Katsuogi (Ridge Logs)
Cylindrical logs placed horizontally along the roof ridge of a shrine
Katsuogi are short, cylindrical or rounded logs laid horizontally across the roof ridge of a Shinto shrine building. Together with chigi (the forked finials at each end), katsuogi form one of the defining visual features of shrine architecture.
Like chigi, the number of katsuogi is traditionally said to indicate the gender of the enshrined deity: an odd number suggests a male kami, while an even number suggests a female kami. Again, this convention is most consistently observed at Ise Jingu and is not a universal rule.
The name katsuogi literally means 'bonito-wood,' as the logs' shape resembles a dried bonito fish (katsuobushi). Originally these logs may have served the practical purpose of weighing down the thatch roofing. Over centuries, they became standardized ornamental elements that immediately identify a building as a Shinto shrine rather than a Buddhist temple or secular structure.