Lit. airing. Also called mushiboshi 虫干. The practice of inspecting and airing valuables that have been in storage…

A heavy wooden plank placed above the ceiling of the first story of a two-storied pagoda *…

A system used to label each structural members of a building before construction, while being dismantled for repair, or…

Also written 枇杷板.

1　The board inserted between a bottle strut *…

Lit. straight corner.
1　Buildings of any traditional type without curves on structural members under the…

Imperial court dance that is accompanied by Imperial court music, gagaku 雅楽, as performed from the late 8th century…

A style of residential architecture in use among the bushi 武士 or warrior class. As defined by the early 20th-…

Also jukubukku 熟仏供, butsuhan 仏飯, or butsushō 仏餉. Cooked rice made as an offering to the Buddha,…

Narrative paintings, reliefs, or group sculptures of Buddhist stories (sutras or legends), which were made in great…

Lit. stage framework. A framing member that runs the entire width of the upper part of a *…

Lit. proscenium wall. The wall at the front part of a *kabuki 歌舞伎 stage.

A generic term for the structural members which form the framework *honegumi…

Lit. Indian style. The style of architecture introduced to Japan when the priest Chōgen 重源 (1121-1206) returned from China.…

Also daibutsuyō tokyō 大仏様斗きょう. Lit. Great-Buddha-style bracket complex. A bracket system introduced by the priest,…

Also called wakibashira 脇柱; taishōbashira 大将柱. Initially, the square post placed at the right front corner…

Also called daikagurabashira 太神楽柱; *kudabashira 管柱 or…

Carpenter.

1　Often pronounced daikō. Also ōtakumi or ōkitakumi in old…

A center joint. An oblique scarf joint combining a housed *daboso 太ぼそ joint and blind tenons. The mortises are…

The largest type of bearing block *masu 斗, usually placed directly on top of a…

A large bearing block *daito 大斗 with a bracket arm *…

1　A wall plate or top plate placed along the top of head-penetrating tie beams *…

1　Also written 反. A step. The level part or tread of a flight of stairs. When made of wood, the tread is…

1　A generic term for a level mound or platform raised above the surrounding ground. An earthen mound may be…

A simple step-ladder, also called hashigo 梯子 or hashigodan 梯子段. Examples include a *…

1　A roofing method that uses copper sheets laid in a step-like pattern.

2　A roofing…

Also written 壇正積; danjōzumi kidan 壇上積基壇. A style of podium introduced to Japan from Korea in the latter half of the…

Lit. a section. A vertical section scale drawing of a building or architectural detail shown either transversely, …

Also yokodanmen-zu 横断面図, also read ōdanmen-zu. Lit. a cross section drawing on the longitudinal axis. …

1　Also called *gagyō 丸桁 or gangyō. A round-eave purlin…

1　Also deha 出端. Any architectural member which protrudes, projects, or extends outward. When…

The framing of opaque sliding screens, *fusuma 襖, and translucent sliding…

A one-stepped bracket complex parallel to but separated from the wall by the extension of a rainbow beam, *…

Also called de 出.

1　Also called *noki-no-de…

Lit. three-on-one at right angles. Sometimes called crisscrossed 3-on-1. A bearing block and bracket complex consisting of…

Lit. things from overseas.

1　Objects brought from abroad, including numerous art works. See *…

Lit. things from past generations. Art works or antiquities which have been treasured among people for long period of time.…

Also pronounced dezumi. Also written 出角. The external corner where two walls join to form an angle. The interior…

Entasis. The bulge in the center of a circular pillar to make it appear straight. In Japan, circular pillars called *…

Also read tsuchibei. Also called *tsuiji 築地. An earthen wall or…

A sill, ground sill, or footplate. Generally the heavy timber members laid horizontally at the base of a wooden building…

Also called tsuchidomesan. Narrow timber strips nailed horizontally to roof sheathing, *…

1　Generally a base for tile roofing, *kawarabuki 瓦葺. A…

The process of spreading clay on the prepared surface of a roof in order to lay roof tiles, *…

Lit. guardian boy's stones. Two symbolic garden stones (see *yakuishi 役石）…

Independent post. An internal freestanding post, *hashira 柱, not attached to…

Also written dōzuri 胴摺. The widest horizontal stile in the door of *heijūmon…

Also read dodome-ita, and called *seki-ita 堰板. The sheathing boards…

A large, heavy horizontal timber attached to the tops of posts, *hashira 柱,…