ransekizumi kidan 乱石積基壇

Keywords
Architecture
General Terms

Also referred to as ranzumi kidan 乱積基壇, ranzō ransekizumi 乱層乱石積, kuzure ishizumi くずれ石積 or simply kuzure くずれ.
A podium made of natural stones *no-ishi 野石, piled up in a random fashion to a desired height. Small stones and rubble were inserted into the cracks and crevices formed by the irregular shapes of the large stones. In the earliest podii, the corners were rough with no apparent concern for precision. However, later, an attempt was made to use stones of similar size and shape at the corners. Later still, the edges along the top were sometimes finished with long carefully hewn stones; otherwise, they were left without any cap stones. The surface of the podium was either made of hard packed earth or covered with plaster *shikkui 漆喰. Stones used for podii were not considered of high enough quality for buildings.
Example: Kamiya Jinja Honden 神谷神社本殿 (1219), Kagawa Prefecture; Asukadera Saikondō 飛鳥寺西金堂, Nara.