| Title | Contains Image(s) | Description | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| arashikō ganna 荒仕工鉋 | A type of smoothing plane. The arashikō ganna is the first smoothing plane used on a piece of timber, planking… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| aratame-in 改印 | Also *kiwame-in 極印. The printed censor seals that appear on an *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| aratsuchi 荒土 | Lit. rough clay. Clay mixed with other materials (known as *susa すさ),… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| araumi-no-shōji 荒海障子 | Sliding screens *fusuma 襖, on which various images are painted including a… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ari 蟻 | Lit. dovetail shape. Also arigata 蟻形. The generic term for any part of a joint in a dovetail shape. The earliest… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| aridome 蟻留 | ✓ | A type of right angle, mitered, housed, and dovetail joint used mainly on flat timber as, for example, in the upper… |
Architecture, Joints |
| Aridōshi 蟻通 | 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… |
Art History, Painting | |
| arigata aigakihozo 蟻形相欠ほぞ | Also arigata aihozo 蟻形相ほぞ. Dovetail halving. A type of half-lap dovetail joint *… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| arigoshi 蟻腰 | The name of one section of a tea scoop. It is the deep indentation at the back part of a bamboo tea scoop *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| arihozo 蟻ほぞ | ✓ | Lit. dovetail tenon. Also *arikake 蟻掛. A tenon shaped like a dove's tail with… |
Architecture, Joints |
| arikabe 蟻壁 | 1 A narrow horizontal strip of wall between a long, light, binding beam *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| arikake 蟻掛 | 1 A dovetail joint with the dovetail tenon cut at the butt end about half the depth of one beam. It then is… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| arikubi 蟻首 | Lit. dovetail neck.
|
Architecture, Joints | |
| ariotoshi 蟻落 | Also called *arikake 蟻掛. |
Architecture, Joints | |
| aritsugi 蟻継 | ✓ | A dovetail joint used to attach the ends of two boards. The tenon *hozo ほぞ or… |
Architecture, Joints |
| arizuri 蟻吊 | Also written 蟻釣. A type of angled wood joint. A dovetail tenon *arihozo… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| asa-no-ha byōshibon 麻の葉表紙本 | A type of *ehon 絵本, a woodblock-printed picture book. Small books of… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asa-no-ha 麻の葉 | ✓ | A repeating six-sided geometric design that resembles the leaves of the hemp plant, asa 麻. The design has six… |
Art History, Painting |
| Asagao 朝顔 | A pictorial subject based on "The Morning Glory" Asagao, Chapter 20 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asagaokugi 朝顔釘 | ✓ | Lit. morning glory nail. A two-pronged nail bent into a right angle for the purpose of hanging a flower vase. The nail… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| asagi-iro 浅葱色 | A color-name used in dyeing. A light blue color with a hint of green, made by adding yellow to a pale indigo dye *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asakurajō 朝倉尉 | A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The broad bone structure, direct… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| asao 麻紵 | Also written 麻緒, 麻苧, asahimo 麻紐, asa-ito 麻糸. Cord or thread made from hemp, asa 麻, and Chinese… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ashi 足 | Lit. leg or foot. Also 脚, read ashi or kyaku. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashiage 足揚 | 1 A structure erected in the central open space, miyaa みやあ, of a settlement in Okinawa Prefecture… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| ashiagekura 足揚倉 | Also simply called *ashiage 足揚. A type of thatched storehouse set upon a… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashiba 足場 | Scaffold or scaffolding. A temporary, elevated structure used to support workmen, tools, etc. when erecting a building.… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashide 葦手 | Lit. reed-hand script. A decorative, pictorialized style of calligraphy, de 手, developed during the 9th century in… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Ashigarayama 足柄山 | A mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture associated with legends of *Yamauba 山姥 and *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ashigatame 足固 | Also written 脚固, 足堅. Strong, horizontal ties which strengthen the posts beneath the floor of a timber building by… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashihozo 足ほぞ | Lit. foot-tenon. A rectangular piece of wood that projects from the sole of a standing wooden statue and fits into a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ashimoto 足元 | 1 A general term for all structural members from the foundation *dodai… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashimotogaki 足下垣 | Lit. footstep fence. A generic term for a fence made alongside a path. It is similar to the *… | Architecture, Gardens | |
