Lit. "The False Murasaki and the Rustic Genji." An extremely popular mid-19th century novel written by Ryūtei Tanehiko 柳亭種彦…

A castle compound to the west of the main compound *honmaru 本丸. In a early-…

Lit. "brocade pictures." A picture that resembles a colorful embroidered silk brocade, nishikinui 錦繍. A commercial…

Brocade. A general term for a variety of flat multicolored, woven-pattern fabrics. Recently it suggests silk woven with an…

Noh mask *nōmen 能面 made for the role of the ghost of the broken-hearted…

West dormitory. In the 7th and 8th centuries, some temples had monk's quarters to the west of the lecture hall as well as…

A pair of devas *ten 天 or Buddhist guardian gods, such as *…

A middle gate *chūmon 中門 at a Buddhist temple. Usually it is an 8-…

Also Niutsuhime Myōjin 丹生都比売明神. A female mountain deity that resides in Mt. Kōya 高野. According to legend *…

The main living room *hiroma 広間, adjacent to the earthen-floored area…

Also abbreviated to niwadaikoku 庭大黒.

1　A freestanding post *…

1　A defined open space, as distinct from the natural landscape, and reserved for work of an agricultural…

Lit. "garden lantern." Lanterns, not for exclusive use in gardens, but are also placed at shrines and at roadsides. One…

1　A new cooking range *kamado 竃, or open hearth *…

Also *ara-ishi 荒石. An unprocessed stone, a rough stone, an unrefined…

An unplanned, unfinished rough timber. Generally the timbers are split with a wedge and not processed any further.

1　A prefix attached to the name of a structural member to indicate that the member is not visible.…

1　In a general sense nobe means the entire length of any timber used in construction.

…

Also written 展段 and 展檀. A method of stone paving in the *roji 露地 or tea garden in…

Also nobeto 延べ斗. A rectangular bearing block that is wider than usual and supports a corner bracket arm *…

Lit. "ascendance; to go up; rise."

1　A sloping line or surface and the measurements of these surface…

The sleeve or curb stones that slant along each side of the stone steps leading up to a podium *…

Lit. "rising beam," "raking beam."

1　Also *noboriki 登木 or…

Bank or climbing kiln. Built on a slope, this efficient type of kiln originated in China and was introduced to Japan from…

Also written 上り髭, Lit. "climbing beard." The name of a mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays. Noborihige has the…

Gable coping or raking coping. Coping, a protective covering, provided on sloping areas or edges such as on a gable roof *…

Also pronounced noborigi. Also called *noboribari 登梁.

1　…

Also called sobanoki 傍軒. Also called raking beams. The inclined eaves along the edge of the bargeboards *…

Lit. "ascending eave hanging tiles." The semi-cylindrical tiles *marugawara…

Also called keisha uragō 傾斜裏甲, or raking eaves filler. Hidden eave fillers attached to a bargeboard *…

A Noh stage. A stage originally constructed for outdoor performances of *Noh 能, a…

Hidden rafters. Rafters used to construct the roof framework of the main roof of a Japanese building. Hidden rafters have a…

Also 納衣, shinnōe 刺納衣 or 刺衲衣, nōgesa 衲袈裟, nō 衲.

1　A Buddhist priest's…

Also nogi 芒. A type of cut-foil *kirihaku 切箔. Gold or…

Beams used in a hidden roof framework *noyane 野屋根. Also refers to any beam which is…

Hidden roof framework above a ceiling or above an exposed roof framework.

A type of dramatic performance originating in the 14th century *Muromachi jidai…

Also noura-ita 野裏板, *no-ita 野板. Sheathing that is placed over…

Sheathing. Rough wooden boards nailed on to rafters to make a surface on which roofing material is laid. The boards are…

1　A board placed under the eaves and over the rafters of a traditional Japanese building as sheathing *…

Eave extension or eave overhang measured from the center of a pillar or post to the rafter end. The distance may be from…

Convex struts set under eaves at intervals between the eave purlins *gagyō…

Eaves. The part of a roof that extends beyond the exterior wall of a building. There are single eaves *…

Lit. "eave ends." The eave ends of a tiled roofed building which are usually obscured by decorated pendant tiles *…

A bamboo gutter usually hung by hooks from the end of an eave *nokisaki 軒先, to catch rain…

Also *nokimarugawara 軒丸瓦. A popular name for the semi-cylindrical eave-…

1　Also written 宇瓦. Eaves-end tiles. Roof tiles placed along an eaves line,…

Also *karakusagawara 唐草瓦; *…

A semi-cylindrical or half-round eave-end pendant tile. The pendant *gatō 瓦当, is…

A generic term for all the parts that compose aneave including: rafters, *taruki…

Also *nokiba 軒端. An eave edge or an eave end. The eave end of a tiled roof kawarayane…

Also kotenjō 小天井. A long narrow ceiling installed under an extended eave. This type of ceiling is constructed…

Bracket complexes which support the eaves.

