Japan Adventure

This is the Lecture Hall, said to have been influenced by Confusianism in style. It is roofed with famous Bizen Ware tiles, as the rest of the main buildings are. The tiles are 3 layers thick so that rain would never leak through the ceilings, even if tiles got broken. Each roof has a different symbol on its tiles. The lecture hall is "Six Leaves", the Shizutani Shrine is "Swallowtail" and the Confucian mausoleum depicts "Academic Freedom." This building was completed in 1701, and is supported by 10 camphor wood columns. Floors and columns are lacquered and are glossy like a mirror. The wood is zelkova, Japanese cypress and camphor and has never warped even though the building is always open to the elements.