Also called *tenjō-ita 天井板. Single-panel boards side by side to…

Also tenjōkamachi 天井框. A long, light, binding beam, sometimes rabbeted, running horizontally along the wall in the…

Also called arikabe nageshi 蟻壁長押, mawaribuchi nageshi 回縁長押.

1　…

A ceiling joist. A horizontal timber to which a wooden lath *kizuri …

Lit. "ceiling." A ceiling made of cypress boughs erected over seats, according to the Engishiki 延喜式 and Yukiin 悠基院…

The distance from the floor to the ceiling.

Also read tenjōgeta. Ceiling joists that run lengthwise in a building, below the ceiling structure, to support the…

Also *tenjōketa 天井桁 or tenjō ukegeta 天井受桁. A horizontal beam which…

The placement of one planed timber on top of another planed timber without making any notches.

A balustrade along a stairway or surrounding a shallow balcony on a high gate *rōmon…

The structured elements that cover a window, entrance, or other opening to protect them from the weather or the inside of…

The boards used for the construction of a door including: *mairado 舞良戸 (one…

Also called toyose 戸寄. A door stop.

1　A thin strip of wood attached to and projecting…

Also called tobimono 飛物 or hiryō 飛梁. A beam that extends from the eave purlin *…

A pivot-hinged door. *To 戸 refers to sliding doors. However, in a compound word such…

The structure or composition of a door fitting.

Also called tobiradōri 扉通. The alignment of gate pillars *hashira…

Also sūjiku 枢軸. An almost obsolete term for pivot *jikuzuri 軸吊. The…

A box-like structure into which the rain shutters *amado 雨戸 are stored when not…

A type of board roofing *itabuki yane 板葺屋根, whereby boards …

Also called masudasuke, tosuke; totsunagi 斗繋. The reinforcement pieces cut into some types…

1　The highest point or top surface of a structural element. For example, keta-no-tōge 桁の峠…

An entrance or doorway, the doorsteps; doormat.

Also called toyo とよ. A generic term for a gutter. When used in traditional architecture, it was generally made of…

A stone or stones onto which the water that flows down a drain pipe splashes. These stones prevent ground erosion from a…

Also read yuka.

1　Abbreviation for an alcove *tokonoma…

Also ji-ita 地板. The floorboards laid in an alcove *tokonoma 床の間. The…

A transverse member set across the front of the bottom part of an alcove *tokonoma…

The place adjacent to an alcove *tokonoma 床の間, where various types of shelves…

Also dōbari 胴張り. Lit. "entasis." A tall circular pillar, column, or post which curves gradually reaching its widest…

Also called kumimono 組物 or *masugumi 斗組. A bracket complex composed…

A simple miter. The timbers are cut obliquely, usually at 45 degrees, or any other angle as long as the two adjoining…

Row of paired struts *tsuka 束 flanking the king posts *…

A master carpenter. A title applied to carpenters from the 16th century onward whose experience qualified them to be leaders…

Also read tōri-bashira 通り柱 or tate nobose-bashira 建登せ柱. A single, uncut member that serves as a post…

A wall-to-wall shelf located in the area known as *tokowaki 床脇, which is next to an alcove…

Also read tōrihijiki 通り肘木. A bracket tie beam. A long horizontal beam inserted into the middle of a bracket complex…

Also tōei zuhō 投影図法, tōei gahō 投影画法. Projection Drawing: a technique used for architectural drawing.…

A room behind the curtain where actors performing in a *kabuki 歌舞伎 play can rest before…

1　Metal fittings for a door. One is attached to the side of the door frame closest to the pillar or post.…

Also called komaikabe 小舞壁. A wattle and daub wall made of coarse mud plaster, ara-nuri 荒塗, usually mixed…

1　The parts of structural members that are hidden beneath ground level.

2　The…

The gap between the flat ridge tile *noshigawara 熨斗瓦, and the coping…

Also called tsuijibei 築地塀; tsuigaki 築垣 or 築墻. A formal style fence made by pounding a mixture of mud and…

A partitioning screen. Sometimes an opaque panel screen *fusuma 襖 or sometimes…

A wide rectangular stone strut about 2/3 the width of the stone panels *hame-ishi…

Also written 短束. Tsuka-no-ma 束の間 is a synonym for tsuka. An abbreviated form for tsukabashira 束柱…

Also hirakasugai 平鎹. Wood or metal cleats used to secure and strengthen the junction of the two sides of bargeboard…

Boards or tiles, tsukenoshi, set above and below the thick boards *aori-ita…

Also tsurido, 釣戸 or 吊戸. A door or window that is hinged along the top. It swings out from the bottom, and is held…

The track grooves on a head jamb *kamoi 鴨居 and sill *…

The point where two downward sloping roofs meet to form a valley, under which gutters must be set to carry off rain water.…

Trim, molding, casings, cornices, etc. Trim at the edge of cupboards, doors, windows or on the sides of drawers. Also…

Also shortened to tsumakudari 妻降; also called hafu kudarimune 破風降棟 or shortened to hafukudari…

1　The gable pediment or the gable side of a building with a gable roof *…

A transverse beam that is visible in a gable pediment *tsuma 妻. It is one example of a gable…

Also called kowakido 小脇戸. Because they were hinged, they are also called hirakido 開戸. A side entrance. A…

The entrance of a shrine or temple building in one of the gable ends *tsuma 妻, constructed in…

The embellishment of gable pediments *tsuma 妻 by exposed structural members that were part of…

Intermediate bracket complexes. An arrangement of bracket complexes *tokyō…

1　A short curved rainbow beam *kōryō 虹梁 that connects a bracket…

A penetrating tie beam used to stabilize the lower part of exposed posts *subashira…

Also read tsukkomihozo. Also *sashikomihozo 差込ほぞ. Tsungomi…

A perfectly smooth, absolutely flat, unblemished surface. The term is applied to timber or stone structural members.

The exterior face of a stone rampart or a stone fence. In cases where both the front and back surfaces of a stone or wall…

Shortened form of tsure mitsudogumi 連三斗組. A variation of mitsudogumi 三斗組 (*…

The gap between an opened door or gate stile and the pillar to which it is attached.

Also written 吊木; called tenjō tsurigi 天井釣木. Long narrow strips of wood, like straps, that provide support for a…

Also written 吊壁. A narrow wall suspended from a ceiling to form the front and side of a boundary for an alcove set in the…

Also written 吊金物. Metal fittings that are used to suspend various types of structural members, which include: hanging struts…

Also called tsurimoto 吊元, jikumoto kamachi 軸元框. The stile, tatekamachi 縦框, of a door or gate…

Also jikumoto karado 軸元唐戸; moroori ryōbiraki 両折両開. Two doors *…

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.