What a giboshi is
A giboshi is the onion-shaped finial set on the newel posts of a Kōran or a bridge. It protects the end grain of the post from rain and finishes the elevation.
Records use it to name the type of railing. The subsidiary Itsukushima Shrine at Kasuga in Oita Prefecture, from the Meiji period, is described as a single-bay Nagare-zukuri hall under copper sheet with boat-shaped brackets, double rows of closely spaced Taruki, a gable of crossed struts, a Kirime-en with a railing of this kind, and two wooden steps at the front. One word names the whole railing type.
Bell towers use it. The bell tower at Tokujuji in Aichi Prefecture, built in 1934, stands on a hexagonal stone base with bracketing projecting two steps to carry a veranda with this railing, more bracketing above supporting a subdivided Gō-tenjō, and double rows of closely spaced rafters. The bell tower at Shounji in the same prefecture, from the late Meiji period, is ringed by a veranda with the same railing.
Steps carry them too. The hall at Tomobayashi Shrine in Osaka Prefecture, built in 1940, is described as having a Kure-en with a railing and wooden steps with newel posts bearing these finials.
Among the railing types
Railings come in kinds. Besides this one there is a type framed like bracketing, which the main hall of Kasuga Shrine in Oita Prefecture carries round its Kirime-en. Within one precinct the main hall takes one type and the subsidiary hall the other.
Some entries record only that a railing is present. The subsidiary Yasaka Shrine at the same precinct is described as having a railed plank veranda on three sides. The type is named only when it can be identified.
Bridges use them as well. Stone and timber bridges often carry them on their newel posts, and a bridge recorded as having railings may have these among them.
On site, look at the corners of the veranda and the head of the steps. A fitting on the post that narrows at the base and swells to a pointed dome is the finial.
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs: National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties (structures)
- https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/shokai/yukei_kenzobutsu/kokuho_bunkazai.html
- National Cultural Properties Database: Itsukushima Shrine, a small single-bay nagare-zukuri hall roofed in copper sheet
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009085
- National Cultural Properties Database: Tokujuji bell tower, its bracketed base carrying a veranda with a knobbed railing
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009295
- National Cultural Properties Database: Shounji bell tower, ringed by a veranda with a knobbed railing
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009304
- National Cultural Properties Database: Tomobayashi Shrine hall, with crossed finials, billets and upright ridge posts
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00014272
- National Cultural Properties Database: Kasuga Shrine Main Hall, its gable framed by paired curved beams and a bulbous strut, with a railed plank veranda
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00009084
Last verified: 2026.09.11