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JAANUS

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  • Architecture (159)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (4)
  • Art History (144)
  • Buildings (12)
  • Castles (8)
  • Crafts (6)
  • Decorations (4)
  • Folk Dwellings (18)
  • Gardens (10)
  • Gates (4)
  • General Terms (54)
  • Iconography (31)
  • Joints (14)
  • Lanterns (2)
  • Measurement (2)
  • Painting (68)
  • Roofing Tiles (7)
  • Sculpture (36)
  • Shrines (4)
  • Storehouses (1)
  • Structures (12)
  • Tea Houses (15)
  • Tools (6)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 302
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. 


1 The rear part of a dovetail joint which is in line with the surface…

Architecture, Joints
ariotoshi 蟻落

Also called *arikake 蟻掛. 

1 A simple angle joint…

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.

1 The parts that support the main…

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.

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

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
jabara ita 蛇腹板 ✓

Lit. snake belly board. The boards lined up under the thick eave ends nokizuke 軒付 of a cypress bark *…

Architecture, General Terms
jabara 蛇腹

Lit. snake's belly.

1 A cornice. Called nokijabara 軒蛇腹, at the eaves of a building and …

Architecture, General Terms
jabara shirin 蛇腹支輪 ✓

Also called honshirin 本支輪 (main shirin). A short, curved, non-supporting transitional member that connects…

Architecture, General Terms
jabara tenjō 蛇腹天井 ✓

Lit. snake belly ceiling. An open or exposed ceiling composed of curved, parallel rafters, thought to resemble a snake's…

Architecture, General Terms
jabaragawa 蛇腹皮

Lit. snake skin. The boards lined up under the thick eave ends nokizuke 軒付 of a cypress bark *…

Architecture, General Terms
jaki 邪鬼

Sk: yaksa. Evil spirits believed to harm human beings and hinder Buddhist teaching. Usually appear in sculptures as small…

Art History, Iconography
jari 砂利

Gravel, small stones, or pebbles. A corrupted form of sazare 細 meaning tiny stones. Jari have been given…

Architecture, General Terms
jibori 字彫

Also hikkōbori 筆耕彫. The engravers or block-carvers of written text woodblocks for printed books. From…

Art History, Painting
jibuki 地葺

The traditional method of laying or setting tiles on the sheathing *noji 野地 of…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
jibukuro 地袋 ✓

A small cabinet with sliding doors at the bottom of open, often split-level shelves *…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
jibutsudō 持仏堂

Also called *butsuma 仏間.

1 Small, private buildings or…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
jichinsai 地鎮祭

Also called chinjisai 鎮地祭; jisai 地祭, jiiwai 地祝, tsuchimatsuri 土祭 or tokoshizume no…

Architecture, Shrines
jidaruki 地垂木

Also called omodaruki 母垂木. A base rafter that extends outward from the roof framework, generally the eave purlin *…

Architecture, General Terms
jidō 慈童

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a sprite who possesses the elixir of long life…

Art History, Sculpture
Jie 慈恵

Commonly known as Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 or Great Master Jie. The posthumous name of Ryōgen 良源 (912-85), abbot at…

Art History, Iconography
jien hikaku 地円飛角 ✓

Also read chien hikaku. Double eaves *futanoki 二軒, composed of base…

Architecture, General Terms
jifuku 地覆

1 A sleeper. The lowermost horizontal beam that spans the width of a bay *…

Architecture, General Terms
jifuku-ishi 地覆石

Also written 地幅石. A long horizontal base stone, sometimes called a sleeper, or a continuous plinth course. It is placed at…

Architecture, General Terms
jifuku nageshi 地覆長押 Also jinageshi 地長押. A non-penetrating tie beam that is shaped to fit snugly around the base of a pillar.
Architecture, General Terms
jiga jisan 自画自賛 The practice of adding a poetic inscription to one's own painting. The poetic inscription is typically related to the… Art History, Painting
Jigoku dayū 地獄太夫

A famous courtesan of Sakai 堺 known for her relationship with the Daitokuji 大徳寺 priest *…

Art History, Painting
jigokuhozo 地獄ほぞ ✓

Lit. hell tenon. So named because once it is inserted, it is impossible to withdraw. A blind tenon joint with wedges *…

Architecture, Joints
jiguchi-e 地口絵

A picture based on a word pun, popular around the mid-18th century. Most were drawn by town painters *…

Art History, Painting
jigyō 地業

Also 地形 chikei. The preliminary foundation work on a building. Materials for this include: rubble *…

Architecture, General Terms
jihatsu 地髪 Hair on the head of a Buddha *nyorai 如来 statue, not including the *… Art History, Sculpture
jihiro 地火炉

Also read jikaro.

1 A hearth *ro 炉 excavated in…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings, Folk Dwellings
jihisō 慈悲相

Also bosatsusō 菩薩相. The expression of compassion found on Buddhist images. The opposite is *…

Art History, Sculpture
jikidō 食堂

Also called saidō 斎堂. A refectory. An independent building on temple grounds where priests and monks had their…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
jikirō 食籠

A lidded food container, usually layered and lacquered with decorations of sunken gold *…

Art History, Crafts
jikkai zu 十界図

Lit. Picture of the ten realms. In Buddhism the ten realms jikkai 十界 refer to the ten realms of being, which are…

Art History, Iconography
jikkan jūnishi 十干十二支

Also kanshi 干支 and eto えと. Ch: shigan shierzhi. Lit. ten stems and twelve branches. Referred to…

Art History, Painting
Jikokuten 持国天

Sk: Dhrtarastra. A guardian deity with fierce expression *funnusō 忿怒相,…

Art History, Iconography
jiku 軸

1 A roller used for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 or hand…

Art History, Painting, Tea Houses, Architecture
jikuana 軸穴

Also 軸孔; jikuzuriana 軸吊穴; jiku uke 軸受; tobira jikuana 扉軸穴. The socket into which the pivot hinge…

Architecture, General Terms
jikubu 軸部

The framework or body of a building between the foundation and the roof structure. In traditional architecture it includes…

Architecture, General Terms
jikukakekugi 軸掛釘

Also jikukugi 軸釘, kakemonokugi 掛物釘. A hook for hanging scrolls, *…

Architecture, Tea Houses

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JAANUS is the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology compiled by Dr. Mary Neighbour Parent.

Originally built by the Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation, it is now hosted and maintained by the Media Center for Art History at Columbia University