Row of paired struts *tsuka 束 flanking the king posts *shinzuka 真束 which support a ridge purlin *munagi 棟木. Found in the roof structure *koyagumi 小屋組 of some of the oldest vernacular houses *minka 民家 in the Kinki 近畿 district. The toriizuka, which rest upon timber plates running parallel to the *jimune 地棟 (beam beneath the ridge pole), are generally about half the height of the truss posts *udatsu 卯立 to which they are connected by slender horizontal ties *tsunagibari 繋梁. Functionally they help to stabilize both the roof membrane and the udatsu. The name toriizuka derives from the gate-like appearance of the total composition of tsunagibari and toriizuka, calling to mind the *torii 鳥居 which mark the entry to the precincts of shrines *jinja 神社. Sometimes called simply torii.