Abstract
It is the most essential for the interior of Zen style to have the undersurface of pseudo-pitch-roof open up and to reveal the inner structure. Rainbow-beams, bottle-post, inner lever arms of eaves brackets and lobster-beams constitute the structural features of Zen style. These structural features and the lofty interior greatly influenced Japanese traditional style through the middle ages (12-16th century). As a result of this, one of the flowering periods for the Buddha halls came in Japan at that time in its development of the interior design. But there are still something obscure in the structural features of each type which can be classified according to the number of bays, because the inner structure of Zen style is regarded as quite fixed and the features of Buddha halls of the main Zen monasteries have not been made clear. The aims of this paper are to define the structural features and the characteristics of the interior of each type and to study the relation and influence on Buddha halls of Japanese traditional style.
