yamatobuki 大和葺

1　A type of board roofing made by first spacing boards of equal width at predetermined intervals and then nailing the same size boards over the gaps. The edges of the upper boards overlap and rest on the edges of the lower ones. The boards may be flat or made slightly peaked to form a low triangle in cross section. The oldest extant example is found on the roofing of the *mokoshi 裳階 of the Hōryūji *Kondō 法隆寺金堂 (rebuilt 693) and *Gojū-no-tō 五重塔 (late 7th to early 8th century) in Nara.

2　Shingle, thatched, or cedar bark roofs found on tea ceremony houses *chashitsu 茶室. The most common type is called shin 真. It has a lath base and a backing of bamboo battens about 2.4 cm in diameter. These battens extend slightly beyond the edge of the barge course and are tied together by furring strips from below. Whole bamboo, shakuhachidake 尺八竹, are sandwiched between the supporting bamboo. On top of these are boards, 39 cm wide and 36 cm thick, that follow the incline of the roof and are tied to the bamboo. At Fushin'an 不審庵 in Kyoto, the roofing of this type was called hisashiyane 廂屋根. Gyō 行 is a semi-formal roofing method made with long bamboos arranged parallel to the rafters, but without supporting battens osae-ita 押え板. The method called sō 草 means simple or informal roofing without the long supporting bamboos. A simple covering of this type can be used only on a narrow roof. See *shin-gyō-sō 真行草.