Also written 中具. Secondary or intermediate supports placed in the interstices between the bracket complexes *tokyō 斗きょう a top of the pillars. The most common types of support are bearing-block capped struts *kentozuka 間斗束, frog-leg struts *kaerumata 蟇股, or plectrum or spatula-shaped struts *minozuka 蓑束. These struts are set between head tie beams *kashiranuki 頭貫, and wall purlins *tōshihijiki 通し肘木. Originally these struts were added to strengthen the roof frame above. They were necessary from the 7th century to the end of the 10th century, and continued to be a characteristic of the Japanese style *wayō 和様. However, with the invention of the hidden roof *noyane 野屋根, at the end of the 10th century, the struts had lost much of their structural function and became more and more decorative.
