瓦 (Kawara) – Roof tile

10th May – 皐月

Roof tile which are made from clay.

The view of Japanese towns is unique – mixture of modern and old buildings everywhere. When you see the rooftop of the houses, you can see the old houses have those fish scale-look roof tiles called 瓦 (Kawara).

Kawara is baked very high temperature, therefore it is very strong. It does not break easily and no need for maintenance. It is said Kawara can last for over 100 years without the effects from winds and snow. Also it has good sound insulation, thermal insulation and cold resistance, so it has many great points to have.

There are mainly 3 style of Kawara in Japan:

-和型 (Wagata): Also called as J型, gentle waving shape. Used often in the old building rooftop

-平型 (Hiragata): Also called as F型, flat plate style. Used often in the modern style buildings

-スパニッシュ型 (Spanish Gata): Also called as S型, it has flat and waving mixed tile and used for the rooftops which has uneven shape

Also the surface can be different types, such as 釉薬瓦 (Yuuyaku Gawara) – coating with the ceramic glaze and いぶし瓦 (Ibushi Gawara) – unglazed tile which often has silver color.

Each parts of the Kawara rooftop has its own name:

桟瓦 (San Gawara) – the main part of the rooftop

万十軒瓦 (Manjuunoki Gawara) – The bottom edge of the rooftop

袖瓦 (Sode Gawara) – Right and left edge of the rooftop

角瓦 (Kado Gawara) – The bottom edge corner of the rooftop on right and left

冠瓦 (Kan Gawara) – Top long part of rooftop

鬼瓦 (Oni Gawara) – The top pointy part of rooftop decorated with sculptured Kawara. Often has Demon face on it

etc…

With all the different parts, Kawara can consist the huge rooftop!