| ashimotogawara 足元瓦 | Also called *hire 鰭 or *hiregawara… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| ashiwake 葦分け | Lit. split reed. A style of round-stone paving *tama-ishijiki 玉石敷 of the… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Ashuku 阿閦 | Ashuku, also Ashiku. Immovable One (Sk: Aksobhya). The name of a Buddha today generally associated with Esoteric Buddhism… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Ashura 阿修羅 | Sk: Asura. Also abbreviated to shura 修羅. Among the Indo-Iranians, the term Asura Ashura in Avestan,… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Asuka jidai 飛鳥時代 | The Asuka period (538/552-645). So called because the capital of the new Yamato 大和 region was located in the Asuka district… |
Art History, General Terms | |
| atari 当り | 1 The part of an architectural element in which one member meets another. Different from a joint in that it… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| atenashi bokashi 当てなしぼかし | Lit. indeterminate shading. A type of *fuki bokashi 拭きぼかし, a… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ato-in 後印 | Lit. later seal. An artist's seal placed posthumously on a painting or calligraphy, sometimes by a well-meaning person… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atorakkan 後落款 | Lit. a later signature. A forged signature put on an unsigned painting or work of calligraphy in order to increase its… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atozuri 後摺 | Also read nochizuri. Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, produced… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atsuhirabashira 厚平柱 | A type of rectangular pillar employed in the construction of a gate at a castle or dwelling. This pillar, front to back, is… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| atsuyō 厚様 | Also written 厚葉. A thick type of paper called *ganpishi 雁皮紙. Because both… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ausaka 合坂 | Also read aisaka. A type of warrior run *mushabashiri 武者走, where… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| awa-ishi 阿波石 | Lit. sea-foam stone. A type of blue stone *ao-ishi 青石, produced in modern… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| awaotoko 阿波男 | A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the basic emaciated *… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| aware あわれ | The capacity to be moved deeply, an aesthetic ideal associated with Heian period literature and aristocratic values. An… |
Art History, General Terms | |
| awasejōgi 合せ定規 | A wooden measuring gauge *jōgi 定規, generally, 6-7 cm wide, 35-45 cm long, and 0.9… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| awataguchiyaki 粟田口焼 | Awataguchi 粟田口 kiln. Also called awatayaki 粟田焼. A ceramic ware that was made in Awataguchi, at the foot of… |
Art History, Crafts | |
| awate-e あわて絵 | Multi-colored woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵, depicting the… |
Art History, Painting | |
| aya 綾 | A figured or diagonally-woven twill fabric. |
Art History, Crafts | |
| ayakashi 怪士 | Also written 霊神, 網像, 危. Noh masks *nōmen 能面, representing a wraith or a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| Ayakiri 綾切 | Also written 阿夜岐理 and called Aikirijo 愛嗜女. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ayasuji 綾筋 | ✓ | Also pronounced shimesuji 〆筋. The parallel chevron lines on the front or sides of a lion-mouth roof tile *… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| azegi 校木 | ✓ | Also pronounced azeki. Chamfered logs used to build walls for storehouses *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| azehikinoko 畔挽鋸 | Lit. ridge cutting saw; from aze 畔 meaning a ridge between rice fields. An intermediate cutting saw. The … |
Architecture, Tools | |
| azekura 校倉 | ✓ | A storage facility constructed of logs *azegi 校木, cut in appropriate lengths to… |
Architecture, Storehouses |
| azuchi-umadashi 的山馬出 | Also written 安土馬出. A type of defensive gateway barrier *umadashi 馬出,… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| Azuma kudari 東下り | ✓ | Lit. going down to the East. In the pre-Edo periods, traveling from the capital city of Kyoto toward the Eastern provinces… |
Art History, Painting |
| azuma nishiki-e 東錦絵 | Also written 吾妻錦絵, *nishiki-e 錦絵, azuma-e 東絵, *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Azumaya 東屋 | ✓ | Lit. Eastern cottage. A pictorial subject based on "The Eastern Cottage" Azumaya, Chapter 50 of Genji… |
Art History, Painting |
| Azusayumi 梓弓 | Lit. azusa bow. The azusa 梓 tree is a kind of birch. The phrase serves as a pillow-word, makurakotoba… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ibara 茨 | Also called iga いが. Lit. cusp. 1 The point where two curved lines or forms meet. The… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ibaraki 茨城 | Lit. thorn tree fortress. A simple and usually temporary fortress surrounded by thorn trees or briar bushes to defend it… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| ichi Fuji, ni taka, san nasubi 一富士二鷹三茄子 | Lit. first: Mt Fuji; second: hawks; third: eggplant. A tradition which holds that these objects, seen in order in the first… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ichi no ji kuzushi 一の字崩 | ✓ | A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子, and transoms*… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| ichi no ji tsunagi 一の字繋 | A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子 and transoms*… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| ichi no ma 一の間 | Lit. room one. The innermost and most prestigious room, six to twelve straw mats *tatami… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings, Folk Dwellings | |
