An ingenious fire prevention method devised by the medieval Japanese constructors was to collect rain water directly on the roof, in wooden barrels called tensuioke - which actually means “rain barrel".

You can see this technique built on the roof of the Kongobuji at Koya-san. In case of a fire alarm, the barrels on top of the roof were quickly emptied over the layers of hinoki Japanese cypress bark shingles.

Kongobuji, Koya-san, Wakayama

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Momijigari at Shiogama Jinja