There are ten parts to this publication, each facsicule measuring 29 x 35 cms. The greatest care is taken with layout and with quality of photographic definition. Each facsicule has an insert with the basic information translated into English. At the back of each part is a detailed map of the area under scrutiny. Every now and then a human figure appears and this scarcity makes that appearence most dramatic.

Futagawa (born 1932) is Japan's leading architectural photographer. There is a selected bibliography of his work edited by Anthony G.White, 1990 showing the international range of his photographic projects. The Rural Houses of Japan are absolutely the finest work of his I have seen, and ranks with similar work by Walker Evans and Wright Morris.

See also The roots of Japanese architecture; a photographic quest by Yukio Futagawa published in 1963 with text and commentaries by Teiji Itoh, and a foreword by Isamu Noguchi. He is also a prolific editor of architecture books, and publisher of the GA (Global Architecture) details series and magazine.