Ralph Adams Cram 
Impressions of Japanese Architecture 

‘The best book on Japanese architecture ever produced by a Westerner.’ —
The American Architect


Japanese architecture is undoubtedly less well known and less appreciated than the architecture of any other civilized nation. Not only this, but it is almost universally misjudged, and while the world has by degrees come to know and admire the pictorial and industrial arts of Japan, her architecture, which is the rot and vehicle of all other modes of art, is passed over with a casual reference to its fantastic quality or a patronizing tribute to the excellence of some of its carved decoration.


Written at a time when Japanese art was only beginning to be appreciated in the West,
Impressions of Japanese Architecture conveys a sense of discovery and enthusiasm that modern readers will find as interesting and infectious as the book’s first readers did.


Long considered a classic, this new edition contains a foreword by acclaimed contemporary architect and author, Mira Locher. Originally published about one hundred years ago,
Impressions of Japanese Architecture is still of immense value to anyone wishing for a better understanding of Japanese architecture, art and culture.