STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL THATCHED HOUSES IN OLD POST TOWNS

Abstract

We report the progress of our research on seismic performance estimation of a traditional thatched house in Ouchi-Juku, Fukushima prefecture, registered as an IPDGHB in 1981, based on field surveys. First, we carried out a field survey of two existing thatched houses to understand their structural properties and conducted microtremor measurements of these houses and examined their ground to analyze their vibrational characteristics. Based on vibration mode of the house, it was found that the amplitude was large on the front side, which was used as often as a souvenir shop and Japanese restaurant, because the front of the house had less walls. Finally, we calculated the yield base shear coefficient as an indicator of seismic performance and compared it with the regression functions of traditional town houses in Kyoto. It is found that the thatched house in Ouchi-Juku had a higher shear force than a wooden house in Kyoto.