There is another detail about the "minka": it is often elevated from the ground on poles, which in Japan are often short, but often still present (for example the "this teahouse has become one" photo). The "minka" is in effect a raised platform covered with a heavy roof, and temporary paper/wood panels on the sides.
Compare with the design of northern chinese or korean houses, which are usually the opposite: they are built around a central courtyard, in bricks or stone or wood, with rooms on the four sides around the courtyard, and a regular tiled roof; the design is suitable for winter.
The "minka" type of house is common in south-east Asia, where the weather is tropical, and houses are often built on ground subject to flooding (and the platform is often on higher poles than in Japan), and the lack of permanent walls and the heavy roof on a flexible lattice works well with common typhoons/monsoons. Then all aspects of the design make a lot of sense.
This point out that the lower classes of Japan most likely migrated to Kyushu via the Ryukuku islands from the area around Taiwan. But many japanese are reluctant to consider that possibility because of the political implications (the upper classes obviously came from a different area).
The question is why an house type designed for a completely different climate persisted in Japan for so long. My guesses are that house building is very conservative, and more importantly that house type is resistant not just to flooding and typhoons/monsoons but also to earthquakes.
There is another detail about the "minka": it is often elevated from the ground on poles, which in Japan are often short, but often still present (for example the "this teahouse has become one" photo). The "minka" is in effect a raised platform covered with a heavy roof, and temporary paper/wood panels on the sides.
Compare with the design of northern chinese or korean houses, which are usually the opposite: they are built around a central courtyard, in bricks or stone or wood, with rooms on the four sides around the courtyard, and a regular tiled roof; the design is suitable for winter.
The "minka" type of house is common in south-east Asia, where the weather is tropical, and houses are often built on ground subject to flooding (and the platform is often on higher poles than in Japan), and the lack of permanent walls and the heavy roof on a flexible lattice works well with common typhoons/monsoons. Then all aspects of the design make a lot of sense.
This point out that the lower classes of Japan most likely migrated to Kyushu via the Ryukuku islands from the area around Taiwan. But many japanese are reluctant to consider that possibility because of the political implications (the upper classes obviously came from a different area).
The question is why an house type designed for a completely different climate persisted in Japan for so long. My guesses are that house building is very conservative, and more importantly that house type is resistant not just to flooding and typhoons/monsoons but also to earthquakes.