15x15 - Yamagata: Heartland of Wood Architecture

July 16, 2024

Yamagata Prefecture, some 300 kilometers north of Tokyo, is a mountainous region. Around 70% of its land covered by forests and to this day it boasts a long tradition of using that wood in its buildings. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, American architect James Lambiasi visits a hot spring resort where the main street is lined with hotels built from timber; an ancient Buddhist temple where you can find wooden buildings standing on top of sheer cliffs; and a splendid row of wooden warehouses constructed 130 years ago and still in pristine condition. James also observes a construction company that has developed cutting-edge technology for using timber in large-scale contemporary architecture. He is given a hands-on demonstration of how the forests are maintained, and he meets an outdoors guide who shows the way he lives in the backwoods.