tokuri-bashira 徳利柱

Also dōbari 胴張り. Lit. "entasis." A tall circular pillar, column, or post which curves gradually reaching its widest point at its center. The purpose is to avoid the illusion that the pillar curves inward as it would appear as viewed looking up from its base if it were made perfectly straight. The word tokuri 徳利 is the name given to one type of Japanese wine bottle. Entasis in pillars is suggested by this shape. Entasis can be seen on the pillar in *Kondō 金堂 and *Gojū-no-tō 五重塔 at Hōryūji 法隆寺 (late 7th century to first decade of the 8th century) in Nara. Slight entasis appears in some 8th-century buildings, for example Tōshōdaiji Kondō 唐招提寺金堂 in Nara. By the 9th century, it was no longer used.