1　The audience's entrance at a theater or place of entertainment during the Muromachi period. Even when the…

Lit. "second circle." The second compound outside of, or immediately adjacent to the main compound *…

Lit. "second stone."

1　A stone placed outside a house, particularly a *…

Roughly dressed lumber measuring less than three *ken 間 (5.5 m) in length and more…

Lit. "second month hall." A temple widely known for its famous ancient festival called omizutori お水取り in March…

Also *kayōzuka 荷葉束 and rengezuka 蓮華束. Decorative carved…

Also called nijiri agariguchi 躙上り口; nijirido 躙戸 and kuguriguchi 潜口. Lit. "a crawl-in or wriggle-…

A term that can be applied to any temple or shrine building etc., which has either a double roof, a skirting *…

Also nisei kidan 二成基壇. A stepped podium with two layers. The upper layer is called *…

A double-layered non-penetrating tie beam with the upper layer often as thick as the lower one. These are found as base tie…

Also called kakemonokugi 掛物釘. A type of hooked nail *orekugi 折釘. A…

Two-tiered transverse beams with struts between them to form part of a roof framework. The upper transverse beam is about…

Also nijū tsuridana 二重釣棚. A double hanging shelf *tsuridana 釣棚,…

A framework used especially in temples and shrines to sustain the roof. It is composed of double rainbow beams *…

A roof framework in which only smaller bearing blocks *makito 巻斗 are placed on…

A two-storied gate that has a flanking roof that surrounds the lower story and most frequently has a hip-and-gable roof *…

A transverse tie beam positioned between the ceiling of the first storied and the floor of the second storied of a building…

A second story corridor. A corridor of this type is thought to have first existed at Tōfukuji 東福寺, in Kyoto established in…

Also read Jikkamon, written Nikkamon 日花門 (found in *Shōmei 匠明…

Double tenons. Double tenons take many forms including individual, rectangular tenons of the same size placed side by side…

Also suikazura karakusamon; also nindō karakusa 忍冬唐草. Lit. "honeysuckle arabesque pattern." A pattern used…

1　Also pronounced suikazura. Honeysuckle.
2　Abbreviation of *…

Broad, concave, roof tiles set directly above and slightly back from the broad, concave, pendant tiles *…

A type of decorative pattern used for muntins on transoms *ranma 欄間. The design…

A building or often a gate that enshrines the two guardian deities, protectors of Buddhism. They are generally placed at the…

Also written 仁王門. A true two-storied gate *nijūmon 二重門, or a high gate *…

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

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

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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 *…

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

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

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. "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…