Hip-ridge

This roof style has two corner ridges (downward ridges) on each end of the main ridge. The roof surface is composed of two trapezoids and two isosceles triangles, and is also called shichu (four-legged roof) because rainwater runs off in all four directions. Like irimoya, the eaves run around the building on all four sides. It imitates an old Chinese custom, but until the Nara period, it was used on the roofs of the most prestigious buildings, such as the Daigokuden (Great Hall) in palaces and the Kondo (Golden Hall) in Buddhist temples. The oldest example is the Kondo (Golden Hall) of Toshodaiji Temple, and the Kondo (Great Buddha Hall) of Todaiji Temple also follows this style, although it was rebuilt in the Edo period. However, irimoya roofs were often used for buildings of this type after that, and hipped roofs came to be used for roofs of buildings that were somewhat more elaborate than gabled roofs, which do not have eaves on the gable side. Examples of shoin architecture include the Kuro Shoin (tiled roof) at Nishi Hongan-ji Temple and the Manjuin Shoin (shingled roof), and examples of teahouses include the Shonan-tei (shingled roof) at Saiho-ji Temple and the Toushin-tei (thatched roof) at Minase Shrine. Currently, shingles are also used in Japanese-style architecture, but Western-style roofing (such as Spanish roofing) is more commonly used for Western-style houses.

[Yamada Koichi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大棟(おおむね)の両端に二つずつの隅棟(すみむね)（降(くだ)り棟）が集まる屋根形式。屋根面は台形、二等辺三角形各二つの構成となり、雨水は四方に流れ落ちるので四注(しちゅう)ともよばれ、入母屋(いりもや)と同様、建物の四囲に軒が巡らされる形となる。中国の古い習慣に倣ったものであるが、奈良時代までは宮殿における大極殿(だいごくでん)、仏寺における金堂のように最高の格式をもつ建物の屋根に用いられた。唐招提寺(とうしょうだいじ)金堂がその最古の例であるが、東大寺金堂（大仏殿）も江戸時代の再建ではあるがこの形を踏襲している。しかし、その後のこの種の建物には入母屋が多く採用されており、寄棟は妻方向に軒をもたない切妻形式よりも多少とも凝った建物の屋根に用いられるようになった。書院建築では西本願寺黒(くろ)書院（瓦葺(かわらぶ)き）、曼殊院(まんじゅいん)書院（杮(こけら)葺き）があり、茶室では西芳(さいほう)寺湘南(しょうなん)亭（杮葺き）、水無瀬(みなせ)神宮灯心亭（茅(かや)葺き）がある。現在は和風建築にも用いられるが、むしろ洋風がかった住宅などに洋風瓦（スペイン瓦など）を葺いて用いることが多い。

［山田幸一］

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