Keywords
Architecture
Roofing Tiles
A pattern composed of concentric circles on a pendant *gatō 瓦当 and parallel lines on a semi-circular, convex eave-end tile *nokimarugawara 軒丸瓦. Jūkenmon have a raised dot or seed shape *shumon 珠文 at the center point surrounded by three or five widely spread concentric circles sanjūkenmon 三重圏文 or gojūkenmon 五重圏文. All have an undecorated comparatively high wide rim. Example: jūkenmon on the pendant of the semi-circular tile found at Heijōkyū 平城宮 excavated from Awa Kokubunji 阿波国分寺, Tokushima Prefecture. Some jūkenmon tiles have a centered lotus pattern surrounded by concentric circles. An example is one from the Heijō site in Nara.