A shallow, narrow groove cut into a pillar, flooring board or other structural element to allow for a secure junction with…

Incline, slope, or pitch. Applied especially to the incline of the roof, yane kōbai 屋根勾配, in traditional Japanese…

Also kōtsubari or kō-otsubari 甲乙梁. A smaller beam used in conjunction with a large one, ōbari 大梁…

A studio or place of work for artists and craftsmen. Also refers to artists or craftsmen who group together to produce work…

An inclined plane. Any plane that descends downward on either side of a ridge *mune…

Steps made of thick, heavy, square, or rectangular timbers cut with their ends exposed. One step is called dangi 段木…

Also read kiguchi; also ōdanmen 横断面. A timber cut at a right angle across the grain, or the crosscut end…

A bearing block that is set on a pillar *hashira 柱 or bracket arm *…

A finely latticed and coffered ceiling. If each coffer has a mesh of small latticework that is the same as the larger…

The grids of small lattice that fill the coffers of a coffered ceiling *gōtenjō…

A roof built over the steps leading up to a temple building. A step canopy.

1　The top narrow outer surface of a board cut lengthwise through the center or heartwood jushin 樹心…

Also kō-no-jigumi 香の字組, kō-no-zugumi 香の図組. A design pattern created by the arrangement of the muntins…

Also written 木後; 鐺. Also called hafujiri 破風尻. The bottom end of a bargeboard *…

1　A long, narrow, horizontal wall above the upper non-penetrating tie beams, uchinori nageshi 内法長押…

Also kyōgenbashira 狂言柱. The pillar located at the junction of the rear seats for stage assistants atoza 後座…

The place on a noh stage *nōbutai 能舞台 where the kōken…

Also kokera 柿; koba-ita 木羽板. Also read kaki-ita 柿板.

1　The small chips…

A roof covering made with a layer of thin wooden shingles made of cypress. The shingles are about 0.3 cm-0.5 cm thick, 9 cm-…

Also written 木舞. In the Shōsōin Monjo 正倉院文書 it appears as 古麻比 komai and in other old documents as 古万比. The…

Lit. reverse side lath. The lath placed between the roof sheathing and the rafters *…

A generic term for bearing blocks that are smaller than the largest type placed on top of a pillar *…

Lit. rice stone. A type of granite from modern Nagano and Toyama Prefectures. Also called tsume-ishi 詰石, these…

Two light wooden frames covered with translucent paper *shōji 障子, usually set…

A building with a short roof ridge. One example is a hipped roof.

Also kongōgaki 金剛垣. A fence made of vertical stakes with decoratively shaped tops resembling the *…

Lit. small or short eave. An eave, konoki, constructed of short rafters called flying rafters *…

Lit. mixed complex system. A system of combining various architectural members into a unified structure. For example: the…

Also written 鈎欄 or 勾欄, the latter said by some scholars to be the correct characters. But, 高欄 is the more common, popular…

Also called umeneda 埋め根太. Sleepers placed directly on the ground or cement floor without using joints or struts.…

Lit. incline or inclination. Also called *uchikorobi 内転. The incline of…

Lit. rainbow beam. A generic term for any curved, transverse tie beam. It is used almost exclusively in temple or shrine…

A structural framework for a roof that has a gable pediment arranged in a similar structure as the bottle shaped strut …

A roof frame constructed with rainbow beams *kōryō 虹梁 that extend…

A structural framework in the gable ends of a roof characterized by the use of bottle struts *…

Also *mizuhiki kōryō 水引虹梁. A head penetrating tie beam *…

Latticework or grille. Normally latticework is made of wood and grille made of metal. Both are laid out in a grid. The most…

A latticed window with immovable lattice inserted into the window frame. The window is called degōshimado 出格子窓 if…

Lit. hip or haunch.

1　The wainscoting, or wooden panelling, below the mid-point of a wall, or the…

Paneling or plain boards used to finish the lower part of a wall. If only the term *…

The oldest method used to insert lattice directly into the members of the window opening. The vertical muntins are inserted…

Also called koshidaka akarishōji 腰高明障子, or only koshidaka. A translucent paper-covered sliding screen *…

A bracket complex, used under the balcony of high gates, beneath the multiple roofs of pagodas and the main roof of two-…

A latticed window. One type resembles *renjimado 連子窓. The laths are narrower…

A horizontal non-penetrating tie beam *nageshi 長押 positioned below the…

Lit. hip tie beam. Penetrating tie beams placed horizontally slightly below the center of pillars on exterior walls of…

Also called tenjō aratameguchi 天井改口. Lit. roof structure inspecting entrance. A trapdoor built into a ceiling to…

Also called rokubari 陸梁. The bottom most transverse tie beam *hari 梁 in…

Roof truss or framework; the frame with diagonal members on either side of a strut *tsuka…

Lit. a small roof. A small roof built over a shed or subordinate structure attached to a main building. Examples include a…

Also written 香狭間, and abbreviated to *sama 狭間. Formerly called *…

Also called daikagurabashira 太神楽柱. Pillars used to build two story structures whereby one pillar is erected on the…

Also called *hira kudarimune 平降棟. A descending ridge *…

A nail made of metal, wood, or bamboo and shaped according to use. Traditionally, metal kugi are square, …

A hole cutout piece bored on the back of a large, thick, non-penetrating tie beam *…

A generic term for a small low entrance through which one has to stoop or crawl. Often fitted in a large gate, so people may…

Also kumiire 組入 or kumitenjō 組天井.

