Tokyō (architecture)

Tokyō (斗栱・斗拱, more often 斗きょう)[note 1] (also called kumimono (組物) or masugumi (斗組)) is a system of supporting blocks (斗 or 大斗, masu or daito, lit.

elbow wood) supporting the eaves of a Japanese building, usually part of a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine.

[1] The use of tokyō is made necessary by the extent to which the eaves protrude, a functionally essential element of Japanese Buddhist architecture.

The roof is the most visually impressive part of a Buddhist temple, often constituting half the size of the whole edifice.

[2] Besides being determinant to the general look of the edifice, the oversize eaves give its interior a characteristic dimness, a factor which contributes to the temple's atmosphere.

An added benefit of the tokyō system is its inherent elasticity, which lessens the impact of an earthquake by acting as a shock absorber.

[3][4][5] This bracketing system, being essential both structurally and esthetically, has been altered and refined many times since it was imported from China.

[6] If the first bracket and block group supports a second similar one, the whole complex is called (futatesaki (二手先, lit.

The sumisonae (隅備 or 隅具) or sumitokyō (隅斗きょう) are the brackets at the corner of a roof, having a particularly complex structure.

[10] The mutesaki tokyō (see photo above) is a six-step bracketing system whose most famous example can be seen at Tōdai-ji's Nandaimon.

It is rare in extant temples, and its most important examples are found in Hōryū-ji's Kondō, five-storied pagoda and Chūmon.

Tsumegumi are typical of the Zenshūyō style, which arrived to Japan with Zen Buddhism at the end of the 12th century.