Irimoya

A xieshan style or irimoya (入母屋^?) roof in Japanese architecture is a hip roof (sloping down on all four sides) integrated on two opposing sides with a gable.^[1] It can be also described in English as a hip-and-gable, gablet, or (more ambiguously) Dutch gable roof. When however the angle of the hip-and-gable roof is greater at the gable, the roof is said to be a shikoro-buki (錣葺^?) or shikoro-yane (錣屋根^?) (see gallery).

Originally used only at Buddhist temples or shrines, its gable is usually right above the moya, or core, while the hip covers the hisashi, a veranda-like aisle surrounding the core on one or more sides. ^[1]

The style is of Chinese origin and arrived in Japan together with Buddhism in the 6th century. Normally called Irimoya-zukuri (入母屋造, lit. hip and gable roof style^?), it was originally used in the kon-dō and kō-dō (lecture hall) of Buddhist temples, but started to be used also for the honden at shrines later, during the Japanese Middle Ages.^[2] It is still in wide use, especially in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, but also in palaces, castles, and folk dwellings. In the last case, it is often called moya-zukuri (母屋造^?).^[1]

Gallery

References