Also nokishita 軒下. The underside of an eave *noki 軒, or the overhang of the roof beyond…

Curvature of the eaves. There are two types: shinzori 真反 (true curvature), in which the center eave curves from the…

A ceremony performed before a thatched roof *kayabuki yane 茅葺屋根, is hid.…

Also noji-no-kōbai 野地の勾配. The incline of straight hidden rafters *nodaruki…

A saw. Saws are the most used tool in Japanese carpentry. They divided into two broad groups: the ripsaw, which cuts along…

Also pronounced nogomai. A lath that is concealed from view. For example thin strips of lath used within the roof…

1　A hall where cinerary urns are stored and human ashes are kept.
2　A building to house…

Masks used in the *Noh 能 theater and worn by the main actor shite シテ, and his…

A chisel. A tool used by a carpenter to bore holes in timber. It is divided broadly into two categories depending in the way…

Hidden purlins used in a hidden roof structure. Visible purlins are called keshō moya 化粧母屋.

Also called nomune 野棟. A hidden ridge. The upper and true ridge in a hidden roof construction, which forms the…

Also none tenjō 野根天井. A board ceiling to which long narrow splints or strips of wood are attached. The ceiling…

1　A hanging cloth suspended from the eaves or in the openings (especially entrances) of a building as…

1　The incline of a stone wall and castle rampart. Nori ichiwari 法一割, means that for every 1 m of…

Lit. "mounting stone." One of the trump stones *yaku-ishi 役石 placed in front…

A raised platform used during the production of large-scale paintings. Most such paintings are placed on the floor while…

Lit. "step-over stone." One of the trump stones *yaku-ishi 役石 set…

Also pronounced hōkadai. Also noroshidai 狼煙台 or noroshiba 狼煙場. A fire beacon; a stone platform on…

Lit. "cool dwelling." Formerly the name used for the priests' quarters at Jingoji 神護寺 (Momoyama period) in Kyoto. Now more…

A miniature pagoda in a bowl or rotund bottle shape. The pagoda is made of gilt bronze *…

Printed squares of wrapping paper, noshi 熨斗 which are tied with two-colored cords, mizuhiki 水引 used for…

An archaic term for *taru-no-kuchi 樽の口. Also called …

Also noshizumigawara 熨斗積瓦. The ancient name was *tsutsumigawara…

*Noh 能 costumes. Also called nō-ishō 能衣装. Cloth articles worn in Noh…

A pictorial subject based on "Nowaki" ("The Typhoon"), Chapter 28 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

A hidden roof. The roof structure built above an exposed roof. It has its own support system and hidden rafters that are set…

Also called hizumi 歪 meaning incline or slant. A slight twist inward at the top of a bargeboard or a tilting…

Lit. "peeping bridge." A type of arched, wooden garden bridge that ends abruptly in the water just after beginning its…

Lit. "peeping fence." A type of *sodegaki 袖垣 with one or more…

1　An unfinished, unplanned board with a rough surface. See *no-ita …

1　Also called *ishigaki 石垣; ishigaketsumi 石崖積; …

Lit. "subjugation of the Fabulous Night Monster." A pictorial subject taken from a famous episode in Heike monogatari…

Lit. "sewing nail."
1　A nail that connects the two parts of a scarf joint *…

A knot hole. A flaw on a timber surface caused by a knot that has fallen out.

1　A penetrating tie beam that extends from one pillar to another inside a temple or shrine building. It has…

Also written 貫孔. The generic term for the opening made in a pillar, strut or any other member into which a penetrating tie…

Also called ajirogaki 網代垣 or ajiro takegaki 網代竹垣. A type of wickerwork fence, especially popular in…

An ornamental type of *myōjin torii 明神鳥居, or gate-like entrance a Shinto…

1　Also called *nunokiso 布基礎. One meter long rectangular base…

Lit. "cloth-pulling waterfalls." A series of waterfalls at the head of the Ikuta 生田 River in Hyōgo Prefecture. In ancient…

Lit. "fabric paving." Pavement formed by square or rectangular stones laid so that a little space is allowed around each.…

Also called renzoku kiso 連続基礎. A type of direct footing that runs diagonally across corners and attaches to the…

A generic term for the textured impression found on the underside of a roof tile. The impression is left by the cloth placed…

The traces left by the pressure of a cloth on a clay surface. The character 痕 ato or kon means a mark left…

The woodblock print *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 technique of blind or gauffrage…