Lit. "sleeve shape." A type of water basin *chōzubachi 手水鉢 in…

A *dozō 土蔵 type of storehouse flanking the main shop *…

Aside or wing wall.

1　A generic term for a narrow wall projecting from either an inside or outside…

The process by which the diameter of the ends of large rainbow beams *kōryō 虹梁…

Small wing-like balustrades placed at an open angle to the right and left of the bottom of the steps leading to the veranda…

Also sodegawara 袖瓦, *tonemarugawara 利根丸瓦, tonegawara…

A defensive square projection in a castle wall on one side of the castle entrance *…

Lit. "sleeve udatsu." Extensions of the gable parapet walls *udatsu 卯立…

A large hall at a Zen temple. It was divided into two parts. The front part, called the *…

Lit. "accompanying stones." Stones arranged near to the main stone *shuseki 主石 of a stone…

1　A small reinforcement post attached to the side of a larger post or pillar. If a reinforcement post is…

1　A splice, fish plate, splint or brace. Timber strips attached to principal pillars to stabilize or…

A type of six-sided lantern. The canopy is thin with half-circled bracken-shoot patterns *…

Also called yosezuka 寄束 or wakizuka 脇束. Small reinforcing struts attached to one or both sides of a beam…

Also termed sōgawa 総河, sometimes written 総側 or 総川, sōguruwa 総郭, 総曲輪. The enclosure that surrounds a town…

Also written 曾木板 or 枌板; also called hegi-ita へぎ板. A thinly cut wooden shingle, 3 mm thick, and usually 30 cm x…

A basic bevelled scarf. A timber with a slanted cut, usually at an approximately 30 degree angle. To form a joint, a scarf…

Also called suberihatsugi 滑刃継; hauchitsugi 羽打継. A scarf joint. A simple butt joint made stronger by…

Lit. "Sōhen fence." A simple type of open fence named after tea master Yamada Sōhen 山田宗へん (1627-1708). Thin bamboo slats are…

Also written 惣社. Also pronounced sōsha or subeyashiro. A shrine that contains many deities, which may…

A ditch surrounding a property, usually dug between a road and private land.

Lit. "bottom-cleaning chisel." A chisel designed to clean out the wooden shavings which have accumulated in the base of the…

Also called sunakake 砂かけ, sunasukui 砂掬い, and ezue え杖. Also written 束杖. A thin wooden board…

Also called wakiku 脇区. The borders on the ends of the pendants *gatō…

Also read somakaku. Timber that is made square by hewing and shaving with a hatchet *…

The moment when tree felling begins to obtain the wood to be used for a statue.

1　The main entrance gate for many Zen temples. They are large, single-storied, 8-legged or 4-legged gates…

Also written 備. Also called kumimono 組物 or *tokyō 斗きょう. A set of…

An upper floor extending over the entire area of the ground floor of a building.

Also pronounced sorihashi. Lit. "curved bridge." A general term for an arched bridge. Soribashi include…

A plane used for moulding curved, wooden architectural elements such as gable boards or projecting rafters. The sole of the…

Also called terihafu 照破風. A generic term for bargeboards *hafu 破風 with…

Lit. "pagoda finial." The vertical shaft which protrudes from the top of a pagoda. The sōrin, whether made of…

Also called soriwatarō 反渡廊, taikobashienrōka 太鼓橋縁廊下. Roofed, open-sided corridors with a convex…

A roof with a concave curve that extends from the base of the ridge *munagi 棟木…

Lit. "foundation stone." A base stone which receives the dead load of a pillar. The upper side of the base stone was made…

A hall dedicated to the founder of a temple, especially at Zen 禅 temples.

The diaries of Kamiya Sōtan 神谷宗湛 (1551-1635), a wealthy merchant and tea ceremony master in Fukuoka Prefecture. Written…

A tea ceremony legend that probably dates from the first half of the 17th century. An old fox, the story goes, lived in the…

Also called sōtei zashiki 宗貞座敷. A 3-mat tea ceremony room *chashitsu…

A generic name for a pagoda (Sk: stupa) which has several roofs. Invariably they have an odd number of roofs. Most…

Also called Sakuradamon 桜田門. An entrance gate constructed 1664 at Edo-jō 江戸城 in Tokyo that preserves its…

The outer moat of a castle that has two or more moats. Generally, the inner slope, nearer the castle, is steep while the…

Lit. "outer fence." A generic name for any fence that encloses a tea ceremony house and garden *…

Also termed sōtō tenshu 層塔天守. A multi-storied castle tower. A technically advanced tower employing the same careful…

A lantern built for gardens in the form of a multi-storied stone pagoda with a flame holder. A famous example may be found…

The exterior measurements of architectural members. The term applies to any outside measurement whether it is the length,…

Outer tea garden. The section of the double teagarden nijū roji 二重露地 closest to the entrance gate, sotorojimon…

A common type of mud-packed fence with timber posts that are exposed on the exterior side. The posts are set one bay *…

Also written 滑り腮. Also *shikimen 敷面. This term refers to both the upper and lower sides of a…

The name of the groove cut several centimeters from the bottom of one of two posts erected on each side of an opening into…

Also called kōshibuta 格子蓋.

