A pagoda in Chinese architecture

A bracket system used in traditional Chinese construction to support roof beams, project the eaves outward, and support the interior ceiling

A lever arm in traditional Chinese construction, placed parallel to the rafters and raked at an angle to counterbalance the forces applied by the inner and outer purlins

A monumental gateway in Chinese architecture, having a trabeated form of stone or wood construction with one, three, or five openings and often bold projecting roofs, erected as a memorial at the entrance to a palace, tomb, or sacred place

A bell tower or pavilion in Chinese architecture, located at the right side of a city gate, palace entrance, or forecourt of a temple

A large drum tower or pavilion in Chinese architecture, located at the left side of a city gate, palace entrance, or forecourt of a temple

A screen wall in Chinese architecture that protects the main gate to a monastery or house against evil spirits, which were believed to move only in a straight line

The spirit way that led from the south gate to a royal tomb of the Tang dynasty, lined with stone pillars and sculptured animal and human figures

A compendium of Chinese architectural tradition and building methods, compiled by Li Jie and printed in 1103 CE

A cantilevered bracket in traditional Chinese construction

A bearing block in traditional Chinese construction

The short wooden billets placed at right angles to the ridge of a Shinto shrine

The crossed finial formed by the projecting barge boards at each of the ridge of a Shinto shrine

Originally, a sacred post in Shinto architecture, shaped by human hands. Later, a column, post, or pillar serving as the basic vertical member of a traditional Japanese wooden structure.

The indigenous religion of Japan, marked by a cultic devotion to deities of natural forces, ancestor worship, and veneration of the emperor as a descendant of the Sun-Goddess, Amaterasu

A style of Shinto shrine, based on the Ise prototype, but with the front slope of the roof extending to form a canopy over the entrance stair; this space eventually developed into a prayer room for worshipers

A style of Shinto shrine, characterized by a hipped roof extending from the main roof, over a centrally placed entrance stair at one gable end

A style of Shinto shrine embodying the original style of Japanese building, before the introduction of Buddhism

The hall of worship of a Shinto shrine, usually in front of the honden

The main sanctuary of a Shinto shrine

An approach through two gateways that are not aligned, so that it is necessary to make a sharp turn to pass from the first through the second, used for privacy in houses or temples, or for security in fortifications

A monumental, freestanding gateway on the approach to a Shinto shrine, consisting of two pillars connected at the top by a horizontal crosspiece and a lintel above it, usually curving upward

The covered gallery surrounding a precinct of a Japanese temple or shrine

A terracotta statue made for ritual use and buried with the dead as a funerary object during the Kofun period of Japan

A representation of Buddha

A large representation of Buddha

An assembly hall for monks in a Japanese Buddhist temple, in which sacred texts are read

A Japanese pagoda enshrining Buddhist holy relics

The crowning spire on a Japanese pagoda

Golden Hall: the sanctuary where the main image of worship is kept in a Japanese Buddhist temple

The principal south-gateway to a Japanese temple or shrine

The inner gateway to the precinct of a Japanese Buddhist temple

A structure from which the temple bell is hung, as one of the pair of small, identical, symmetrically placed pavilions in a Japanese Buddhist temple

One of a pair of small, identical, symmetrically placed pavilions in a Japanese Buddhist temple