In ancient Japan, it is quite certain that there were buildings called Takadono and Takaya in the palaces of kings and nobles. But beyond this, in the present day, we only have very vague architectural ideas about them. To get more precise architectural images of these buildings, I thoroughly researched available material on Takadono and Takaya, and found 21 words which stand for 14 (11 Takadono, 3 Takaya) buildings in the following literature; Kojiki (a history of Japan, completed in 712 A.D., 3 volumes), Nippon shoki (a history of Japan, completed in 720 A.D., 30 volumes), Manyoshu (an anthology, completed in the end of the 8th c., 20 volumes), Fudoki (5 provincial histories, conpleted in the middle of the 8th c.). Then I tried to reconstruct their images through the scenes presenting Takadono and Takaya in the tales or legends in the said literature. In conclusion I got the following ideas on Takadono and Takaya, especially those built in the 7th and 8th centuries, a. Though their names were different, Takadono and Takaya were the same kind of building. b. They were built not for the everday use of family life, but to watch the surrounding area. c. It had only one floor (and a roof covering it) supported high with wooden columns standing on the earth. d. So we may take them for "one-storied watch towers". e. And we can not take Takadono and Takaya as main buildings for living in palaces as they have been vaguely thought of till today.
View full abstract