| Lit. partition gate. A gate that partitions
or closes off one area from another. Two examples of partition gates are
found at Nijou Castle (Nijoujou, 二条城) in Kyoto. These are called nakashikirimon
中仕切門 because they are located at the inner or second enclosure (ni-no-maru
二の丸) and date from the second half of the 17c. One gate is to the northwest
of the castle while the other is to the southwest. They are each 1-bay,
1-story and have a half roof on the rear side and a unique fold-over roof
called katanagare maneki-zukuri 片流招造, on the front side. Just below
the fold-over roof is a short pent roof. These gates are positioned between
massive, stone ramparts. A horizontal beam, *kabuki
冠木, extends over the main pillars. Struts are used to support the ridge,
*munagi 棟木. Three transverse
beams, *hari 梁, that
form the framework for the pent roof and are placed between the kabuki
and the purlin and span the distance from one secondary pillar to the other.
The rafters are fairly widely spaced, *mabaradaruki
疎垂木. The tie beams, rafters, and the underside of eaves are coated with
white plaster. The roofs are tiled, *hongawara-buki
本瓦葺. The gate doors are made of wood but, like the main pillars, they are
covered with iron sheeting. Large bun-shaped metal bosses are nailed to
the main pillars to hide the door hinges. |
