A book about architecture I'm trying to read (it's a bit of a slog what with the technical jargon and such) contained this description of a temple building: 二重、初重５X4間、裳階 （もこし） つき、上重４X3間. So it's two stories, the first being five rooms by four, with lean-to rooms attached, etc. I have a few questions about this. First, how is the "X" in 5X4 read? Additionally, I'm assuming that 初重 and 上重 are read しょじゅう and じょうじゅう, respectively. Is this correct?
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4In fact that symbol is not X but × on computers. It is the symbol for multiplication. – Tsuyoshi Ito Aug 30 '11 at 21:06
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1My computer is special. (笑) – rdb Aug 30 '11 at 23:22
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The English "by" is read 「かける multiply」 in Japanese. A 3x4 matrix, for example, is 「3かける4行列」 in Japanese. I assume your readings are right in the second part of your question, but can't seem to find them anywhere.
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I think you are making a big miskate. As for ５X4間, you interpret it as 'five rooms by four', but it is not clear what that means, and probably that is wrong. 間 is a traditional unit for length. It is approx the long length of a tatami (about 1.8m). ５X4間 means a ５間 by 4間 rectangle.
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Thank you, sawa. That makes a good deal more sense in the context of historical architecture. For anyone else who's interested,in this case, according to the Wikipedia entry (which I should have thought to look up beforehand), 間 is read as けん. – rdb Aug 28 '11 at 20:34
