TIMBER-FRAME STRUCTURE AND TREE SPECIES COMPOSITION OF A FARMHOUSE IN IIYAMA, IN THE CENTRAL JAPANESE SNOWBELT

We analyzed the structural details of a farmhouse in the central Japanese snowbelt. The core structure was characterized by large pillars and beams, suggesting that the house is suited to resist heavy snowfalls. Almost all of the structural timbers (302 pieces) in the house consisted of four tree species: beech, oak, zelkova and cedar. Specifically, the main pillars and beams were mostly beech, the dominant species in the adjacent forests. This suggests that beech provided appropriately large timbers for the load-bearing structures of houses. Consequently, beech would have been useful in the construction of houses in heavy snowfall areas.