Kawara (瓦)

Tiles were introduced to Japan from continental Asia together with Buddhism and Buddhist architecture in the 6th century. It was not, however, until Edo – present day’s Tōkyō – developed into a big city prone to regular destruction by fire that tiled roofs were used in private housing as well. Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune began to encourage fireproof housing, which also included tiled roofs, in the 18th century.

As with many other handicraft, Kyōto’s craftsmen soon excelled at the making of tiles, developing into a leading centre for tile making, with more than 700 varieties being produced nowadays, Their usage includes shrines or temples, as well as traditional and modern houses. Tiles on machiya can broadly be divided into two groups: ichimonji-kawara (一文字瓦) and manjū-kawara (饅頭瓦). The ichimonji type of tile looks as if the ends were cut off which, together with the wave-like fashion in which they connect to one another, gives a feeling of continuity as well as a sense of unity and a good-looking impression to the townscape. The tiles can differ in their thickness, showing the wealth of the owner's family. The thicker the tiles, the richer the master of the house; the houses of large merchant families often feature quite thick tiles. This is also true for the manjū type, which are different in that they are covered by additional round tiles (nokisakigawara) at the points where they connect. 

For the roofs of machiya, several important traditional types of tiles are used. Most often, one can see

• Onigawara – placed at the end of the ridge cover, adorned with faces of demons to ward off evil spirits
• Nokisaki-gawara – tiles that are used like caps on joints of tiles
• Kerabagawara – tiles that stick out from the eaves of the roof