What is Silver Ratio of Japan and Japanese Architecture?
Many of us heard of Gold Ratio but not about Silver Ratio.
What is Silver Ratio?
Silver Ratio is the ratio made in Japan.
I’ll introduce you this Silver Ratio in Japan and its architectures
What is Silver Ratio in Japan?
Silver ratio was called “divine ratio” among Japanese carpenters.
This silver ratio is 1:1.414 while Golden ratio is 1:1.618.
Golden ratio is considered to be a beautiful ratio for humans worldwide
The Sagrada Familia in Spain, the Arc de Triomphe in France, the pyramids in Egypt, etc. are famous examples of golden ratio.
Silver ratio was developed in Japan and could see it in Japanese cultures such as old temples, tea ceremony, Ukiyo-e, even in today’s famous characters.
This silver ratio was considered to be a beautiful ratio for Japanese people.
And it is said to give a calm impression and static impression.
Let’s see the examples in the following chapters.
Silver Ratio in Japanese Architecture
One of the keys of silver ratio is “square”.
For example, if you fold a square paper into a triangle, the ratio of the diagonal fold line it made would be 1.414.
Japanese architecture uses timber made from logs that have been processed into square timber.
The square shape is characterized by the least amount of waste and the greatest strength in the beam.
It also reflects Japanese mottainai spirit.
You can see this square in Japanese tea ceremony such as furnace, zabuton cushion, Fusuma (sliding door), shoji (paper door)
The square of a tea room is also called a hōjō(方丈), and the small space of four and a half tatami mats is seen as representing the whole world.
As for paper, A-size paper and B-size paper are also silver ratio.
For Japanese buildings, Horyu-ji Kondo Hall, which is the oldest wooden structure in Japan, five-story pagoda, The Phenix Hall of Byodo-in Temple, Ginkaku-ji Temple, Ise Shrine and lots of Heiankyo are silver ratio.
Latest famous example of building is TOKYO SKYTREE which was made in 2012.
Height to the second observation deck : Overall height = 1 : 1.1414.
Silver Ratio in Japanese Art
You can see silver ratio in Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print), Buddha statue and even in picture scroll.
For Ukiyoe-e, famous one is Looking Back Beauty (Mikaeri Bijin Zu) by Moronobu Hishikawa.
Length and width of the lady is Silver ratio.
As for Buddha statue, the statue of Asura of Kofuku-ji Temple is famous.
Statue itself is silver ratio but if included the stand, it makes golden ratio.
So you can see both silver ratio and golden ratio at the satme time from this one statue.
You can see silver ratio even in the Japanese picture scroll called Emakimono.
ROLICKING ANIMALS (Chōjū-giga) has silver ratio in it.
The ratio of frogs are square or silver rectangle.
This ROLICKING ANIMALS is also said to have been the origin of Japanese manga today.
I wrote the details about it in the following article if you are interested in.
History of Japanese Manga! When is the origin?
Silver Ratio in Japanese Mascot Characters
Some famous Japanese characters have a ratio close to silver ratio.
Doraemon, Totoro and Hello Kitty are especially typical examples.
Not exact same ratio but you can find their heights and widths are close to square.
If they are made based on golden ratio, they would be more smart, like that of humans in the real world.
I think you know Japanese word kawaii and you can feel this kawaii from these characters.
That’s because they have silver ratio in them.
Silver ratio gives us cuteness and friendliness at the same time.
Summary
Silver ratio have been around in Japanese culture since old days.
It was called divine ratio by Japanese carpenters
You can see it in Japanese temple, tea ceremony, Buddha statue, Ukiyo-e and picture scroll.
They give us a calm and static impression.
Even today, ratios of some famous characters such as Hello Kitty and Totoro are close to silver ratio.
They are cute and give us a friendly impression.
That’s because their bodies or faces are made based on silver ratio.
Through the silver ratio, you can touch things from the world of Zen and wabi-sabi to today’s Japanese anime and cute culture.
