Werner Blaser's studies of 17th- and 18th-century wooden buildings document minimalist, grid-based structures using stark black-and-white photographs, some colour photographs and numerous line drawings. His book, highly prized in terms of design and content, contributed significantly to introducing Japanese aesthetics to Western architecture, art and graphics. The reprint is enriched by contributions from Christian Blaser (Werner Blaser's son), Inge Andritz and Tadao Ando.