In the rich palaces and residences, besides the elaborately ornamented fusuma and shoji, there were also decorated ceilings.

In the traditional Japanese architecture there is a type of ceiling called goutenjou, “coffered ceiling", made with square spaces delimited by wooden beams. The beams were ornamented with thin metal, and the squares were painted, usually with floral motifs, like in this photo taken inside the Honmaru Goten Palace at the Kumamoto Castle.

Honmaru Goten Palace, Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Botchan Ressha, the first railway in Shikoku