Frog legs

In temple and shrine architecture, this is a component placed between the kashiranuki (rail beam) that connects the tops of pillars and the girder under the eaves, or on top of a beam. It is so named because it resembles a frog with its legs spread. Ancient kamagata were made from a thick board of a single piece of wood and were structural materials placed on top of the beams to support the materials above, but from the late Heian period they were also placed between the kashiranuki and the girder and became decorative. From this time they were made from two pieces of wood with a symmetrical outline, but eventually they came to be made by hollowing out a single piece of wood and arabesque patterns were placed inside as decoration. In the Middle Ages, interior decorations became more diverse, and in the early modern period they became ornate with carvings of plants and animals. A thick board made of nothing but kamagata is called ita-kamagata, and one with the inside hollowed out is called hon-kamagata.

[Kudou Yoshiaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

社寺建築で柱の頂部をつなぐ頭貫(かしらぬき)と軒下の桁(けた)との間や、梁(はり)上に置かれる部材。カエルが股(また)を開いたような形をしているのでこの名がある。古代の蟇股は一木の厚い板でつくられ、梁の上に置かれて上の材料を受ける構造材であったが、平安時代後期から頭貫と桁の間にも入れられ、装飾化する。このときから輪郭を左右対称に2本の木でつくられたが、やがて一木をくりぬいてつくられるようになり、内部に飾りとして唐草が入れられる。中世になると内部の飾りが多様になり、近世になると動植物が彫刻されて華麗になる。厚板だけのものを板蟇股、内部をくりぬいたものを本蟇股という。

［工藤圭章］

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