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…

Also read gangyō, gayō, nokigeta 軒桁, or *dashigeta…

Also read gangyōbane. A single heavy beam attached at right angles to the eave purlins *…

Lit. outer garden. The area outside the sacred enclosure of a shrine, mausoleum, or temple. Typically, the approach to the…

1　The wooden rails and stiles around doors or windows. 
2　Casing, trim, or…

Lit. zig-zag ladder. A kind of ladder, hashigo 梯子(see *kaidan 階段),…

The arrangement of buildings within the precinct of a Buddhist temple constructed between the late 7th century to 12th…

An abbreviated form of sōgya ranma 僧伽欄摩 (Sk: samgha arama). Lit. A garden for monks. Also rendered as sōen…

1　The triangular frame created by joining a pair of cruck-like members *…

Also pronounced kawageta. 
1 Exterior wall purlins. Long horizontal beams *…

Also read sokuheki or kawakabe. The exterior wall of a building. An outside wall or end wall.

1　In shrine architecture, the main hall *honden 本殿 is divided…

Lit. lower space. It is a room adjoining the main rooms of the priests' quarters in a Zen temple. It is located near the…

1　The entrance gallery or porch used in the guest hall *kyakuden…

Lit. Genroku culture. The middle Edo period *Edo jidai 江戸時代 chūki 中期…

Also pronounced gibōshi, giboju, gibōshu, goboshu. A decoration in the shape of the…

Also kuregaku 呉楽. Now-lost ancient masked theatrical performances given at temples from the 7th to 9th century.…

Also called *ura-ita 裏板. The panel used to fill the space made by the…

The wooden ribs or coffers laid in a criss-cross pattern to form a coffered ceiling *gō…

Lit. a five cornered measuring box. A method used to determine the proportions of a bracket arm *…

The space created by the coffers or ribs *gōbuchi 格縁 of a coffered or latticed…

Type of a chamfers cut on a square timber or square post with a ratio of 1/20 is called gorinmen along each corner…

Also called gosho oni-ita 御所鬼板 or goshomune oni-ita 御所棟鬼板. Lit. the ridge of an imperial palace. The main…

A coffered ceiling. A ceiling with ribs framing recessed panels.

1　The simplest type of coffered…

Also read gomotsu. The emperor's property. The Imperial Collection of art objects, books, etc., which are either of…

Tuff or tufa. Popularly called shōkōseki 松香石. A porous stone composed of volcanic ash or from the material loosened…