Keywords
Architecture
General Terms
A sill, ground sill, or footplate. Generally the heavy timber members laid horizontally at the base of a wooden building upon which pillars or posts are erected. Occasionally, it is called a sill frame because it forms a grid pattern when laid on all four sides. If ground sills are provided under wall partitions, they are called partition sills, majikiri dodai 間仕切土台. In some small shrine buildings, the footplates are laid directly on the ground. Timbers most resistant to termites and dampness are chestnut, kuri 栗, white cypress, hiba 桧葉, and cypress, hinoki 桧.