Also called iga いが. Lit. cusp.

1　The point where two curved lines or forms meet. The…

Lit. thorn tree fortress. A simple and usually temporary fortress surrounded by thorn trees or briar bushes to defend it…

A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子, and transoms*…

A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子 and transoms*…

Lit. room one. The innermost and most prestigious room, six to twelve straw mats *tatami…

The first or main gate of a castle. At Matsuyamajō 松山城 in Ehime Prefecture, the gate plan was square *…

The ogre-face tile *onigawara 鬼瓦, placed at the ends of offspring ridges *…

A ladder hewed from a single log during the Yayoi period.

Also written 一帖半の席. A very small tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室, no more…

Also ichijū tsuridana 一重釣棚. A single shelf suspended by a slender bamboo pole. It is made of paulownia when it…

A single window or door opening. Also, a single door or window. They may swing on hinges one way, both ways, or slide.

A term used in all parts of Japan in the Edo period, for a straight shelf *tana…

1　Also called ichimonji nokigawara 一文字軒瓦; ichimonji karakusagawara 一文字唐草瓦. A type of…

1　Two strips of fabric directly above and below a painting measuring the exact width of the painting,…

A small flower vase which is just large enough for one flower stalk. Most vases of this type were made of ceramic but…

1　A well supplying drinking water. It may be deep or narrow, depending on the depth of the water table. The…

Shortened form of idokoro 居所. A name for rooms or spaces in the following contexts:

1　In…

Lit. house castle.

1　A castle in the stage of historical development from a strictly military…

1　A generic term for any group of structural members set in a grid pattern.　

2　The…

Also abbreviated to ijō 居定. The degree of pitch on the underside of a rafter support *…

Lit. lightning pattern. A pattern of thick and thin zig-zag lines. A variation of raimon 雷文 (see *…

Lit. pond garden. A very general term for any garden with a pond. It includes other terms such as the archaic garden pond *…

Lit. heart of the pond. The most important part of a pond, which, may be the center, bottom, or surface. The term is…

Lit. living fence. A type of hedge made of trees, bamboo, or other living plants planted in a row and trimmed so as to form…

Also written 生込み形灯籠. A lantern which lacks a base; the stem is inserted directly into the ground. Most lanterns of this type…

A type of decorative pattern painted on coffered ceilings *gōtenjō 格天井 or…

An independently framed urban-vernacular house *machiya 町家 of a more…

A style of main shrine building that has a small one-bay sanctuary *honden…

A gate at Heijō palace, Heijōkyū 平城宮 (8th century), in Nara that no longer exists but is mentioned in Shoku Nihongi…

Lit. living room. A room commonly utilized as the principal space for daily living.

1　The daily…

The correct seating position for the host when performing tea ceremony. For example, in the Urasenke 裏千家 school, a portable…

Lit. pure fire hall. A hall for the preparation of food to be offered to the gods at Ise Jingu 伊勢神宮. The character 忌 imi…

Same meaning as imomeji 芋目地.

1　A straight-line, end-to-end blind stub tenon *…

Defensive castle entrance, or yin entrance. A generic term for various types castle entrance *…

Defensive castle compounds in no kuruwa 陰の郭 and offensive castle compounds yō no kuruwa 陽の郭. In Chinese,…

Lit. yin and yang stone. A pair of stones representing male and female principles or genitalia. Also called on'yōseki…

Also read inaki. Lit. rice plant fortress. A small and temporary defensive palisade of bundles or sheaves of rice…

Slip fasteners. The wooden or bamboo pieces used on the reverse side of the overlapped boards of a board-and-batten ceiling…

Also edoma 江戸間. A length of 1.8 m or less, defining the standard length of a single bay: the distance from the…

A type of gate-like structure *torii 鳥居 at inari 稲荷…

T-shaped metal fitting inserted into a track and used for hanging scrolls in an alcove *…

Also *nijū orekugi 二重折釘. A twice bent nail that is used under the ceiling…

A architectural design pattern in the shape of a diamond, *hishi 菱, which…

Also *raimon 雷文. An architectural design pattern thought to be based on flashes…

Also sasuzuka sasuzaoshiki 扠首束扠首竿式, *sasuzao 扠首竿, *…

Lit. boar's-eye gable pendant. A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚, decorated with heart-…

Also kariokidana 仮置棚. Lit. boar's eye shelf. A two-tiered shelf *nijūdana…

Lit. boar's eye window. A window in a tea ceremony structure thought to resemble a boar's eye.

The window is really…

A representation of a pagoda that has been printed or rubbed onto paper or cloth. The paper or cloth was laid on a carved…

Also written 犬行. Lit. dog run. A narrow inset in wall ramparts, or in an embankment of earth forming a footpath or ledge.…

Also pronounced inubōgi.

