Hisashi (architecture)
Introduction moya''; red: ''mokoshi'', white: ''hisashi''The surrounding corridor is the hisashi. Museum model. partly-surrounding a . The space can be partitioned by  sliding in the grooves in the exposed floor beams () and lintels (). Residential.In Japanese architecture the term  has two meanings:# As more commonly used, the term indicates the eaves of a roof, that is, the part along the edge of a roof projecting beyond the side of the building to provide protection against the weather.# The term is however also used in a more specialized sense to indicate the area surrounding the ''moya'' (the core of a building) either completely or on one, two, or three sides. It is common in ''Zen'' Buddhist temples where it is a 1 ''ken'' wide aisle-like area and at the same level as the ''moya''. Pagodas called ''tahōtō'' also have a ''hisashi''.Open corridors or verandas under extended or additional roofs are also sometimes referred to as ''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 ''hisashi''. The ''hisashi'' can be under the same roof as the ''moya'', and be therefore invisible from the outside, or protrude and have a pent roof of its own as for example in the case of many Zen main halls (''butsuden'').The main purpose of the ''hisashi'' is reinforcing the building's structure against side motion. Japanese traditional architecture was based on the post and lintel system, which is intrinsically not very strong. To strengthen it, therefore, an extra row of pillars and relative lintels are added, supporting the ''moya's'' walls. The ''hisashi'' can be present on just one or all four walls, and is counted with the suffix  . A building can for example be said to be a 3 x 3 ''ken'', 4 ''men'' ''butsuden'' if it is surrounded by a ''hisashi'' on all sides.
A ''butsuden's'' floor plan A ''butsuden's'' floor planWhat follows 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 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 does not.
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