daiwa 台輪

1　A wall plate or top plate placed along the top of head-penetrating tie beams *kashiranuki 頭貫 which are inserted into a pillar. It not only functions as a kind of tie, but also accepts the bracket complexes *tokyō 斗きょう. Although sometimes used in ancient buildings, as well as in later pagodas, it is a chief characteristic of Zen style *zenshūyō 禅宗様 buildings. Example: Eihōji Kannondō 永保寺観音堂 (1315), Gifu Prefecture.

2　A circular plate placed on the top of a pillar in the *inari torii 稲荷鳥居 and *sannō torii 山王鳥居 styles. Daiwa also cover the tops of the copper covered pillars of a gateway *torii 鳥居 at Hikosan Jinja 英彦山神社 (1638), Fukuoka Prefecture.