Yashamon 夜叉門

An eight-legged gate *hakkyakumon 八脚門 (1653) located at Rinnōji Taiyūin Reibyō 輪王寺大猷院霊廟 in Tochigi Prefecture. The entrance is through the center bay. Both end bays, back and front, have a fence called *kongōsaku 金鋼柵, made of vertically-set laths with the top of each lath carved to resemble an Esoteric Buddhist ritual implement. The pillars *hashira 柱 are round, fluted, gomagara jakuri 胡麻殻决, have entasis and are erected on base stones *soseki 礎石. Two-stepped bracket complexes *futatesakigumi 二手先組 are placed not only atop the pillars but in the interstices *nakazonae 中備. Closely-packed bracket complexes like these are called *tsumegumi 詰組 and are characteristic of the Zen style *zenshūyō 禅宗様. Rainbow beams *kōryō 虹梁 and bottle struts *taiheizuka 大瓶束 are used in the gable pediments. The roof is gabled *kirizuma yane 切妻屋根, and covered with copper sheeting simulating tile. The ceiling is finely latticed and coffered *kogumi gōtenjō 小組格天井. All the nosings *kibana 木鼻 and transoms *ranma 欄間 are beautifully carved. Metal ornamentation is widely used, and the gate is lacquered.