Also pronounced *ōmon. A generic term for a variety of styles of main gates. One…

Lit. daimyō garden. The Edo period strolling-style *kaiyūshiki teien…

A plane used to shave the base of another plane. It is very important in planing that the base of the plane stock, known as…

Lit. Great Sun. Translation of the Sk. Mahavairocana "(Great) Illuminating One"; also translated as (Dai)Henjō (大)遍照 "(Great…

A general term for gates belonging to the Imperial Palace, Kyoto Gosho 京都御所. The *Shōmei…

Also called ōro. A tea-room firebox or hearth made larger than the normal 42 cm square. Measurements varied, but…

Also written 題箋. Also called *harigedai 貼外題 and gedaigami 外題紙. A…

Lit. great master hall. Daishidō are temple buildings particularly important to the Shingon 真言 sect, established by…

A fairly large, portable, double-shelved display for tea ceremony utensils. Traditionally, it was used at the most formal…

Lit. large *tenshu 天守. The principal tower. The largest tenshu in a…

The largest type of bearing block *masu 斗, usually placed directly on top of a…

Lit. Large pagoda. A 2-storied pagoda. A large pagoda of the *tahōtō 多宝塔 type,…

A large bearing block *daito 大斗 with a bracket arm *…

1　A wall plate or top plate placed along the top of head-penetrating tie beams *…

A mite red, right-angle joint used at the corner, sumi 隅, of a building to join a wall plate, *…

Also called daiyūden 大雄殿 or *daiden 大殿. Lit. great leader's treasure…

A pedestal or dais upon which a Buddhist image is placed. The type of pedestal is related to the type of image it supports…

Also *daiza 台座. The pedestal or base beneath a sculpture, pagoda, or lantern.…

Also kazunemaru 重ね丸. An interjacent tile. A section of a semi-cylindrical roof tile laid between the first broad…

Also dakkanshitsu 脱乾漆, dakkatsu kanshitsuzō 脱活乾漆像, dakkatsu kanshitsu-zukuri 脱活乾漆造. Hollow dry…

1　The traditional term for kinpeki nōsaiga 金碧濃彩画, a painting which has strong colors, particularly…

1　Also written 反. A step. The level part or tread of a flight of stairs. When made of wood, the tread is…

1　A generic term for a level mound or platform raised above the surrounding ground. An earthen mound may be…

A simple step-ladder, also called hashigo 梯子 or hashigodan 梯子段. Examples include a *…

1　A roofing method that uses copper sheets laid in a step-like pattern.

2　A roofing…

Also written 壇正積; danjōzumi kidan 壇上積基壇. A style of podium introduced to Japan from Korea in the latter half of the…

Lit. layered pruning. A basic type of pruning *karikomi 刈込. When used for a…

Lit. cutting scenery. The technique of blocking off scenery outside the garden. Most often a large clipped hedge, …

Lit. a section. A vertical section scale drawing of a building or architectural detail shown either transversely, …

Also yokodanmen-zu 横断面図, also read ōdanmen-zu. Lit. a cross section drawing on the longitudinal axis. …

Japanese paper *washi 和紙 originally made from mayumi 檀 fibers (the…

A Buddhist statue made from fragrant, fine-grained wood such as white sandalwood *…

Sk: Bodhidharma. Ch: Damo. A semi-legendary Indian monk credited with bringing the teachings of Zen (Ch: Chan) to China.…

Also called yamaboko 山鉾, hikiyama 引山, maiguruma 舞車, odoriguruma 踊車, and yatai…

A structural member in the roof of the main part of a dwelling, placed above the 1-bay wide corridor, *…

A wall projecting 15-30 cm outward from the flat top, *inubashiri 犬走り, of a…

1　Also called *gagyō 丸桁 or gangyō. A round-eave purlin…

Small shrine buildings in an early Kasuga style, *kasuga-zukuri 春日造, that…

Also written 伊達. Originally derogatory, the term implies a man arrogant and full of his own prowess; it later came to…

Lit. pictures of Tartars hunting. A popular screen painting theme in the late 16th and early 17th century. The pictures…

1　Also deha 出端. Any architectural member which protrudes, projects, or extends outward. When…

The framing of opaque sliding screens, *fusuma 襖, and translucent sliding…

A one-stepped bracket complex parallel to but separated from the wall by the extension of a rainbow beam, *…

A compound that juts out or is slightly separated from the main components of a castle complex, which include: the main…

Also called de 出.

1　Also called *noki-no-de…

Also debana. A projecting part. An example is the coping that extend past the pillars on either side of a Shinto…

An abbreviated form of idei-no-za 出居座, lit. lodging without, lodging away from the main structure of a residence.…

Also kindei 金泥 and gindei 銀泥.

