Lit. heart of the pond. The most important part of a pond, which, may be the center, bottom, or surface. The term is…

Lit. to keep flowers alive. Flower arrangements. Originated in Buddhist flower offerings kuge 供花 from the 6th…

Lit. living fence. A type of hedge made of trees, bamboo, or other living plants planted in a row and trimmed so as to form…

Also written 生込み形灯籠. A lantern which lacks a base; the stem is inserted directly into the ground. Most lanterns of this type…

The aesthetic ideal of the Edo merchant class during the late 18th and 19th centuries, combining material sensuality and…

One horned hermit. A *noh mask *nōmen…

A type of decorative pattern painted on coffered ceilings *gōtenjō 格天井 or…

An independently framed urban-vernacular house *machiya 町家 of a more…

A style of main shrine building that has a small one-bay sanctuary *honden…

A triad of Buddhist statues arranged in front of a large nimbus *kōhai 光背, that…

An abbreviation of Ikkyū Zenji 一休禅師, the Zen 禅 priest Ikkyū (1394-1481) of the *…

A gate at Heijō palace, Heijōkyū 平城宮 (8th century), in Nara that no longer exists but is mentioned in Shoku Nihongi…

Ch: Yushanzhu. Lit. Master of Mt. Yu (Jp: Ikuzan 郁山). A Chinese Chan (Jp: Zen 禅) monk from Hunan (Jp: Konan 湖南)…

Lit. living room. A room commonly utilized as the principal space for daily living.

1　The daily…

The correct seating position for the host when performing tea ceremony. For example, in the Urasenke 裏千家 school, a portable…

Imari ware. A general term for porcelain from the Arita 有田 region of Saga Prefecture, but not including the Kakiemon 柿右衛門…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young man of noble birth. Very similar to *…

Lit. pure fire hall. A hall for the preparation of food to be offered to the gods at Ise Jingu 伊勢神宮. The character 忌 imi…

Same meaning as imomeji 芋目地.

1　A straight-line, end-to-end blind stub tenon *…

Defensive castle entrance, or yin entrance. A generic term for various types castle entrance *…

A school of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師, based in Kyoto, active from the late…

Also inzō 印相 also read insō, shu-in 手印, and mitsu-in 密印. Sk: mudra. A hand gesture…

Defensive castle compounds in no kuruwa 陰の郭 and offensive castle compounds yō no kuruwa 陽の郭. In Chinese,…

Lit. yin and yang stone. A pair of stones representing male and female principles or genitalia. Also called on'yōseki…

Also read inaki. Lit. rice plant fortress. A small and temporary defensive palisade of bundles or sheaves of rice…

Slip fasteners. The wooden or bamboo pieces used on the reverse side of the overlapped boards of a board-and-batten ceiling…

Also edoma 江戸間. A length of 1.8 m or less, defining the standard length of a single bay: the distance from the…

A type of gate-like structure *torii 鳥居 at inari 稲荷…

T-shaped metal fitting inserted into a track and used for hanging scrolls in an alcove *…

Also *nijū orekugi 二重折釘. A twice bent nail that is used under the ceiling…

A architectural design pattern in the shape of a diamond, *hishi 菱, which…

Also *raimon 雷文. An architectural design pattern thought to be based on flashes…

A type of Buddhist print design made with a stamp. A seal, usually about 10 cm or smaller, is engraved with the image of a…

Ch: Yinzhong baxian. A painting subject based on the poem Yinzhong baxiange (Jp: Inchū hassenka…

A name found in seals applied to many works by Tawaraya Sōtatsu 俵屋宗達 (? - 1640?) and by members of his school, both in…

Also shizume ukibori 沈め浮彫. Hollow relief carving. An inscription or motif hollowed out of a surface using a burin…

Also sasuzuka sasuzaoshiki 扠首束扠首竿式, *sasuzao 扠首竿, *…

Lit. boar's-eye gable pendant. A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚, decorated with heart-…

Also kariokidana 仮置棚. Lit. boar's eye shelf. A two-tiered shelf *nijūdana…

Lit. boar's eye window. A window in a tea ceremony structure thought to resemble a boar's eye.

The window is really…

A collection of seal impressions gathered into book form. Collections of Chinese seals from the Zhou and Qin dynasties are…

Lit. seal caddy. A tiered rectangular or circular container used originally for seals but later for medicines and other…

A seal stamp carved with characters or pictographs which serves as proof or certification when pressed on a vessel, utensil…

Ch: yuantihua. Lit. academy style painting. A type of Chinese painting associated with the Imperial Court…

A representation of a pagoda that has been printed or rubbed onto paper or cloth. The paper or cloth was laid on a carved…

Also written 犬行. Lit. dog run. A narrow inset in wall ramparts, or in an embankment of earth forming a footpath or ledge.…

Also pronounced inubōgi.

