Design Method of Zen-style Bracket Sets Recorded in the Japanese Carpentry Manual Kamakura Zoei Myomoku (Part 2): A Comparative Study with the Chinese Manual Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli – A Secondary Publication

Abstract

This paper looks into Zen-style bracket composition and design methods recorded in Kamakura Zoei Myomoku, an architectural manual kept by the Kawachi family, the hereditary carpenter family for the Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura, Japan from the 13th to 19th century. It then makes a comparison with Gongcheng Zuofa Zeli (Engineering Manual for the Board of Works), a Chinese architectural engineering manual in the Qing dynasty (1644‒1911). The study results indicate that the cross-sectional dimension of bracket is used as the base measurement unit in both China and Japan, while the use of equidistant baseline and rafter dimension as base unit are considered to be Japanized improvement.