What kakezukuri means
Kakezukuri is a method of building out over a cliff, steep slope or water, with tall posts rising from below to carry the floor. It is also called butai-zukuri, stage construction. The National Diet Library's commentary identifies the stage of Kiyomizudera in Kyoto as an example of the technique, noting that its origin is unclear but that a verb for building out over sloping ground seems to have been in use by around the thirteenth century.
The method is common in the main halls and Kannon halls of mountain temples on steep ground, giving worshippers a projecting floor from which to take in the view. Tall posts braced in both directions with through-ties support the raised floor. The main hall of Kiyomizudera, rebuilt in 1633, is a National Treasure, and its stage stands about 13 metres high.
Reading the records and the building
Records describe buildings as kakezukuri or built in the manner of kakezukuri. The method was also applied to small domestic buildings. The tea room of the former Yunoki family house, Seisōtei, in Kurashiki, Okayama, combines a tea room of three daime mats and a board with a two-mat sencha room projecting over the sloping garden in the manner of kakezukuri; its garden side is enclosed with shoji to heighten a stage-like effect.
On site, go beneath the building to see whether tall posts rise from the slope or cliff to support the floor. The way the ties join the posts and the height of the space below help in reading the scale and skill of the construction.
References
- 清水寺｜国立国会図書館「錦絵でたのしむ江戸の名所」コラム
- https://www.ndl.go.jp/landmarks/column/kiyomizudera
- 旧柚木家住宅（西爽亭）茶室｜国指定文化財等データベース（文化庁）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00001940
Last verified: 2026.09.26