rurigawara　瑠璃瓦

KEY WORD :　architectures / roofing tiles

Lit. lapis lazuli tile. A tile to which a blue glaze (ruriyuu 瑠璃釉) has been applied. The glaze is made from feldspar (chouseki 長石) to which a small quantity of cobalt oxide (kobaruto sankabutsu コバルト酸化物) is added、 turning the glaze blue or greenish blue. Since this glaze has insufficient viscosity, it must either be applied in several layers or an adhesive substance must be added to produce a rich depth of color. Glazed tiles were not used extensively in Japan. They were far more popular in China and the Korean peninsula. Examples; a pair of blue-green tiles found at Kyouougokokuji 教王護国寺 (also called Touji 東寺) first half of the Heian period (end of 8c-10c). Both are pendant (*gatou 瓦当) tiles placed along the edge of the eaves. It is doubtful that the entire roof was covered with glazed tiles. It is generally believed that they were used only along the eave-ends.

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