A shoji is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque fusuma is used. Shoji usually slide, but may occasionally be hung or hinged, especially in more rustic styles.
Shoji paper sliding doors in the Rinshunkaku at Sankei-en (Important Cultural Property)
Shoji doors next to the tokonoma alcove, Rinshunkaku
A tatami room surrounded by paper shoji (paper outside, lattice inside). The shoji are surrounded by an engawa (porch/corridor); the engawa is surrounded by garasu-do, all-glass sliding panels.
A complex kumiko frame, open
Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors (fusuma) and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions. People usually sat on cushions or otherwise on the floor, traditionally; chairs and high tables were not widely used until the 20th century. Since the 19th century, however, Japan has incorporated much of Western, modern, and post-modern architecture into construction and design, and is today a leader in cutting-edge architectural design and technology.
Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto, originally built in 1397 (Muromachi period)
The roof is the dominant feature of traditional Japanese architecture.
Reconstructed raised-floor building in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, 2nd or 3rd century
Reconstructed pit dwelling houses in Yoshinogari