1　A latticed ceiling. Heavy,…

1　A muntin, mullion, or munnion. The non-structural timber parts set within the stiles *…

A beam set parallel to the eave purlin which functions like a fulcrum to support and absorb the weight of a beam called *…

A built-up ridge compound or rows of patterned tiles *munakomigawara…

Also written 雲枝輪. Lit. cloud strut. A type of slanting ceiling strut *shirin 支輪…

Kumogata hijiki 雲形肘木. A cloud-patterned bracket arm that is characterized by a somewhat complicated decorative…

Also pronounced kumomasu or unto. Lit. cloud-shaped bearing block. A bearing block carved with a cloud-…

Also called kumogata tokyō 雲形斗きょう or kumogata kumimono 雲形組物. Lit. cloud pattern bracket complex. A…

The small dais in front of a Buddhist altar on which offerings of boiled rice are placed.

A single-volume book detailing Chinese objects, particularly tea-ceremony utensils, given to the shogunal family by Ashikaga…

The process of laying floor boards so that the edges fit snugly together and the top surface is perfectly smooth. Wherever…

Also called se-ita 背板. A roof board that is cut along the annual rings nenrin 年輪 of a tree trunk. Such…

Also kūrin 空輪, hōrin 宝輪. A part of the finial on top of a pagoda. Usually nine metal rings are attached to…

Unstripped or unbarked timber. A log which is cut so that the bark is left intact. Small unbarked logs, left in their…

Also read *toboso 枢; kuro or kuroro.

1…

Also kusabuki yane 草葺屋根; kuzuyane 葛屋根. Lit. grass roofing. The material used to build one style of…

Lit. decayed knot. A common flaw in wood which can contribute to weakness in any lumber intended to support other members.…

A partition *hei 塀 between the dado band *…

Also called *hashira-ishi 柱石. Lit. shoe or boot stone. The foundations…

Lit. shoe-removing stone. A flat-topped stone used for taking off one's shoes before entering a *…

Also kutsuzuriwaku 沓摺枠. A threshold or doorsill upon which a hinged door closes snugly because the sill is a little…

1　A seat used by a guest.

2　In traditional vernacular houses *…

The method used to attach a purlin *jōyageta 上屋桁 and transverse beams *…

A plank door filled with widely set, horizontal laths, kozan 小桟.

Also abarawari あばら割. Lit. "sparsely proportioned." The same meaning as ma-mabara 間疎 (sparse or scanty).…

1　Posts or pillars of the same or smaller diameter than the main pillars of a building.

2…

Translucent sliding screens *shōji 障子, opaque screens *…

Also pronounced chō.

1　The raised paths that divided and defined sunken paddies in ancient…

Window. Many other characters for window used have been used since the 6th century. For example: 窗 and 牒, 向 and 間戸 or 間門.…

A window sill. The horizontal part at the bottom of a window frame in a wooden building. The sill is supported by the base…

The window frame into which a window sash is installed. The timber that surrounds a window.

The non-penetrating tie beams used for the frame of a window opening. One, called madoshita nageshi 窓下長押, is placed…

A floor plan. The arrangement of rooms in a dwelling, including access points, windows, hallways, verandas, toilets, and…

Posts placed on each side of a window. In the case of thatched tea ceremony houses *…

A window frame into which a window sash or casing is set. The frame consists of two vertical side pieces, tatewaku…

The front gable of a gable roof that flows directly away from the ridge and extends further than the rear gable. The long…

A transverse timber positioned at the base of the latticework *kitsune gōshi…

Latticework or a grille *kōshi 格子 positioned between the hard-packed earthen…

Lit. "a true carpenter's square." A right angle or a 90 degree angle. A structural element that corresponds to a right angle…

Also 孫庇; matabisashi 又庇, 又廂. Lit. "grandchild aisle." A narrow additional aisle. Traditional buildings, especially…

A small section within a translucent sliding screen *shōji 障子 that can be opened…

Also called kozuka 小束. A very short strut or post used in a roof truss. Magozuka are the shortest struts…

1　The length of the front facade of a building or frontage of a plot of land from corner to corner. …

Lintel, header or head jamb. Also magosa まごさ. A lintel without grooves or tracks, placed horizontally at the top of…