A loophole, *sama 狭間, that projects out from the frame of a window opening in…

Lit. torso, trunk, cylinder, or barrel. The main body of the half-round or semi-cylindrical part of a cover tile, *…

Lit. dōan enclosure. Also called dōan zashiki 道安座敷 (dōan room). An enclosure used in a tea…

A tea ceremony room with an enclosure, *dōangakoi 道安囲 named after Sen Dōan 千道安 (1546-1606…

Entasis. The bulge in the center of a circular pillar to make it appear straight. In Japan, circular pillars called *…

1　Lit. earthen bridge. An earthen bridge, which is made by leaving an unexcavated section of moat in front…

Also read tsuchibei. Also called *tsuiji 築地. An earthen wall or…

1a.) Furring strips made of thin wood or bamboo that are nailed horizontally to posts to form the base for…

A sill, ground sill, or footplate. Generally the heavy timber members laid horizontally at the base of a wooden building…

Also called tsuchidomesan. Narrow timber strips nailed horizontally to roof sheathing, *…

Lit. implement mat. The straw mat, *tatami 畳, on which the host sits when he…

Also dorui 土塁. An earthen embankment, earthwork, or rampart. A defensive embankment surrounding a castle or a…

1　Generally a base for tile roofing, *kawarabuki 瓦葺. A…

The foundation bed, shiki 敷, of an earthen embankment, *doi 土居. It has…

The process of spreading clay on the prepared surface of a roof in order to lay roof tiles, *…

The decorated 'belts' around the upper, middle, and lower circumference of the stem, sao 竿, of a lantern.

Lit. guardian boy's stones. Two symbolic garden stones (see *yakuishi 役石）…

Also called hikidokko 引独鈷; hikidokko ari 引独鈷蟻. One type of *…

Also written 洞戸, 道幸, 道古, 堂庫、or 道籠. A storage space for utensils used for the tea ceremony. The earliest type was probably a…

Lit. independent donjon or keep. Also called dokuritsushiki tenshu 独立式天守, dokuritsu tenshukaku 独立天守閣. A…

Independent post. An internal freestanding post, *hashira 柱, not attached to…

Lit. Daoist-style gardens. A general term designating gardens which incorporated Chinese Daoist ideas or motifs. The Daoist…

1　Alternatively called *niwa 庭 or dōji どうじ. An area…

Also written dōzuri 胴摺. The widest horizontal stile in the door of *heijūmon…

1　The flat top of an embankment, *doi 土居, also called *…

Also called tsuchi-no-tō 土の塔 or dantō 段塔. Lit. earthen pagoda. Dantō means stepped pagoda. A…

Also read dodome-ita, and called *seki-ita 堰板. The sheathing boards…

Lit. saw with attached spine. A tenon or back saw. A saw designed especially to cut the shoulder of a tenon. The blade is…

1　A type of floor found in vernacular houses, *minka 民家, used…

A large, heavy horizontal timber attached to the tops of posts, *hashira 柱,…

A form of storehouse which provided a fireproof place to keep valuables which were otherwise always at risk in highly…

Also referred to as *kura-zukuri 蔵造. A fireproof building construction…

Also written 蝦の腰 or 蝦腰. A type of decorative molding *kurigata 繰形, used on…

Also written 蝦虹梁.

An usually-shaped rainbow tie beam thought to resemble the back of a lobster or shrimp or an s-shape…

1　A structural post considered sacred in an Edo period vernacular house *…

A simple structure that was usually erected in the center of a market place to house the deity *…

Also written 蝦束; also hinazuka 雛束. 

A small strut with chamfered corners used between two staggered…

Also written 絵振板 or 恵振板.

A board cut in a decorative shape and attached at a right angle to the projecting end of a…

Also written 絵振台. Also called onigawaradai 鬼瓦台, *onidai 鬼台. 

Lit. branch strut. Also called hōzue 方杖; hasuzuka 斜束 or nanamezuka 斜め束. Diagonal braces used in…

Lit. branch charcoal. A type of charcoal which is both ornamental and easy to ignite, used in either a sunken hearth *…

An archaic term for tiles of low quality used in Edo (now Tokyo) during the Edo period to roof tenement houses *…

Lit. Edo black. A black plaster finish applied to the walls of fireproof mud-plastered storehouses *…

A standard unit of measurement used in Edo and various towns in the Kantō 関東 region. In constructing an ordinary…

Also jōyatō 常夜灯. 

A device to prevent the votive light in a lantern from going out.

Also written 腋門, or read *wakimon 脇門. 

