dōbari 胴張

Entasis. The bulge in the center of a circular pillar to make it appear straight. In Japan, circular pillars called *marubashira 丸柱 had base stones, *soseki 礎石, and were placed on a podium, *kidan 基壇. They had a bracket system, *tokyō 斗きょう, on top and were in common use by the 7th-8th century. Entasis originated with the ancient Greeks and was a clever device to make their stone columns appear straight. If made straight, they would have appeared to have an inward curve. This method of building was introduced to the Asian continent by the end of the 6th century. The use of entasis undoubtedly reached China via the Silk Route through Central Asia, probably during the 3rd-4th century. The Japanese learned the technique during the late 6th-early 7th century when continental building methods were introduced from Korea and China. Some of the original buildings remaining from that early period show entasis in the pillars, for example, Hōryūji *Kondō 法隆寺金堂 in Nara. The Kondō was rebuilt in 693. The variations in diameter are easily discernible.