Shibi

A decoration placed on both ends of the ridge of ancient palaces and temples. It is also written as shibi, fusi, or pheasant tail, and is also called kutsugata. It is mainly made of tiles, but some are made of stone or gilt bronze. During the Han dynasty in China, the ridges of buildings were simply made high on both ends, but it was not until the Jin dynasty that shiio were decorated. In Japan, temple architecture was introduced from Korea during the Asuka period, and shiio was used, but from the Nara period onwards, onigawara tiles replaced shiio and became the mainstream decoration for ridges. Old examples of shiio can be found in the Tamamushi Shrine and the Kondo Hall of Toshodaiji Temple. In China, shiio changed towards the end of the Tang Dynasty to become shifun, which resembles a sea creature. In Japan, the use of shibi fell out of use during the Middle Ages, and in the early modern period, shachihoko, which was influenced by chikis, came to be used in castle architecture.

[Kudou Yoshiaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古代の宮殿や寺院の建築の大棟(おおむね)の両端に据えられた飾り。鮪(しび)、蚩尾、鵄尾とも書き、沓形(くつがた)ともいう。主として瓦(かわら)製であるが石製、金銅製のものもある。中国の漢代には、建物の大棟は両端が高い、反羽(はんう)の状態につくられただけであったが、晋(しん)代になって初めて鴟尾が飾られた。日本でも飛鳥(あすか)時代に朝鮮から寺院建築が導入されて、鴟尾が用いられたが、奈良時代以降は鴟尾にかわって、鬼瓦が大棟の飾りの主流を占める。現存する古い鴟尾の例は、玉虫厨子(たまむしずし)や唐招提寺(とうしょうだいじ)金堂にある。中国では唐末ごろから鴟尾が変化して海獣の形に似た蚩吻(しふん)となる。日本では鴟尾は中世になると廃れ、近世になって蚩吻の影響を受けた鯱鉾(しゃちほこ)が、城郭建築に用いられるようになった。

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