| A raised bead, nipple or seed motif that became
a common part of the decoration on the pendant tiles *gatou
瓦当 attached to semi-circular convex eave-end tiles *nokihiragawara
軒平瓦 and to broad concave eave end tiles *nokimarugawara
軒丸瓦. Because of direct relations with the T'ang dynasty during
the latter half of the 7c, more elaborate patterns were introduced from China for
both types of pendant tiles. The bead pattern became an integral form that encircled
the lotus petal *renben 蓮弁 motif of the
circular pendant tile and frequently filled the uppermost border on the broad
concave pendant tile. The size of the beads and their spacing varied. The bead
pattern continued to be used even after the lotus motif had been replaced by other
motifs, such as the comma patterns *tomoemon
巴文, sword tip pattern *kentoumon
剣頭文 and patterns that featured the temple's name, mei nokimarugawara
銘軒丸瓦. When the beads are consecutively placed in a row, the terms shumontai
珠文帯, *renjumon 連珠文 are
used. If the beads in a row are lozenge shaped, they are called renbishimon
連菱文, exemplified by a nokihiragawara excavated from the ruins of the site
of Daikandaiji 大官大寺, in Nara. |
