Sashigamoi

What sashigamoi means

A sashigamoi is a deep lintel whose ends are mortised into the posts on either side. An ordinary kamoi is the grooved rail that guides the tops of sliding doors and screens; it is slender and carries almost no load. A sashigamoi has a section closer to that of a beam, ties the posts firmly together and also bears weight from above.

In farmhouses it is most often used between one room and the next, or between the earth-floored area and the raised rooms. A deep sashigamoi allows a wide opening without an intermediate post, and with the doors removed the rooms can be used as one. It was therefore also a means of reducing posts and opening up the plan, and records sometimes cite plentiful sashigamoi as a mark of farmhouses of the late Edo period.

Neighbouring members differ in role. The Nageshi is a finishing member nailed to the face of the posts and carries no doors. The Nuki passes through the posts to brace the frame and is usually hidden within the wall. The sashigamoi carries doors while also doing structural work, combining functions of both.

Reading the records and the building

Records note the quantity and size of sashigamoi and the number of grooves. The record for the main house of the Nakamura family names the relatively frequent use of sashigamoi as a late Edo trait. The record for the Nakasuji family house cites deep sashigamoi as evidence of fine timber and skilled work, and the record for the main house of a shrine-priest family in Hidakagawa, Wakayama, lists a four-groove sashigamoi between rooms among its old-fashioned features. The number of grooves shows how many and what kind of sliding panels fitted there.

On site, look at the depth of the lintel between rooms. A thick member reaching toward the ceiling, spanning between posts and grooved on its underside for doors, is a sashigamoi. An ordinary lintel is slender, with a strip of wall or a transom above it.