chounabari　釿梁
KEY WORD :　architecture / folk dwellings
　
Transverse roof beams that span the distance from the center posts of a vernacular house with a thatched roof to the *kawabashira 側柱 or *geyabashira 下屋柱 along the sides of the building. The beams are large in cross-section and straight for most of their length but bend sharply downward at the peripheral zone of the building *geya 下屋. The shape of the beam is thought to look like an adze *chouna 釿, hence the name chounabari. The main purlin *jouyageta 上屋桁 is supported by the chounabari, allowing the mainframe posts *jouyabashira 上屋柱 to be dispensed with and avoiding the need for inconvenient supports. This vertical economy, however, requires a doubling of the horizontal plane because the chounabari do not support the *sasu 叉首 directly. Instead jouyageta and other longitudinal members that lie on the chounabari support the main transverse beam *jouyabari 上屋梁. The carpenters *daiku 大工 of the period made imaginative use of the twisted trunks growing on the steep mountain slopes near the structure, allowing roof loads to be transferred to the lower geyabashira and the elimination of the jouyabashira . Chounabari were usually disposed symmetrically in the parts of the building where they were used. They became a popular stylistic feature doubtless because of their impressive appearance. Also referred to as teppou 鉄砲 (gun), because of a perceived resemblance to a gun.
　


Nagatomi 永富 house (Hyougo)

　
REFERENCES:
*chouna-zukuri 釿造
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