1　In temples and shrines, a lattice *…

Also called okusha karamon 奥社唐門. A gate with cast bronze doors or a gate that is entirely made of bronze. …

Also called komafusegi 駒防ぎ. Concave screens about 60 cm high and of varying length made of closely-spaced bent…

General drawings which reflect all the contents of a building, its plan and design. Such drawings must depict the function…

1　A general term for the special tiles used at the base of a roof ridge.

2　A name…

Also called irakamune 甍棟; hon irakagawara 本甍瓦. The roof tiles that form the lowest part of the stack of…

Also called *wata-ita 綿板. Thin panels of wood inserted between the rails …

Also called moyabashira 母屋柱 or 身舎柱. Pillars that are erected inside and parallel to the pillars positioned on the…

A door frame made of a head lintel and vertical door jambs to which doors are attached with hinges.

Pillars *hashira 柱 at the inner boundary of a pent roof…

Also sakawa kanamono 逆輪金物, saba no o 鯖の尾. An ornamental metal fitting *…

1　A corridor or passageway between the main body of a residence and the veranda. It is also found in temple…

Purlins, *keta 桁, placed along the tops of pillars surrounding the…

The bargeboards on the gable end of a hip-and-gable roof *irimoya yane…

A hip-and-gable roof. In Japanese architecture, the gable part is usually over the core area of the building, *…

A hip-and-gable roof construction, or a building with this roof construction. A gable type roof has a ridge and gable…

The placement of the fire-box or hearth cut within the host's mat *temae datami…

The internal angle made by the junction of two planes, such as walls, a wall and ceiling, or the inside angle made by the…

Also called yatoi zane 雇実; yatoi zanebari 雇実張 or yatoi zanehagi 雇実矧. A plank that is grooved on…

Also written 居炉裏. Also called ro 炉. An open hearth set in the floor of various rooms in Japanese buildings.…

Loopholes or gun ports that are cut in a castle wall at the height of a seated defender's shoulder. The holes are mainly…

Gateways *torii 鳥居, specific to Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮, of which there are two types.…

The depth of a stone in a stone wall *ishigaki 石垣. This is the…

Also termed ishi otoshimado 石落窓. Stone drop, or stone drop window. A castle installation built into the keep *…

Also kanokodate 鹿の子建 and ishitsuki 石付. A technique used at a folk dwelling to attach a pillar to a…

Lit. stone bridge. A general term for a garden bridge made of stones, typically granite or schist. Ishibashi may be…

Also *nobedan 延段; tatami ishi 畳石.

1　…

A dry stone wall. A retaining stone foundation wall built without binding materials over an inclined earthen embankment.…

The point at which a base stone and a pillar are joined. The upper surface of a plinth stone on which another stone may be…

Lit. stone arrangement. Also called iwagumi. The arrangement of stones for symbolical, functional, or decorative…

Lit. stone paving. The place where paving stones are to be laid, or the stones themselves. Stones are carefully selected for…

A gate at Kanazawajō 金沢城 (1788) in Ishikawa Prefecture. It is an excellent example of the square *…

Wood shingles *itabuki 板葺, held in position with stones. Generally used for…

A stone loophole used to fire a gun through a castle wall. Unlike the usual loopholes *…

A shelf or platform from which stones or small rocks were hurled against an enemy. This shelf or platform runs along the…

1　The cutting and arrangement of stones.

2　The layout of masonry.

A halved rabbeted (oblique) scarf joint *sogitsugi 殺継. A…

Also written 鈑 or 版. Originally a relatively thin flat timber, stone, or sheet of metal. In the medieval period (1185-1568…

A thin, flat stone resembling a board. Also called a plate stone. The stone can be divided into three types depending on the…

Traditional transoms that are made of wood and have sections filled with a single board, or one or two parts are filled with…

Also called itabari tenjō 板張天井 or *hariita tenjō 張板天井…

A floor plan for a wooden building drawn by a carpenter on a thin piece of board. The plan does not include detail, but the…

A wooden board or plank fence. Wooden fences made of planks and set directly into the ground are called hottate itabei…

One type of pagoda or stupa, tōba 塔婆, in the form of a flat stone stele that became prevalent in the early 13th…

Wood shingles. Widely used in Japan for buildings of many kinds, ranging from palaces, elite residences, shrines, and…

A roof structure covered with boards or planks. Various names are used depending on the size of the boards. A large plan…

Wooden panels with the grain set in alternating directions in a coffered ceiling *…

1　The boards covered by tightly woven straw mats *tatami 畳,…

An alcove with a wooden floor instead of a *tatami 畳 mat. There…