Design methods of rotating sutra-case cabinets: a comparative study of the architectural technic books of China and Japan

ABSTRACT The rotating sutra-case cabinet is a wooden revolving bookshelf used for storing sutras in Buddhist temples, introduced from China into Japan during the Japanese medieval period. Besides the extant examples, specifications of sutra-case-cabinets can also be found in the architectural technic books of both countries, such as the Yingzao fashi (營造法式) of the Chinese Northern Song dynasty and the kiwari shō (木割書) of the Japanese Edo period. In this paper, the author discovers the design modules and dimensional plans of the rotating sutra-case cabinets by analyzing the specifications in the architectural technic books. The paper uncovers different methods used for designing the rotating sutra-case cabinets in China and Japan. A parallel constitution in dimensional plan is found in the Yingzao fashi, while in the Japanese kiwari shō the dimensional plans present a pyramid-shaped constitution. Furthermore, it is presumed that the differences between the Yingzao fashi and the kiwari shō are due to the editorial backgrounds and organizations. Graphical Abstrac