Japan is a country that frequently experiences earthquakes which puts buildings and people's safety at risk. This fact has led researchers to make creating homes and buildings that are resistant to earthquake damage a major priority.
In this video, you will see how researchers conducted a 3-year investigation to see how houses built with traditional Japanese building methods would hold up in a large earthquake.
[Modern "hard" vs. Traditional "rubber" building concept]
Modern homes are typically built with a slab-on-grade foundation whereby the framing is secured to the concrete foundation by anchor bolts. In contrast, traditional Japanese homes use a stone foundation whereby the wood-framed base simply rests unattached to a stone foundation.
*Aspects of Traditional Japanese style building include the following:
1. STONE FOUNDATION "Soseki kiso そせ基礎"
(Each wood post is cut to match the curvature of and rests unattached to a single large stone, which allows the foundation to work in a similar fashion to a car's suspension system with each post able to move up and down independently.)
2. MUD, STRAW AND BAMBOO WALLS "Tsuchi kabe 土壁"
(Japanese traditional home walls were made with an interwoven bamboo interior frame covered with layers of straw and mud. This combination created walls that were strong, flexible, and well-insulated.)
3. WOOD-ON-WOOD JOINERY "Tsugite & Shiguchi 継手、仕口
(Japanese traditional buildings use wood-on-wood joinery without metal hardware. This also allows for the structure to give and flex when under stress.)
These 3 structural elements in combination allow homes and buildings built in the traditional style of Japanese building to flex like rubber during natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes.
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