1 Also *daimebashira 台目柱. A small pillar which stands at the front edge of the host's mat *temae-datami 点前畳, at the corner of the hearth *ro 炉, in a tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室. Found in the arrangement known as *daimegiri 台目切 or *mukōgiri 向切. The pillar is wooden, often of red pine akamatsu 赤松, chinquapin shii 椎, cedar sugi 杉, bamboo take 竹, cherry sakura 桜, or camellia tsubaki 椿. On some pillars the bark is retained, whilst others are worked with an adze to give variety to the surface. A crooked piece of wood is usually chosen, often bent in a bow shape. The nakabashira is therefore also known as the curved pillar *magaribashira 曲柱 or crooked pillar *yugamibashira 歪柱. At about the point where the post curves, about 60 cm from the bottom, a stalk of bamboo or wood is inserted, and the area above this is enclosed to form a side wall *sodekabe 袖壁. The lower part remains open. A so-called a bag hanging nail *fukurokakekugi 袋掛釘 is hammered into the nakabashira, and a hanging shelf *tsuridana 釣棚 is hung on this nail, facing the host's mat. The invention of the nakabashira is attributed to Sen no Rikyū 千利休 (1522-91). A good example can be seen in the Hōan 蓬庵, Myōshinji Tenkyūin 妙心寺天球院 (1856), Kyoto.
2 Another name for the main pillar *daikokubashira 大黒柱 in vernacular dwellings *minka 民家 on the Oga 男鹿 Peninsula in Akita Prefecture.
3 The inner pillars of a building as opposed to the outer pillars, sotogawabashira 外側柱, that are placed on the perimeter of a structure.