Hey y’all. I thought I would dive deeper into what I noticed between Hagia Sophia and Japan’s Ise Grand Shrine. Hagia Sophia was built as a Christian Orthodox church 3 times. The cultural beliefs were to have mosaics, paintings, beautiful architecture, etc. for this structure. It was habit to build from marble, brick, and long-lasting materials so the structure would last a very long time, or at least that was the intent. As a mosque the structure was also changed so that it incorporated the beliefs and habits of the Muslims such as Minarets, Mihrab, medrese, Imaret, Sadirvan, etc. There was no belief of renewing the structure though, because it was built to last each time it was built. These two religions valued superb Byzantine architecture, the mosaics, the paintings, the structure as a place of worship (church and later mosque), and the great minds that built these structures. At one time this structure was the largest cathedral in the world for over a 1,000 years.

On the other hand we have Japan’s Ise Grand Shrine. Japan had a different take when it came to one of their most sacred shrines. Somewhere in the 680’s A.D. Emperor Tenmu established the Sengu ceremony tradition of rebuilding the shrine every 20 years in order to make the shrine last “forever”. The cultural beliefs were to preserve and hand down traditional skills and crafts to the succeeding generations and convey the roots of Japanese culture. The cultural habits were to rebuild the shrine with wood, thatch, etc., simple materials that could be reused and renewed for many generations to come. Sacred treasures were moved to the new shrines and they would worship in these shrines for another 20 years until it was time to renew them. Some of the values from the Japanese were the crafts and skills of carpenters and other artisans to be passed down to the next generations, renewing their structure so it would last “forever”, and to continue their culture through this practice from generation to generation.

Pete Cook

I chose to explore the influence of religion on architecture between the Buddhists, Muslims, Aztecs and Incas. After learning about the different structures from modules 4 and 5, I made sure to note the religious affiliation of these societies, what their religion has to do with the way they built their structures, and what they used them for. It seems that each religion has its own unique traditions and beliefs, but many of them are similar in certain ways. I think these similarities and differences are what set their structures apart from each other, and at times possibly resemble each other when their uses are the same. I think a few of the factors that impact these societies’ structures is the importance they place on their architecture, what their major beliefs mean to them, and what they use their structures for. For instance, I was able to infer that Muslim communities place great importance in their architecture because of their commitments to yearly repair for certain buildings. The extravagant materials that are used show me that worship was sacred to them and they constructed structures just for that specific purpose. I could also make the connection that they aligned their learning closely with religion by their use of madrasas.

Another connection I was able to make has to do with the similarity of Aztec and Inca beliefs and worship. Both religions worshiped many gods, and made sacrifices to them with humans and animals. This explains why both cultures took pride in building shrines and centering their cities around them.

Throughout the semester I found that I was really interested in the sections where talked about mausoleums or tombs.  The Hagia Sophia assignment was very interesting, and after watching the video about the Taj Mahal I thought this would be the most interesting topic for me to choose.  We have not gone over the Egyptian Pyramids but they are some of the most popular tombs in the world.

In all of these cultures the final resting places were for people to be buried with their loved ones.  These sites were often sacred to the culture, and often times are still sacred today.  However, not every person in these cultures had the pleasure of being buried in such elaborate tombs.  The people who were buried in these massive sites were noble and/or wealthy.  These elaborate exteriors bring people from all over the world to look at them in awe.

These mausoleums were often built for specific people.  The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan after his beloved wife died so she was have a gorgeous resting place. Sultan Selim II whose mausoleum is at the Hagia Sophia called in one of the best architects to build his resting place, knowing that it would be finished three years after his death.

Every person who commissioned these grand places wanted to pay tribute to themselves or others.  These architectures show the passion people have in their beliefs, and the dedication they have to completing such intense tasks.