tap’o style

tap’o style, Korean adaptation of a Chinese architectural style first introduced from China late in the Koryŏ period (935–1392). Tap’o means literally “multibracket,” and its main feature is the adoption of intercolumnar brackets besides those on column heads. With the introduction of tap’o style, the brackets had more than three longitudinal spreaders to support eaves purlins, or timbers. Buildings in the tap’o style are much more decorative than those in the preceding chusimp’o, or column-head...