A small gate…

Lit. picture horse hall. Also called emaden 絵馬殿; emadokoro 絵馬所 or gakuden 額殿 (frame hall),…

The domed lid of a tea ceremony kettle with an indentation or depressed area around the knob. Sometimes called a fuji…

The boards used to make the floor over a veranda framework. There are two common methods: kirime-en 切目縁 and …

Also written 椽長押; sometimes called *kirime nageshi 切目長押. A non-…

Ch: Yuanye. Lit. garden building. The only extant treatise on classical Chinese garden construction. Written by the…

1　Also *engawa 縁側. A veranda. Formerly, en and …

Also engawabashira 縁側柱. 

Posts or pillars usually set on the floor boards *…

Also written 苑池. Lit. garden pond. The large ponds in gardens of the Nara, Heian, and Kamakura periods. Specifically, the…

Lit. circular pillar seat. A rounded molding carved into the top of a base stone *soseki…

Lit. circular hall. Although the literal meaning of endō is round structure (see *…

A heavy horizontal member attached to the outside of the veranda framework over the veranda struts *…

Also called *gatō 瓦当. The circular pendant tiles attached to semi-circular…

Also wirtten 掾側. The area beside or surrounding the straw matted *tatami 畳…

Lit. full moon bridge. A semi-circular garden bridge that, when reflected in the water below, presents the circular…

The horizontal boards positioned across the front of a veranda on top of the struts *…

Lit. veranda ear board. The outermost board on the kure-en 榑縁 type of veranda which has long floor boards running…

A penetrating tie-beam that connects and strengthens the veranda struts *enzuka…

Lit. end of the veranda water basin. A type of tall, cylindrical wash basin *…

Lit. round star type. A variety of *ensaki chōzubachi 縁先手水鉢, end of…

Lit. Enshū gate. A type of projecting fence *sodegaki 袖垣 featuring upper…

One type of lantern. Generally six-sided with an elongated canopy *kasa 笠 and…

Also written 円相床; also marumadodoko 丸窓床. A circular window placed in the center of the rear wall of an alcove *…

Lit. circular window fence. A common type of projecting fence *sodegaki 袖垣…

Lit. circular window lattice sleeve fence. A type of narrow screen fence *sodegaki…

Lit. veranda corner rafter. Also called sumisasu 隅扠首. 

A brace placed under the outer corners of a…

Also written 椽繋. Short horizontal bearers that join the outer veranda posts *enzuka…

1　A matting made of straw, rushes, sedge, or cattails woven in a spiral pattern that was used for bedding,…

Lit. distant mountain stone. The stone in an arrangement placed above or behind artificial mountains *…

Also written entanbashira 縁短柱, also pronounced entsuka. Struts *tsuka…

Also called iriwa 入輪. Lit. a collar ring. A collar tenon. It has a step-like piece called a collar, cut on each…

Also called iriwadome 入輪留 or eridome 襟留. Lit. collar miter. An angle joint *…

Also read san. Lit. hanging branches. 

1　A sheathing made of boards and bamboo woven…

The holes made in roofing lath to allow rope to be passed through and tied, thus making the lath secure. An example can be…

Sometimes called *tarukidake 垂木竹: noboridake 昇竹 or sasudake…

Bracket arms *hijiki 肘木, that are decorated with *…

1　A Nara and Heian periods term used to refer to any kind of design, which included a sketch for a statue…

Also written 絵様刳形. Low relief carvings which use curved lines. The carvings are found, for example, on nosings *…

A low relief architectural decoration carved into beams *hari 梁, nosings…

A curved wooden border attached to the end of a desk or shelf to prevent brushes and scrolls from rolling off. It is also…

A hall in a Buddhist temple dedicated to the deity *Fudō Myōō 不動明王 (Sk:…

Lit. flute post. The thick post at the right rear corner of a noh stage, *…

Also called Shigatsudō 四月堂; *Sanmaidō 三昧堂. A Buddhist temple in which the main deity…

Lit. Fuji shape. A common type of *shizenseki chōzubachi 自然石手水鉢,…

Also fukasanjō-no-seki 深三畳席. A tea ceremony room of three mats. One of the mats is about one quarter normal size,…

The length of the visible surface of an ordinary broad, concave roofing tile, *…

1　Also written 葺返. A board which projects diagonally out from the top of a statue canopy, *…

A gate without doors. It may be a roofed opening in a fence or wall, but no gate leaves are hung on the structure.

Also written 葺卸. The extension of a roof or the elongation of eaves on the main part of a building in order to cover an…

The layer of clay spread on sheathing, *shitaji 下地, sometimes called …

1　The arrangement of muntins, lattice (*fukiyose gōshi…

The grouping of two or three parallel rafters placed closely together with a wide space between each group. The spaces…

Lit. grouped or varying numbered lattice. Lattice or small beams arranged to form patterns in transoms, *…

Also written 覆鉢; also called fukuhatsu ふくはつ. The small inverted bowl-like fixture placed on the box-like cover, *…