is a Japanese classification of several intercolumnar

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

s of different origin installed in the intervals between bracket complexes ('' tokyō'') at wooden architectures in East Asia. In origin they were necessary to help support the roof; however, at the end of the 10th century the invention of the

hidden roof The Also sometimes called . ''Koya'' is the technical term for the space between the roof and the ceiling. is a type of roof widely used in Japan both at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is composed of a true roof above and a second roof be ...

The hidden roof () is a structure, composed of a true roof with a second roof beneath, which permits to obtain a heavily slanted roof with arbitrarily shallow

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...

. Having its own, hidden roof support system, it made the ''nakazonae'' largely redundant. made them superfluous. They remained in use, albeit in a purely decorative role, and are typical of the

Wayō is a Buddhist architectural style developed in Japan before the Kamakura period (1185－1333), and is one of the important Buddhist architectural styles in Japan along with ''Daibutsuyō'' and the ''Zenshūyō'', which were developed based on ...

style. The ''Zenshūyō'' style used by

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temples has instead bracket complexes even between posts.

Shuzhu or Kentozuka

The simplest of these struts are the composed of a short post and a bearing block.

Minozuka

Similar to the ''kentozuka'' is the fan-shaped strut called (see gallery), which can have decorations on the two sides called or a collar-like decoration between post and bearing block. The name comes from its shape, similar to that of a traditional straw raincoat called ''mino''.

Hana-hijiki

A variant of the ''hijiki'' (肘木) or ''timu'' (替木) is the , composed by either one or two horizontal series bearing blocks standing over an elaborately carved floral pattern.

Renzigong or Warizuka

The 人-shaped

dougong ''Dougong'' () is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important in traditional Chinese architecture. The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural net ...

(Chinese: 人字栱) strut consists of a wooden inverted V topped by a bearing block.

Kaerumata or Tuofeng

The or tuofeng (駝峰) was named after its shape, resembling a frog's splayed legs. Its origins are not known with certainty, but it may be an evolution of the ''warizuka''. Invented during the 12th century, it became gradually more and more elaborate, to the point where in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

the strut itself would be hidden behind the decorations. Two basic types exist. In the case of the , the space above and between the frog legs is either empty or carved. In the case of the , the space between the legs has completely disappeared, leaving behind a solid board with an external frog-leg profile.

Types of ''nakazonae''

Image:Minozuka2.jpg, Minozuka (''

Rōmon The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shin ...

'', Hongaku-ji,

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

) Image:Horyu-ji28s3200.jpg, ''Warizuka'' (sides) and ''tokyō'' (center) (

Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is , or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery. The temple wa ...

) Image:Toshogu-Sleeping-Cat-Dsc3972.jpg, ''Sukashi-kaerumata'' (

Kitano Tenman-gū is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

) Image:Ita-Kaerumata Hongaku-ji Mon.jpg, ''Ita-kaerumata'', Yonkyaku-

mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * An ...

, Hongaku-ji,

Image:Hana-hijiki.jpeg, ''Hana-hijiki'', center, between two ''tokyō'' (

, Nandaimon)

Notes

References

{{Buddhist temples in Japan Japanese architectural features Timber framing