oni-ita　鬼板

KEY WORD :　architecture / roofing tiles

A wooden board or an undecorated tile used in place of ogre face tiles *onigawara 鬼瓦 at each end of the main ridge. Originally, in the 7-8c, tiles were used as a device to prevent leaks and general weathering on the ridge ends. According to some scholars, these were rarely decorated with an ogre face, but were left plain. Oni-ita are believed to have appeared first in the 8c and became very popular during the Heian period. Many oni-ita were covered with copper sheeting in later periods. The name in later periods, is also used for a ridge-end plate with an ogre mask. A few examples can be seen on miniature shrines *zushi 厨子 placed within the *hondou 本堂, the chief sanctuary, of a temple. One example of wooden oni-ita with an ogre mask attached is found at Joukouji Hondou 定光寺本堂 (between 14 -16c) in Aichi prefecture and Houjuuji Kokuuzoudou 法住寺虚空蔵堂 (1485) in Nagano prefecture.

REFERENCES:

EXTERNAL LINKS:

NOTES:

(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.　No reproduction or republication without written permission. 掲載のテキスト・写真・イラストなど、全てのコンテンツの無断複製・転載を禁じます。