1　Gold or silver foil ground to a fine powder to…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 used to represent a terrestrial spirit or a dragon god.…

Gold eyes. A Noh mask, *nōmen 能面, representing a mature woman who carries within…

Also called kujirimayu 抉眉, or shakurimayu 決眉. A type of carved molding, *…

1　Outer citadel. Also tsukejiro 付け城, hajiro 端城, edajiro 枝城. A type of branch…

Lit. three-on-one at right angles. Sometimes called crisscrossed 3-on-1. A bearing block and bracket complex consisting of…

A lecture hall at Hōryūji Tōin 法隆寺東院 (Hōryūji East Compound), dating from about the mid-8th century, the time when the East…

Lit. things from overseas.

1　Objects brought from abroad, including numerous art works. See *…

Lit. things from past generations. Art works or antiquities which have been treasured among people for long period of time.…

A fixed-hearth, *ro 炉 or *rodan 炉壇,…

Also pronounced dezumi. Also written 出角. The external corner where two walls join to form an angle. The interior…

Lit. pasted paper leaf book. Also called *kochōsō 胡蝶装, as it is called in…

A loophole, *sama 狭間, that projects out from the frame of a window opening in…

Also hōdō 宝幢, tendō 天幢, or bandō 幡幢. A small, rectangular cloth banner on a pole used as a…

Lit. torso, trunk, cylinder, or barrel. The main body of the half-round or semi-cylindrical part of a cover tile, *…

Lit. dōan enclosure. Also called dōan zashiki 道安座敷 (dōan room). An enclosure used in a tea…

A tea ceremony room with an enclosure, *dōangakoi 道安囲 named after Sen Dōan 千道安 (1546-1606…

Entasis. The bulge in the center of a circular pillar to make it appear straight. In Japan, circular pillars called *…

1　Lit. earthen bridge. An earthen bridge, which is made by leaving an unexcavated section of moat in front…

Also read tsuchibei. Also called *tsuiji 築地. An earthen wall or…

The movable face plate. The most elaborate gimmick used on the bugaku mask, *…

Lit. body carving. The carver of woodblocks for *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints who was…

A title of artistic or cultural advisors in the Ashikaga 足利 shogunate, established about the time of Yosimitsu 義満 (1358-1408…

1a.) Furring strips made of thin wood or bamboo that are nailed horizontally to posts to form the base for…

A sill, ground sill, or footplate. Generally the heavy timber members laid horizontally at the base of a wooden building…

Also called tsuchidomesan. Narrow timber strips nailed horizontally to roof sheathing, *…

A man's hip-length jacket, generally worn over other clothing or armor by high-ranking samurai 侍 from the late…

Rotating eyes, a gimmick used for many bugaku masks, *bugakumen 舞楽面…

Lit. implement mat. The straw mat, *tatami 畳, on which the host sits when he…

Also dorui 土塁. An earthen embankment, earthwork, or rampart. A defensive embankment surrounding a castle or a…

1　Generally a base for tile roofing, *kawarabuki 瓦葺. A…

The foundation bed, shiki 敷, of an earthen embankment, *doi 土居. It has…

The process of spreading clay on the prepared surface of a roof in order to lay roof tiles, *…

Lit. child, young boy.

1　A boy between 8 and 20 years old living in a Buddhist temple. He studies…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 (a form of mandara centered…

The decorated 'belts' around the upper, middle, and lower circumference of the stem, sao 竿, of a lantern.

Lit. guardian boy's stones. Two symbolic garden stones (see *yakuishi 役石）…

A temple of the Tendai 天台 sect in Hidaka 日高, Wakayama Prefecture. The setting of a dramatic old Japanese tale first recorded…

Also called hikidokko 引独鈷; hikidokko ari 引独鈷蟻. One type of *…

Also written 洞戸, 道幸, 道古, 堂庫、or 道籠. A storage space for utensils used for the tea ceremony. The earliest type was probably a…

Lit. independent donjon or keep. Also called dokuritsushiki tenshu 独立式天守, dokuritsu tenshukaku 独立天守閣. A…

Independent post. An internal freestanding post, *hashira 柱, not attached to…

Lit. Daoist-style gardens. A general term designating gardens which incorporated Chinese Daoist ideas or motifs. The Daoist…

1　Alternatively called *niwa 庭 or dōji どうじ. An area…

Decorative drapery used on statues in the Kamakura region from the late Kamakura period. The drapery was made in clay relief…

Also written 純子. Patterned damask weave. A thick and glossy silk variety of shusu 繻子 (satin), with the design made…

Any painting produced with a type of thick, opaque paint made from inexpensive pigment and the white pigment, *…

A technique where a mixture of animal glue, *nikawa 膠, and powdered burnt clay…

Also 礬沙, 陶砂. Sizing. Dōsa is made by dissolving animal glue, *nikawa 膠…

Also written dōzuri 胴摺. The widest horizontal stile in the door of *heijūmon…

Lit. Daoist Buddhist paintings. A genre of painting on Daoist (Taoist; Jp: Dōkyō 道教) and Buddhist (shaku 釈 from *…

Also Sae-no-kami 塞の神 (also read Sai-no-kami), Dōrokujin 道陸神, and other less common names. A folk deity associated with roads…

1　The flat top of an embankment, *doi 土居, also called *…