ita zu 板図

A floor plan for a wooden building drawn by a carpenter on a thin piece of board. The plan does not include detail, but the carpenter follows the rules of Japanese wooden architecture to cut the timbers and bore mortises based on this plan. However, today it is normal practice for an architect to make design drawings and floor plans, even for wooden buildings. Nevertheless there are still some carpenters who follow traditional methods of construction for wooden houses, and draw their own ita zu.