hōto 方斗

Also read hōdo. The bearing block placed in the center of criss-cross bracket arms *wakuhijiki 枠肘木 that extend in four directions at right angles. The hōto is square, or almost so, and has cut-outs on each side big enough to receive the bracket arms. The hōto is always directly above and in line with the large bearing block *daito 大斗 that is placed on top of a pillar *hashira 柱 to support the brackets and bearing blocks above it.