1　In temples and shrines, a lattice *…

Also called okusha karamon 奥社唐門. A gate with cast bronze doors or a gate that is entirely made of bronze. …

A dog-chasing event at which warriors on horseback scored points by shooting padded arrows at a running dog. The subject was…

Also called komafusegi 駒防ぎ. Concave screens about 60 cm high and of varying length made of closely-spaced bent…

The number of completed woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, (including all…

General drawings which reflect all the contents of a building, its plan and design. Such drawings must depict the function…

Commonly known as Ippen Shōnin 一遍上人 or St. Ippen (1234-89). The founder of the Ji 時 sect. From Iyo 伊予 Province (modern Ehime…

Ch: yipin. Also ikkaku 逸格 (Ch: yige). Lit. the Untrammeled Class. A category or ranking of…

1　A general term for the special tiles used at the base of a roof ridge.

2　A name…

Also called irakamune 甍棟; hon irakagawara 本甍瓦. The roof tiles that form the lowest part of the stack of…

Also called *wata-ita 綿板. Thin panels of wood inserted between the rails …

Also called moyabashira 母屋柱 or 身舎柱. Pillars that are erected inside and parallel to the pillars positioned on the…

A door frame made of a head lintel and vertical door jambs to which doors are attached with hinges.

Pillars *hashira 柱 at the inner boundary of a pent roof…

Also sakawa kanamono 逆輪金物, saba no o 鯖の尾. An ornamental metal fitting *…

1　A corridor or passageway between the main body of a residence and the veranda. It is also found in temple…

Purlins, *keta 桁, placed along the tops of pillars surrounding the…

The bargeboards on the gable end of a hip-and-gable roof *irimoya yane…

A hip-and-gable roof. In Japanese architecture, the gable part is usually over the core area of the building, *…

A hip-and-gable roof construction, or a building with this roof construction. A gable type roof has a ridge and gable…

The placement of the fire-box or hearth cut within the host's mat *temae datami…

The lowest section of a dais *kamachiza 框座 for a Buddhist sculpture that is…

The internal angle made by the junction of two planes, such as walls, a wall and ceiling, or the inside angle made by the…

Also called yatoi zane 雇実; yatoi zanebari 雇実張 or yatoi zanehagi 雇実矧. A plank that is grooved on…

Lit. colored picture.

1　A metalwork term for the soldering of thin sheets of gold, silver, or other…

Lit. missing color. The blank areas on a colored woodblock print *ukiyo-e …

1　Paper dyed various colors using one of several techniques: sen'izome 繊維染 (raw fibers dyed before…

Also written 色隈. A shading *kumadori 隈取 technique which uses…

Also written 居炉裏. Also called ro 炉. An open hearth set in the floor of various rooms in Japanese buildings.…

Also pronounced irozashi or written 色指し.

1　Also irogaki 色書き or irowake…

Loopholes or gun ports that are cut in a castle wall at the height of a seated defender's shoulder. The holes are mainly…

Also izarai. A finishing stage in the making of cast metal statues. When a cast statue was removed from its mold,…

Illustrations, decorative motifs, or other work of art connected with Ise monogatari 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise…

Gateways *torii 鳥居, specific to Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮, of which there are two types.…

The depth of a stone in a stone wall *ishigaki 石垣. This is the…

Also termed ishi otoshimado 石落窓. Stone drop, or stone drop window. A castle installation built into the keep *…

A square chair with armrests and a back in the form of a Shinto gateway *torii…

Also kanokodate 鹿の子建 and ishitsuki 石付. A technique used at a folk dwelling to attach a pillar to a…

Lit. stone bridge. A general term for a garden bridge made of stones, typically granite or schist. Ishibashi may be…

Also *nobedan 延段; tatami ishi 畳石.

1　…

Also written 甃文. Also arare 霰 or *ichimatatsu 市松. A…

A dry stone wall. A retaining stone foundation wall built without binding materials over an inclined earthen embankment.…

A method of metal casting where the form of the desired object was carved into a sandstone mold, and molten metal was poured…

The point at which a base stone and a pillar are joined. The upper surface of a plinth stone on which another stone may be…

Lit. stone arrangement. Also called iwagumi. The arrangement of stones for symbolical, functional, or decorative…

Lit. stone paving. The place where paving stones are to be laid, or the stones themselves. Stones are carefully selected for…

A gate at Kanazawajō 金沢城 (1788) in Ishikawa Prefecture. It is an excellent example of the square *…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The slightly sunken…

Wood shingles *itabuki 板葺, held in position with stones. Generally used for…

A stone loophole used to fire a gun through a castle wall. Unlike the usual loopholes *…

A shelf or platform from which stones or small rocks were hurled against an enemy. This shelf or platform runs along the…

1　The cutting and arrangement of stones.

2　The layout of masonry.

Also mokutaku zuri e 木拓摺絵. A print with a totally black inked background and outlines of forms left white, giving a…