The previous post briefly mentioned the roof beam framing system known as honya-date (本家建て, lit. ‘true house construction’). In this system, the roof framing (and associated posts) consists of two elements or assemblies: the upper roof or jо̄ya (上屋, lit. ‘upper house’) and the lower roof or geya (下屋, lit. ‘lower house’). The jо̄ya and geya were defined and discussed in a previous entry as part of the series on posts, which can be read here. Today we will a look briefly at some of the variation seen within honya-date framing, as a way of concluding our series on the beam framing of minka. This post, and indeed this series as a whole, only presents representative examples of the main beam framing systems; in reality there is huge variety in these types, both from region to region and within regions.

A typical example of *honya-date* construction showing the *jо̄ya* (上屋), which consists of the inner, taller *jо̄ya* posts (*jо̄ya-bashira* 上屋柱) and transverse beams (*koya-bari* 小屋梁) that support the principal rafter framing (*sasu-gumi* 扠首組); and the *geya* (下屋), which consists of the outer, shorter perimeter *geya* posts (*geya-bashira* 下屋柱) and associated wall plates (*keta* 桁), which support the common rafters (*taruki* 棰) and roof covering that extend past the external wall plane to form the eaves. Note the principal rafters (*sasu* 扠首) have pointed ends which terminate at the junction between the *koya-gumi* and the longitudinal beam known as the *kusa-keta* (草桁, lit. ‘grass beam’).

The beam framing system of simpler, hut-like structures, which lack a geya, are called suya-date (素家建て, lit. ‘basic house construction’).

Two examples of *soya-date* construction: *orioki-gumi* (折置組) framing on the left, and *kyо̄ro-gumi* (京呂組) framing on the right.

The relationship between the jо̄ya and geya in the simplest honya-date structure can be seen in the section diagram on the left below (the Furui 古井 house). The outer, shorter geya posts (geya-bashira 下屋柱) and inner, longer jо̄ya posts (jо̄ya-bashira 上屋柱) are connected with thick ties called tsunagi-nuki (繋貫, lit. ‘connecting tie’). However, because the inner row of jо̄ya posts along the long sides of the building present a hindrance in the use of the internal spaces, various methods were devised so as to be able to omit some or all of these posts. Jо̄ya posts that do not ‘get in the way’, because they are in the plane of a partition wall along the line of the ridgepole or in the plane of other partitions, can be linked by inclined/raked beams to the lower geya posts in the plane of the external perimeter walls; roof posts (tsuka 束) erected on these beams support the upper jо̄ya beams above, forming a two-tiered beam structure (the section diagram on the right below). There are many regional variations on this method of construction.

On the left, the Furui house showing *geya* and *jо̄ya* posts connected with *tsunagi-nuki* (繋貫). On the right, an example from the Tо̄hoku region where the *jо̄ya* posts have been replaced with roof posts (*tsuka*) that bear on a pair of inclined beams (*orioki* 折置), which frees up the interior. *Orioki* framing (*ori-oki-gumi* 折置組) refers to the framing system where the transverse beams sit directly on the external wall posts, and the wall plates are above and supported on the transverse beams.

An example of *orioki-gumi* framing where the *jо̄ya* post is replaced by a short roof post (*tsuka* 束) that bears on the lower transverse beam (*koya-bari* 小屋梁) and supports the upper transverse beam and upper longitudinal beam (*jо̄ya-geta* 上屋桁) of a two-tiered beam system.

Examples of *honya-date minka* from the Kantо̄ region. On the left, an example of the structural style known as *shikata-geya-zukuri* (四方下屋造り lit. ‘four direction *geya* construction’) with six transverse posts. On the left, a style from the same region known as *odachi-zukuri* (おだち造り) where some of the obstructive internal posts can be omitted by the use of longer, curved transverse beams. The *odachi* is the crown post that supports the ridgepole and common rafters (*taruki* 棰); note that there are no principal rafters (*sasu* 扠首) in this system.

Examples of *honya-date minka* from the *Chūgoku* region. In the example on the right, the internal post is offset to the right in order to create a larger unobstructed space on the left; in the example on the left, the internal post is omitted altogether by the use of a large central longitudinal beam (*nakabiki-hari* 中引梁).

Section of a small *minka* on Amami О̄shima (whose unique *minka* are discussed in last week’s post). The construction method shown here is called *sasuya-zukuri* (さすや造り), where the principal rafters (here called *sashiki* さしき) bear directly and only on the wall plates (*hon-geta* 本桁) without any intermediate roof posts, beams or ties. A single tier of transverse beams called *kyakuro* (きゃくろ), of the same dimension as the posts, serve as both beams and head rails for the sliding partitions. The method is unusual in that there are inner and outer posts, but the common rafters terminate at the same point as the principal rafters, indicating that this is a *suya-date* (素家建て) rather than *honya-date* (本家建て) construction, as it lacks a *geya.*

In the famous gasshо̄-zukuri style of minka seen in Toyama and Gifu Prefectures, the geya is skilfully resolved by having the ends of hockey-stick shaped beams called chо̄na-bari (ちょうな梁, lit. ‘adze beam’, not because the beam is adzed but because its shape is like that of an adze handle) bear directly on the external wall plates and geya posts. In Toyama Prefecture, this method of construction is called maieya-zukuri (まいえや造り). Many of the minka of Shirakawa (白川村), Gifu Prefecture, have chо̄na-bari only on the facade side of the structure; the rear is either two-post honya-date, or suya-date construction. This hybrid style is called katagi-zukuri かたぎ造り.