kairō 回廊

Also written 廻廊; also called bu 廡, sōrō 走廊 or *horō 歩廊. Single-bay corridors are also called *tanrō 単廊. A long, narrow, roofed, semi-enclosed corridor one bay wide originally constructed to surround the most sacred precinct containing the *kondō 金堂 and pagoda in 7th-12th century Buddhist temples. The outer side is enclosed. Window openings filled with vertical, square lattice is set at an angle, which allows air to flow through. The inner side is open. At Hōryūji 法隆寺, partially rebuilt by the end of the 7th century, kairō is attached to both sides of the middle gate *chūmon 中門 and now ends where it is joined to each side of the lecture hall *daikōdō 大講堂. The kairō encloses the image hall Kondō and the five-storied pagoda *gojū-no-tō 五重塔. However, at the Yamadadera 山田寺 site in Nara, the earliest remains unearthed are sections of a kairō that came to light through excavations from 1982 through 1983. The temple was constructed in the middle of the 7th century. From the structural members that could easily be identified, it was possible to produce accurate drawings of the original kairō. Double-bay corridors *fukurō 複廊 are known to have been constructed at Kōfukuji 興福寺, Daianji 大安寺, Saidaiji 西大寺, Tōdaiji 東大寺 and some Kokubunji 国分寺. The double corridors were divided by partitions into two parallel passageways. The center wall had vertical-muntin windows set between the pillars that supported the ridge *munagi 棟木. Some connecting passageways were covered with a roof and called konrō 近廊. If an open roofed corridor connected the image hall with the main building, it was called *konrō 軒廊. Kairō also came to be used at Shinto shrines and at aristocrats' residences *shinden zukuri 寝殿造.