| ichi no mon 一の門 | The first or main gate of a castle. At Matsuyamajō 松山城 in Ehime Prefecture, the gate plan was square *… |
Architecture, Gates, Castles | |
| ichi no oni 一の鬼 | ✓ | The ogre-face tile *onigawara 鬼瓦, placed at the ends of offspring ridges *… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| ichiboku kaidan 一木階段 | A ladder hewed from a single log during the Yayoi period. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichiboku-zukuri 一木造 | Also called ichiboku chō 一木彫 or ichiboku chōsei 一木彫成. Antonym of *… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| Ichiji kinrin mandara 一字金輪曼荼羅 | A variety of small, decidated mandala *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 centered on… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Ichiji kinrin 一字金輪 | Lit. One-Syllable Golden Wheel. Also read Ichiji konrin and also known as Kinrin Butchō 金輪仏頂 (Golden-… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| ichijōhan no seki 一畳半の席 | ✓ | Also written 一帖半の席. A very small tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室, no more… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| ichijūdana 一重棚 | ✓ | Also ichijū tsuridana 一重釣棚. A single shelf suspended by a slender bamboo pole. It is made of paulownia when it… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| ichimai biraki 一枚開 | A single window or door opening. Also, a single door or window. They may swing on hinges one way, both ways, or slide. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichimai-e 一枚絵 | Also ichimaizuri 一枚摺. Lit. single-sheet print. A single *ukiyo-e 浮世絵… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ichimatsu 市松 | ✓ | Also ishidatami 石畳 or *ishidatamimon 石畳文, danshichi 団七… |
Art History, Painting |
| ichimon-e 一文絵 | Lit. one mon picture. A small-sized woodblock print, usually depicting a courtesan or actor, printed only in black… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ichimonji bokashi 一文字ぼかし | A printing technique for producing graduated tones (shading) on woodblock prints *ukiyo-… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ichimonji dana 一文字棚 | A term used in all parts of Japan in the Edo period, for a straight shelf *tana… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichimonji gawara 一文字瓦 | 1 Also called ichimonji nokigawara 一文字軒瓦; ichimonji karakusagawara 一文字唐草瓦. A type of… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| ichimonji 一文字 | 1 Two strips of fabric directly above and below a painting measuring the exact width of the painting,… |
Art History, Painting, Architecture, Gardens | |
| Ichinotani kassen 一ノ谷合戦 | A pictorial subject depicting scenes from the Battle at Ichinotani, a decisive confrontation in the Genpei war Genpei… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ichirin ike 一輪生 | ✓ | A small flower vase which is just large enough for one flower stalk. Most vases of this type were made of ceramic but… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| Idaten 韋駄天 | Also written 違駄天. The Indian deity Skanda, son of Shiva and general of his army, who became a protector of the Dharma in… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| ido 井戸 | 1 A well supplying drinking water. It may be deep or narrow, depending on the depth of the water table. The… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings, Tea Houses | |
| idoko 居所 | Shortened form of idokoro 居所. A name for rooms or spaces in the following contexts: |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| iejiro 家城 | Lit. house castle. |
Architecture, Castles | |
| igarakuri 鋳繰 | Also ikarakuri. A method of casting metal statues by joining several sections. In the case of a large statue it was… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| igayaki 伊賀焼 | Iga 伊賀 ware. A stoneware ceramic made in Iga (now Maruhashira 丸柱 village), Mie Prefecture and in a few nearby villages. The… |
Art History, Crafts | |
| igeta 井桁 | 1 A generic term for any group of structural members set in a grid pattern. 2 The… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| iji dōzu 異時同図 | ✓ | A compositional method used to show successive events within a unified background, dōzu 同図, capturing the same… |
Art History, Painting |
| ijō kōbai 居定勾配 | Also abbreviated to ijō 居定. The degree of pitch on the underside of a rafter support *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ikake 鋳掛 | Repairing a hole or crack in a metal object. There are two methods: 1) crack in a metal statue or vessel is… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ikazuchimon いかずち文 | Lit. lightning pattern. A pattern of thick and thin zig-zag lines. A variation of raimon 雷文 (see *… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| ike niwa 池庭 | Lit. pond garden. A very general term for any garden with a pond. It includes other terms such as the archaic garden pond *… |
Architecture, Gardens |
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