yane 屋根

Also called okugai 屋蓋, lit. "roof covering." A generic term for various types of roofs, roof styles, and roofing. See *yane kōzō 屋根構造 for roof structure.

The major types of roofs are gable *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造, hipped yosemune-zukuri 寄棟造, hip-and-gable *irimoya-zukuri 入母屋造, and pyramidal roofs *hōgyō-zukuri 宝形造, including hatchū 八注, a roof over an 8-sided building *hakkakudō 八角堂, and rokuchū 六注, a roof over a six-sided structure *rokkaku endō 六角円堂.

The contours of the roofs vary and are not governed by the type of roof. There are four basic contours: (1) *chokusen yane 直線屋根 a roof with simple straight planes as at Sumiyoshi Taisha 住吉大社 (1596-1615) in Osaka; (2) teriyane 照り屋根, also called soriyane 反屋根, a roof that descends from the ridge to the eave ends with the former showing gentle curving and the latter strong upward curves such as Kairyūōji Saikondō 海竜王寺西金堂 in Nara, and Ankokuji Kyōzō 安国寺経蔵 in Gifu Prefecture; (3) *mukuri yane 起り屋根, a roof that has a convex curve that slopes upward from eave ends *nokisaki 軒先, to the ridge *munagi 棟木, such as the uppermost roof of the pavilion called *Hiunkaku 飛雲閣 at Nishihonganji 西本願寺 (late 16th century) in Kyoto; (4) terimukuri yane 照り起り屋根, a roof with a convex curve in the upper part of the roof, as for example, the roof of the *karahafu 唐破風 gable at the front of Tsukubusuma Jinja Honden 都久夫須麻神社本殿 (1602) in Shiga Prefecture. 

*Shikorobuki 錣葺 is a very rare type of roof type. Its contours resemble a the hip-and-gable type roof, but the gable and hips are separate, without a continuous flow from the ridge to the eaves. Instead, the part that extends from the ridge to the base of the gable ends and the hips are connected beneath the gable ends and continue to the eave ends. Thus there is a very clear break between the two parts of the roof. Examples include the Tamamushi miniature shrine *Tamamushi no zushi 玉虫厨子 (mid-7th century) owned by Hōryūji 法隆寺, and Tōdaiji Nenbutsudō 東大寺念仏堂 (1238), both in Nara.

The Byōdōin *Hōōdō 平等院鳳凰堂 (1053) in Kyoto exemplifies the combination of roof types with a variety of contours. By the 15th and 16th centuries, new combinations of roofs had evolved. Building roofs from this era combined many parts and had many ridges such as *gongen-zukuri 権現造, exemplified by Ōsaki Hachiman Shaden 大崎八幡社殿 (1607) in Miyagi Prefecture. Roofs of this type use tiles *kawara 瓦, cypress bark *hiwadabuki 桧皮葺, shingles *kokerabuki 柿葺, various types grass kusabuki 草葺, including cogon grass *kayabuki 茅葺, and straw of wheat or rice warabuki 藁葺.