Omoya
Introduction hisashi'', red: ''mokoshi''In Japanese architecture, the  is the core of a building. Originally, the central part of a residential building was called ''omoya''. After the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century, ''moya'' has been used to denote the sacred central area of a temple building. It is generally surrounded by aisle like areas called ''hisashi''. In temples constructed in the hip-and-gable style (''irimoya-zukuri''), the gabled part usually covers the ''moya'' while the hipped part covers the aisles.
A ''butsuden's'' floor plan A ''butsuden's'' floor planThe drawing shows the floor plan of a typical Zen main ''butsuden'' such as the one in the photo above at Enkaku-ji in Kamakura. The core of the building (''moya'') is 3 x 3 ken wide and is surrounded on four sides by a 1-ken wide ''hisashi'', bringing the external dimensions of the edifice to a total of 5 x 5 ken. Because the ''hisashi'' is covered by a pent roof of its own, the ''butsuden'' seems to have two stories, but in fact has only one. This decorative pent roof which does not correspond to an internal vertical division is called , literally "skirt story" or "cuff story". The same structure can be found in a ''tahōtō'' with the same effect: the structure seems to have a second story, but in fact it doesn't.
References