Sk: a-hum. 'A' is the sound of the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet and is pronounced with the mouth open.…

Ch: Efang Gong. The Efang Palace. A residence for concubines built by the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi…

Erotic or suggestive pictures. Derived from the word "abunai あぶない" meaning dangerous or risqué. More explicit works…

Also written あぶりだし. Hidden pictures that are painted or printed on paper using rice-wine, alum, or citrus juice, which then…

A raised platform with a *tatami 畳 mat on top, often having a brightly…

A subject of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, especially of *…

Lit. locks of hair/four cornered; "an elaborate three-looped knot, it also designates a young girl's coiffure" -…

A method used by Japanese painters to produce a copy *mosha 模写, and in that way…

A statue of a figure with its mouth open. Usually seen on one of a pair of guardian kings *Niō…

Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 colored in shades of indigo blue *…

Indigo. A plant of the polygonacede family from whose stems and leaves comes a blue dye and pigment for painting. Produced…

Lit. intermediate format size. *Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints of two sizes, both…

Also aobanagami 青花紙, tsuyukusairo 露草色. A blue pigment extracted from the dayflower tsuyukusa 露草…

Ch: Ayuwangshan. Mt. Asoka. A mountain near Hangzhou (Jp: Kōshū 杭州) in Zhejiang (Jp: Sekkō 浙江) Province associated…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅, or *…

Also Aizen'ō 愛染王. Sk: Ragaraja. A deity unknown in India. The word 'raga' originally referred to the…

Also *ai-e 藍絵 or aizuri-e 藍摺絵. A type of woodblock print *…

Sk: acarya. Teacher or master. A title conferred on an eminent priest who guides his pupils and sets a good example…

Also akazuri-e 赤摺絵 and *hōsō-e 疱瘡絵. Woodblock prints produced in the…

Lit. red youth. Also often called Kasuga Akadōji 春日赤童子. A mysterious human figure said to have appeared on a rock…

Lit. red book. Forms of illustrated popular fiction, *kusazōshi 草双紙, with…

Lit. small red book. A type of *akahon 赤本. Woodblock printed picture books with…

Crimson; madder red. Known as *sohi そひ in the Nara and Heian periods. Originally…

A pictorial subject based on Chapter 13 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji). In the third month,…

Lit. autumn plants. Often rendered as autumn grasses, a common design motif in decorative arts and painting. Most frequently…

Lit. Dutch paintings, ranga 蘭画 of Akita. A Japanese work in a European style produced by the earliest school of…

Also written as 阿瘤尉. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing a dignified, old man who…

A small river running through Takatsuki 高槻 City, Osaka (formerly Settsu 摂津 Province). Famous from Episode 6 of Ise…

A woodblock print designed and privately published to expose a secret indiscretion, then distributed to the home and friends…

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽, as well as the mask *…

Lit. nun. A character in kyōgen 狂言 plays, represented by a masked figure *…

A variation of *tenmokuyū 天目釉. A yellow-brown or liver-brown glaze…

A school of painting that arose in Kyoto during the 15th century, separate from the dominant painting ateliers of the Zen 禅…

Also Amida Nyorai 阿弥陀如来. Buddha of Infinite Light (Sk: Amitabha, Jp: Muryōkō 無量光), also Buddha of Infinite…

Lit. Amida Pure Land Transformation Scene. A large scale depiction of the Pure Land Paradise, gokuraku jōdo 極楽浄土 of…

One of a group of chanted prayers used to express penitence to various Buddhist deities. Prayers of repentance to *…

Also read Amida kuhon-in. Lit. Mudras of the nine grades of Amida. The Pure Land jōdo 浄土 into which *…

Lit. Amida triad. A triad consisting of the Buddha *Amida 阿弥陀 (Sk:Amitabha/Amitayus) at…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 used for performing the anchinhō…

The simplest form of robe that a Buddhist priest wears when he is either resting or at work. The andae is one of…

Woodblock printed sheets designed by lesser-known *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists…

A style of Buddhist statuary originated by Kaikei 快慶 (?-1189-1221-?), a devout believer in the Pure Land sect, Jōdokyō …

An Edo period illustrated book of popular fiction *kusazōshi 草双紙, with a…

Pictorial subject matter based on "Heartvine" Aoi, Chapter 9 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Lit. blue gold. An alloy of gold or silver which contains impurities that create a color with a bluish tinge. In painting,…

1　An old name for the pigment *iwa-rokushō …

Lit. rough cutting. The second stage in the making of a wooden statue. The first stage is to cut a large block of timber the…

Also *kiwame-in 極印. The printed censor seals that appear on an *…

Lit. rough clay. Clay mixed with other materials (known as *susa すさ),…

Sliding screens *fusuma 襖, on which various images are painted including a…

A shrine in Izumi 和泉 Province, Osaka. Best known from a tale about the famous poet Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 (ca. 868-945), who…

