kusabuki 草葺

Also kusabuki yane 草葺屋根; kuzuyane 葛屋根. Lit. grass roofing. The material used to build one style of Japanese roof, usually thatch made of miscanthus *kaya 茅 or ditch reed, yoshi 葭. The use of mugiwara 麦藁 or inawara 稲藁, thatch mixed with wheat or rice straw, is rare. When straw is used, the roof material is called warabuki 藁葺. Sometimes any thatched roof is referred to as warabuki yane 藁葺屋根. The oldest extant written record referring to this type of roofing material is found in the Daijōin shajizakkichō 大乗院社寺雑事記 (1486) originally owned by a group of artisans called banshō 番匠, in Kyoto.