1　A lid or cover made for a cut-out in the floor of a kitchen…

Also called su 簾, *misu 御簾, and osu 小簾. Matchstick blinds.…

Reed ceiling. Also sudarebari tenjō 簾張天井. A ceiling covered in a mesh made from solid stems of bamboo …

Also sudaresama. A transom *ranma 欄間, with openwork…

Lit. "latticed door gate." A type of garden gate which features lattice, or basket-work of split bamboo. Varieties include…

The smaller end of a log. The larger end is called motoguchi 元口.

1　A roof with bargeboards of different sizes. Usually the front bargeboard, which extends from the ridge…

Also written 椙. A white or red Japanese cedar tree, also called cryptomeria. Japanese cedar is an excellent and widely used…

Also called sugishōji 杉障子. Doors made of Japanese cedar. Sugido constructed in the shoin style *…

Buildings roofed with cedar bark shingles which resemble cypress bark roofing *…

Bargeboards that have straight lines instead of the usual curves. There are two curved types: *…

Also written 須浜鬼瓦, also suhamagata onigawara 州浜形鬼瓦 or suhama 州浜. A dumbbell-shaped tile that is bent in…

Lit. "garden in the style of ink monochrome landscape painting." A modern term used for Chinese style dry gardens *…

Four decorative metal pieces attached at right angle to the metal sheathing that covers the tapered extended central pillar…

Also yokokajū 横荷重. A lateral load. A structural element that carries horizontally the weight of a load. The…

Suihei means water level or horizontal; also a perpendicular or vertical line made by ink dispensed by the string…

Lit. "water ring." The spherical second story of the five-ring pagoda *gorintō…

Suirinbashira are the outer circle of pillars that divide the exterior pillars from the core *…

Also arizan 蟻桟, suitsukizan 吸付桟 or suitsukiari 吸付蟻. A long, narrow dovetail tenon *…

Diagonal bracing set between the major posts that form the framework of a building wall. Their purpose is to strengthen and…

A carpentry gauge used to mark accurate, parallel lines on pillars, door frames and planks, or to accurately redraw the…

Also called *kurinuki kaerumata 刳抜蟇股. A frog-leg strut that is…

Also called sukashi-ita ranma 透板欄間, sukashi ranma 透欄間, itabori ranma 板彫欄間 and sukashikumi…

Lit. "see-through fence." A generic term for any kind of fence through which one can see. This type of open fence is used as…

A type of gate for temporary wooden enclosures. It is characterized by the attachment of horizontal, diagonal or vertical…

A tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室 distinguished from a genuine tea ceremony…

A variation of the *shoin 書院 residence; a mansion or a country house for the…

A term used by tile makers and setters instead of *marugawara 丸瓦, meaning a…

Also read kado-ishi 角石. Lit. "corner stone." Long, rectangularly-hewn stones laid horizontally at the corners of a…

Also nokisumigawara 軒隅瓦. Broad concave pendant tiles used at the eave ends of hip rafters *…

Also sumimune 隅棟. A descending corner ridge. A built-up ridge made of tile that follows the downward course of…

Also called kakubashira 角柱. A corner post or pillar that is square or rectangular.

1　A term referring to the arrangement of the utensils employed during a tea ceremony. Specifically, …

Also called honsumigawara 本隅瓦; sumi tomoegawara 隅巴瓦. A half-round, corner, eave-end, pendant tile; also…

Also called corner eave tiles, noki-no-sumigawara 軒の隅瓦. A general term for the tiles used at the corner of a…

A long, narrow, rectangular tile cover used to protect the edge of a hip rafter from weathering. It is conjectured that…

Also called furezumi 振隅. The degree of roof deflection on a roof that has a different degree of incline on the…

Also called sumidaruki 隅垂木 and ōdaruki大垂木. A hip rafter or corner rafter that forms a diagonal ridge which…

Decorative clay tiles shaped to fit snugly over the crosscut, exposed end of a hip rafter, sumigi daruki 隅木垂木. The…

Also called *sumiyuki hijiki 隅行肘木, or ushihijiki 牛肘木. A corner…

Lit. "corner tail stone." The stone that butts against the rear face tomozura 友面 of the corner stone *…

The ink identification marks on a large timber which indicated where it is to be cut into planks, pillars, rafters, ridge,…

Also sumimendo 隅面戸. A roof tile fillet. An asymmetric fillet positioned below the corner descending ridge *…

Also known as sumi-ito 墨糸. A carpenter's inking line. It is used for drawing a reference line (the procedure is…

The end or corner newel post of a railing *kōran 高欄. The post is topped by a…

One of several arrangements for positioning the fire-box *ro 炉 or fixed hearth in a…

Also written 墨芯. A bamboo brush or drawing spatula. The tip of a piece of bamboo is sharpened into a pallet shape and then…

Also written 隅具. Also called sumitokyō 隅斗きょう. A bracket complex *tokyō…

Also sumidana 隅棚. An ornamental, triangular shelf made to fit into the corner of a decorative alcove *…