Nakazonae
In origin they were necessary to help support the roof; however, at the end of the 10th century the invention of the hidden roof made them superfluous. They remained in use, albeit in a purely decorative role, and are typical of the Wayō style. The "Zenshūyō" style used by Zen temples has instead bracket complexes even between posts. Shuzhu or Kentozuka. The simplest of these struts are the composed of a short post and a bearing block. Minozuka. Similar to the "kentozuka" is the fan-shaped strut called (see gallery), which can have decorations on the two sides called  or a collar-like decoration between post and bearing block. The name comes from its shape, similar to that of a traditional straw raincoat called "mino". Hana-hijiki. A variant of the "hijiki" (肘木) or "timu" (替木) is the , composed by either one or two horizontal series bearing blocks standing over an elaborately carved floral pattern. Renzigong or Warizuka. The 人-shaped dougong (Chinese: 人字栱) strut consists of a wooden inverted V topped by a bearing block. Kaerumata or Tuofeng. The or tuofeng (駝峰) was named after its shape, resembling a frog's splayed legs. Its origins are not known  with certainty, but it may be an evolution of the "warizuka". Invented during the 12th century, it became gradually more and more elaborate, to the point where in the Edo period the strut itself would be hidden behind the decorations. Two basic types exist. In the case of the , the space above and between the frog legs is either empty or carved. In the case of the , the space between the legs has completely disappeared, leaving behind a solid board with an external frog-leg profile.