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…

Also pronounced uttegaeshi 打って返し, utasegaeshi 打たせ返し. Perfect symmetry on both sides of a center line…

Pillars *hashira 柱 with an inward incline. Uchikorobi…

Rafters *taruki 垂木 that extend from the flying rafter support *…

A penetrating tie beam *nuki 貫 placed directly on top of a door or…

Also called uchinorimono 内法物. The wooden materials used for the framework of a sliding screen *…

1　A relatively short horizontal timber that functions like a brace. It is attached to and extends outward…

Lit. "nightingale floor." Floor boards which rub together when walked on to produce a pleasant and delicate sound. This type…

A generic term for all supporting or receiving structural members. For example, a timber that receives an eave cornice is…

Also read umeki. A wooden dowel or plug used to fill a hole in a piece of timber. If a knot or some other flaw…

To fill in any remaining open spaces with sand, gravel, soil, or other such substances, after the foundation and all…

A generic term for backing boards, which are boards nailed over rafters to form a backing for the roofing. In an open roof…

Also called uragaeshi 裏返 or yobinuri 呼塗. Soft, rough plaster arakabe tsuchi 荒壁土 applied to…

Also urappo 裏穂. A thatching material used on vernacular dwellings *minka…

Visible eaves filler placed the eave support *kayaoi 茅負, and projected slightly…

Also read uragomi. The process of filling the gaps in the rear of a stone retaining wall or stone fence with rubble…

A plaster wall which has mud plaster applied to the front side and then to the rear side before the plaster on the front…

Also called marutagaki 丸太垣. A fence constructed with logs positioned at fairly close intervals and three horizontal…

A crosspiece used to secure the back or upper side of a ceiling board.

Bricks or stones set at the back of a brick or stone wall to give it extra support. The term is an abbreviation of …

1　A particularly large beam that runs in a longitudinal direction, ketayuki hōkō 桁行方向 (see *…

The rear stage between dressing rooms and the rear door of the main stage in a *kabuki…

Lit. "thin sills." A lintel and sill used under and above transom *ranma 欄間.…

Also written 空柱. Lit. "hollow pillar." A box-like down-spout tatedoi 竪樋 used to carry rainwater from roof gutters…

Also called tenba 天端.

1　The top surface of an object, or the peak of a structural member.…

Also written 上貼, also called visible top layer keshōbari 化粧張, front side hyōmenbari 表面張 or finishing…

The upper-most eave of a nokizuke 軒付 or nokiba 軒端 eave end. Each part of the eave has a name. The…

1　Also shiagenuri 仕上げ塗. The final layer applied to a decorative painting sōshoku kōji…

The top or finishing coat of a mud plaster wall, tsuchimonokabe 土物壁 or ōtsukabe 大津壁.

Also called tori-no-shita 鳥の舌 (lit. "bird's tongue"). A somewhat triangular piece of wood added to a bracket arm *…

A board with a carved spiral-like uzusen 渦線 linear design. It is found on frog-leg struts *…