A type of *ehon 絵本, a woodblock-printed picture book. Small books of…

A repeating six-sided geometric design that resembles the leaves of the hemp plant, asa 麻. The design has six…

A pictorial subject based on "The Morning Glory" Asagao, Chapter 20 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

A color-name used in dyeing. A light blue color with a hint of green, made by adding yellow to a pale indigo dye *…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The broad bone structure, direct…

Also written 麻緒, 麻苧, asahimo 麻紐, asa-ito 麻糸. Cord or thread made from hemp, asa 麻, and Chinese…

Lit. reed-hand script. A decorative, pictorialized style of calligraphy, de 手, developed during the 9th century in…

A mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture associated with legends of *Yamauba 山姥 and *…

Lit. foot-tenon. A rectangular piece of wood that projects from the sole of a standing wooden statue and fits into a…

Ashuku, also Ashiku. Immovable One (Sk: Aksobhya). The name of a Buddha today generally associated with Esoteric Buddhism…

Sk: Asura. Also abbreviated to shura 修羅. Among the Indo-Iranians, the term Asura Ashura in Avestan,…

The Asuka period (538/552-645). So called because the capital of the new Yamato 大和 region was located in the Asuka district…

Lit. indeterminate shading. A type of *fuki bokashi 拭きぼかし, a…

Lit. later seal. An artist's seal placed posthumously on a painting or calligraphy, sometimes by a well-meaning person…

Lit. a later signature. A forged signature put on an unsigned painting or work of calligraphy in order to increase its…

Also read nochizuri. Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, produced…

Also written 厚葉. A thick type of paper called *ganpishi 雁皮紙. Because both…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the basic emaciated *…

The capacity to be moved deeply, an aesthetic ideal associated with Heian period literature and aristocratic values. An…

Awataguchi 粟田口 kiln. Also called awatayaki 粟田焼. A ceramic ware that was made in Awataguchi, at the foot of…

Multi-colored woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵, depicting the…

A figured or diagonally-woven twill fabric.

1　The twill form, ayasoshiki 綾組織 or pattern of…

Also written 霊神, 網像, 危. Noh masks *nōmen 能面, representing a wraith or a…

Also written 阿夜岐理 and called Aikirijo 愛嗜女. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and a…

Lit. going down to the East. In the pre-Edo periods, traveling from the capital city of Kyoto toward the Eastern provinces…

Also written 吾妻錦絵, *nishiki-e 錦絵, azuma-e 東絵, *…

Lit. Eastern cottage. A pictorial subject based on "The Eastern Cottage" Azumaya, Chapter 50 of Genji…

Lit. azusa bow. The azusa 梓 tree is a kind of birch. The phrase serves as a pillow-word, makurakotoba…

Also takushu 磔手 and chōshu 張手 (Sk: vitasti). A unit of measure that originated in India, used in the…

Lit. the hot water for tea. Also known as sadō 茶道 or chadō. The ritual art of preparing and drinking…

Father old man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a cheerful old man. The powder…

The path purifier, mask worn by the first actor in a procession of ancient theatrical performances gigaku 伎楽.…

Plovers or (rarely) sanderlings: small birds that live in flocks near water, a popular design motif either alone or combined…

The Buddhist acolyte form of the name *Kūkai 空海 (774-835; see *…

Lit. knowledge-fist mudra. A mudra or hand gesture *in 印 formed by…

Also referred to as the First mandala. A small wooden painting. The oldest of the Three Jōdo Mandalas *…

Ch: Zhulin Qixian. Lit. Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. A pictorial theme based on seven Chinese literati who, to…

A yellow-brown paper made in China from bamboo fibers. Commonly known in Japan as *tōshi…

Also enjiraku or enchiraku 円地楽. A piece in imperial court dancing *…

Also called chinkinbori 沈金彫. A technique developed in aizunuri 会津塗 that involves cutting a design into a…

Also chinzō chōkoku, see *chinsō 頂相. Portrait sculptures of…

Also chinzō. Lit. head's appearance. A naturalistic portrait, sculpted or painted, of a Zen 禅 master's head.

A multi-colored print which was rolled around a bar and then rubbed to give it crinkles and creases as if it had been…

Ch: Zhang Guolao. Also called Tongxuan (Jp: Tsūgen 通玄). One of the Daoist, eight immortals *…

Ch: Zhang Liang・Huang Shigong. Heroic Chinese warriors of the Han dynasty. 

Zhang Liang (BC 168-137), originally…

Lit. pictures of horse training. One theme of genre painting *fūzokuga 風俗画…

Also read nagaban. Also called naga-e 長絵. Lit. long format. A size of *…

Eyes carved directly into the surface of a wooden sculpture. This method was in general use until the late Heian period when…