Skip to main content

JAANUS

  • # (1)
  • a (164)
  • b (123)
  • c (138)
  • d (144)
  • e (109)
  • f (114)
  • g (186)
  • h (452)
  • i (179)
  • j (138)
  • k (902)
  • m (398)
  • n (303)
  • o (176)
  • r (136)
  • s (783)
  • t (407)
  • u (134)
  • w (53)
  • y (199)
  • z (63)
  • Accessories (1)
  • Architecture (634)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (6)
  • Art History (435)
  • Buildings (32)
  • Castles (34)
  • Crafts (35)
  • Decorations (43)
  • Document (3)
  • Folk Dwellings (41)
  • Gardens (51)
  • Gates (20)
  • General Terms (261)
  • Iconography (47)
  • Joints (32)
  • Lanterns (8)
  • Measurement (2)
  • Painting (223)
  • Roofing Tiles (32)
  • Sculpture (115)
  • Shrines (18)
  • Storehouses (3)
  • Structures (32)
  • Tea Houses (62)
  • Tools (14)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 1066
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
kabe shitaji 壁下地

The framework for a mud-plastered wall. It consists of lath, bamboo crosspieces *…

Architecture, General Terms
kabedoko 壁床 ✓

A wall alcove. An alcove that has no recessed space and no appurtenances such as a framing board *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kabegaki 壁垣

A generic term for shrine fences *tamagaki 玉垣. A fence built at shrines from…

Architecture, General Terms
kabekomai 壁小舞 ✓

Also written 壁木舞. Thinly split lath set vertically and horizontally to form the framework *…

Architecture, General Terms
kabemochi bashira 壁持柱

Small diameter posts set between two pillars to support horizontal circular laths called kabemawatashi 壁間渡. The…

Architecture, General Terms
kaben 花弁

The band of lotus petals *renji 蓮子 which encircles the seed pod *…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
kabeshiro 壁代

A type of curtain hung from the upper non-penetrating tie beam, uwanageshi (or kaminageshi ) 上長押 in temple…

Architecture, Decorations
kabewatadono 壁渡殿

Lit. walled bridge corridor. An archaic term for a type of corridor that connects two buildings in a Heian period…

Architecture, General Terms
kabuki-e 歌舞伎絵

Also shibai-e 芝居絵 and geki-e 劇画. Includes kabuki gekijō zu 歌舞伎劇場図 and *…

Art History, Painting
kabuki 歌舞伎

The most popular form of theatre among townspeople in Japan since the early Edo period. The form has its origins in the…

Art History, General Terms
kabuki 冠木

Also 衡木. A horizontal timber, lintel, or crossbar.

1 A lintel characteristic of gates called *…

Architecture, General Terms
kabuki jūhachiban 歌舞伎十八番

The eighteen *kabuki 歌舞伎 plays selected as best by Ichikawa Danjūrō 7 七代市川団十郎…

Art History, Painting
kabuki zu 歌舞伎図

Pictures of *kabuki 歌舞伎. In the broad sense of the term, kabuki zu…

Art History, Painting
kabukimon 冠木門 ✓

Also written kōmon 衡門. A roofless gate composed of two square gate posts *…

Architecture, Gates
kabumono 株もの

Lit. stump. The term is used to designate trees which have no trunk but grow so that the branches come directly out of the…

Architecture, Gardens
kaburagegyo 蕪懸魚 ✓

Lit. turnip bargeboard pendant. A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚 decorated with…

Architecture, Decorations
kabuto 冑

Also written as 兜. A helmet, usually made of iron. The earliest Japanese helmets were made in the Kofun period. There were…

Art History, Sculpture
kabutomon 兜門

Lit. helmet gate. A type of front gate in tea gardens *roji 露地 that resembles a…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kachōga 花鳥画

Lit. bird-and-flower painting. Paintings of birds and flowers, flowers only *kakiga…

Art History, Painting
kadozuka 角束

A short strut used at the corners of podii *kidan 基壇, or a dais *…

Architecture, General Terms
kaen kōhai 火焔光背

Also ka'enkō 火焔光. Lit. flame nimbus. A halo *kōhai 光背 on a…

Art History, Sculpture
kaeribana 反花

1 Lotus petal design carved around the lower base kiban 基盤 of a lantern *…

Architecture, Art History, Sculpture, Lanterns
kaeribanaza 反花座

Abbreviated to *kaeribana 反花. Also soribana 反り花. A…

Architecture, Decorations
kaeriguma 返暈

Also called sakaguma 反隈 (or 逆隈) or teriguma 照隈. Lit. highlighting. Reverse shading. A shading *…

Art History, Painting
kaerumata 蟇股 ✓

Frog-leg strut. A strut with legs spread like those of a frog. Kaerumata in the early Nara period developed from an…

Architecture, General Terms
kagami-ishi 鏡石

Lit. mirror stone.

1 A stone which is placed behind a hand wash basin *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kagami ita 鏡板

Boards or panels planed to a perfectly smooth surface and employed for ceilings or flooring. An example is a thin board…

Architecture, General Terms
kagami no ma 鏡の間

Lit. mirror room. A room separated by a curtain from the passageway hashigakari 橋掛り leading to a noh stage *…

Architecture, General Terms
kagami tenjō 鏡天井 ✓

Also kagamiita tenjō 鏡板天井. Lit. mirror ceiling. A flat ceiling made of smoothly planed boards shiraki…

Architecture, General Terms
kagamizumi 鏡積み

Lit. mirror piling. A method of masonry used for a stone wall *ishigaki 石垣.…

Architecture, Castles
Kagaribi 篝火 ✓

A pictorial subject based on the "Flares" Kagaribi, Chapter 27 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

Art History, Painting
kagariya 篝屋

Guardhouses for soldiers placed at street corners in Kyoto and Kamakura during the Kamakura period. The earliest known …

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
kagebana sōshoku 懸華装飾

A festoon. Also fesutun フェストゥーン, hanazuna sōshoku 花網装飾, or sagewa kazari 下げ環飾. A carved or molded…

Architecture, Decorations
Kagekiyo 景清

1 A pictorial subject taken from one of the eighteen great kabuki plays *…

Art History, Painting, Sculpture
kagemori 影盛 ✓

A plastered roof ornament on storehouses *dozō 土蔵. Located at the ends of…

Architecture, General Terms
Kagerō 蜻蛉

A pictorial subject taken from "The Drake Fly" Kagerō (also translated as Dayfly or Mayfly), Chapter 52 of G…

Art History, Painting

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • Page 1
  • Current page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • …
  • Next page ››
  • Last page Last »

Contributor Login

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