Shrines and Architecture

There are tens of thousands of shrines across Japan, some of which can be categorized into a few major groups of shrines. Some of these groups are:

* Imperial Shrines
* Inari Shrines
* Hachiman Shrines
* Tenjin Shrines
* Sengen Shrines
* Local Shrines

Japanese houses have thin walls because of the mild climate and overlapping, slanted, and slightly curved roofs because of the fact that there is plenty of rain especially during early summer. Timber is the traditional building material for Japanese houses. It makes them airy which is important during the humid summer months. The disadvantages are that the houses can be damaged easily by earthquakes and fires. Nowadays, concrete and steel are, of course, widely used as well.

• When Japan opened herself to the rest of the world around the year 1868, Western architecture began to displace traditional Japanese architecture. Nevertheless, some modern Japanese detached houses still have a typically Japanese appearance.

Traditional Japanese housing does not have a designated use for each room aside from the entrance area (genkan, 玄関), kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Any room can be a living room, dining room, study, or bedroom. This is possible because all the necessary furniture is portable, being stored in oshiire, a small section of the house (large closets) used for storage. It is important to note that in Japan, living room is expressed as i-ma, living "space". This is because thesize of a room can be changed by altering the partitioning. Largetraditional houses often have only one ima (living room/space) under the roof, while kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are
attached on the side of the house as extensions.

Somewhat similar to modern offices, partitions within the house are created by fusuma, sliding doors made from wood and paper, which are portable and easily removed. Fusuma seal each partition from top to bottom so it can create a mini room within the house.

In Japan, multiple-unit blocks are referred to as one of two types: 1) Apaato (アパート）often older[when?] buildings, which are usually only a few stories in height, without a central secure entrance 2) Manshon (マンション) more modern[when?] expensive buildings with multiple floors, elevators, and a communal secure gate, with centralised post boxes; they are usually more sturdily built than apaato, normally of reinforced concrete (RC) construction.[12]
Though commonly accepted standards for description exist, this is not a legal requirement, therefore descriptions may not be entirely accurate.