Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/600

494 JAPANESE ARCHITECTURE. BOOK IX. period was further accentuated by the raising of the roof in the centre ; sometimes, however, the portico is covered by a gable roof cutting into the main roof, this gable having a double curve being convex at the top and concave near the eaves. The introduction of this intersecting gable would seem to date from the 1 7th century, and probably owes its origin to European sources. The raising of the roof eaves in the centre of the main front is often found in cases where there is no porch, probably in order to give more importance to the entrance door underneath, consequently it is almost invariably found in the entrance gate- ways, and is the principal, if not almost the only, development introduced in later times. The design of the Japanese roof is so nearly identical with that in China that no further description is necessary, except that in the place of the bright yellow, blue and green glazed tiles found in China, those in Japan of the present day are either black or smoke- burnt, even in some of the more important temples the tile work has been replaced by wooden tiles and terminals covered separately with thick copper plates. This, however, has not the fine decorative effect of the glazed tiles, but the weight over the roof must in consequence be consider- ably diminished. As in China, the ridge at its termination and the heavy rolls descending at each end are all more or less accentuated by their dimensions, and by grotesque representations of dragons ; the elaboration of the brackets under the eaves is carried still further by carving the more projecting portions in the shape of dragons, and this fabulous animal is virtually allowed to run wild on the porches of both entrance gateways and temples, so that in the more modern examples, where the wall surfaces and columns are also either carved or painted, there is absolutely no repose. Passing to the internal design of the temples ; in the earlier examples the roof would seem to be of that description which is known to us as an open timber roof, showing the rafters which carry the tiles. The entire absence of trussing has already been referred to in speaking of Chinese roofs, and the example of Sangatsu-do at Todaiji Nara (Woodcut No. 510) dating from the 8th century, is interesting as it shows that at this early date roof timbers of considerable size were employed, and that the beams were cambered or curved upwards in the centre to provide against sagging. It is, however, strange that the Japanese carpenters whose work as regards execution and finish is of the highest order, should have remained ignorant of the value of the trussing of timber, and of the employment of diagonal bracing : to the absence of this knowledge, and in some measure to the weakness of the foundations consisting only of