionally made of wood, and most Japanese homes have wooden floors nowadays too, even in a concrete building.

"In Western Europe, I've never seen a wooden house except for Scandinavia and Swiss chalets. Everything is in stone, brick or to some extend concrete in the newer parts of some cities (but still rare for residential building). The main difference is also that lots of houses have tiled floor (so, cold stone), rather than wood flooring, on the ground floor (and usually carpet or floor-covering upstairs). Stone is cold and hard, so shoes are more comfortable. It is anyway easier to clean than wood, as one can use water and soap, while wood requires wax and is immediately damaged by wet shoes.

choi

(9) "日本式房屋在颱風多、地震多的台灣，從現代的眼光來看，並不是適合，而且台灣氣候潮濕，以木頭為主要材料的日式房屋，除非用檜木之類的高級木料，因此能夠留到現在的日式老屋，為數並不多。"
(a) It is untrue. Japan confront the same destructive forces as in Taiwan: typhoons, earthquake (in fact, Japanese believe it is safer to live in a wooden house than a concrete one in quake-prone zones), and termites. Google termites and Japan, and one will learn that Japanese have to combat termites, too.
(b) Stephen J Dubner, Why Use the Best Lumber in a House That Won’t Last? Freakonomics, Apr 7, 2014 (blog).
http://freakonomics.com/2014/04/ ... use-that-wont-last/

the first two paragraphs:

"A Freakonomics Radio listener named Kevin wrote in response to our recent episode called 'Why Are Japanese Homes Disposable?' First, here’s a quick summary of that episode:

"It turns out that half of all homes in Japan are demolished within 38 years — compared to 100 years in the US.  There is virtually no market for pre-owned homes in Japan, and 60 percent of all homes were built after 1980. In Jiro Yoshida’s estimation, while land continues to hold value, physical homes become worthless within 30 years. Other studies have shown this to happen in as little as 15 years.