Hidden roof

The hidden roof (野屋根, noyane) is a type of roof widely used in Japan both at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is composed of a true roof above and a second roof beneath, permitting an outer roof of steep pitch to have eaves of shallow pitch, jutting widely from the walls but without overhanging them. The second roof is visible only from under the eaves and is therefore called a "hidden roof" (giving its name to the whole structure) while the first roof is externally visible and is called an "exposed roof" in English and "cosmetic roof" (化粧屋根, keshōyane) in Japanese. Invented in Japan during the 10th century, its earliest extant example is Hōryū-ji's Daikō-dō, rebuilt after a fire in 990.