Thatch Roof Japan

Thatching adds to the variety and local characteristics of traditional houses and rural landscapes.

Thatch roof japan.

Thatching in japan was used commonly for the roofs of traditional houses temples and shrines. Their historical value many of these formerly popular homes were demolished and replaced by more modern structures during the bubble era the years of inflated japanese prosperity namely 1986 through 1991. Despite economic upheavals the villages of ogimachi ainokura and suganuma are outstanding examples of a traditional way of life perfectly adapted to the environment and people s social and economic circumstances. It adapted to the climate and nature of a region.

Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed trapping air thatching also functions as insulation. The large houses with their steeply pitched thatched roofs are the only examples of their kind in japan. Kakurega means hideout or refuge in japanese and is similar to the spanish word escondido after which the hotel is named that means hidden. Minka thatched roof houses are among the most unique and important historical assets of japan.

Every 30 years the thatched roofs or kayabuki no yane 茅葺きの屋根 of historical buildings are typically replaced in a process called yanefuki 屋根葺き meaning roofing or fukikae 葺き替え re roofing. Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw water reed sedge rushes heather or palm branches layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. In keeping with hotel escondido s thatched roof.