Fig. 247.—Gateway to city residence.
Another gateway not so pretty, but showing one of the many grotesque ideas of the Japanese, is shown in [fig. 249]. Here the upper transverse beam is a huge and crooked log of wood,—an old log which had been dragged from the forest just as it fell in ruins from some tree. This peculiar way of arching a gateway with a tortuous stick is quite commonly seen.
Fig. 248.—Gateway near Tokio.
Fig. 249.—Gateway.
[Fig. 250] represents a typical form of gateway often observed in the suburbs of Tokio and farther south. Its roof is quite large and complex, yet not heavy. The gate has a wide over-hanging roof of bark; the ridge consists of large bamboos placed longitudinally in two sets, each set being kept apart from each other as well as from the roof by thick saddles of bark resting across the ridge, the whole mass tied together and to [pg 264] the roof by a black-fibred root, the ends of these cords being twisted above into an ornamental plume. Smaller bamboos are placed at intervals nearly to the eaves of the roof. The rafters below were of different sizes and shapes in section, being round and square. The sketch will more fully explain the structure.