Ch: Efang Gong. The Efang Palace. A residence for concubines built by the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi…

Erotic or suggestive pictures. Derived from the word "abunai あぶない" meaning dangerous or risqué. More explicit works…

Also written あぶりだし. Hidden pictures that are painted or printed on paper using rice-wine, alum, or citrus juice, which then…

A subject of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, especially of *…

Lit. locks of hair/four cornered; "an elaborate three-looped knot, it also designates a young girl's coiffure" -…

A method used by Japanese painters to produce a copy *mosha 模写, and in that way…

Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 colored in shades of indigo blue *…

Indigo. A plant of the polygonacede family from whose stems and leaves comes a blue dye and pigment for painting. Produced…

Lit. intermediate format size. *Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints of two sizes, both…

Also aobanagami 青花紙, tsuyukusairo 露草色. A blue pigment extracted from the dayflower tsuyukusa 露草…

Ch: Ayuwangshan. Mt. Asoka. A mountain near Hangzhou (Jp: Kōshū 杭州) in Zhejiang (Jp: Sekkō 浙江) Province associated…

Also *ai-e 藍絵 or aizuri-e 藍摺絵. A type of woodblock print *…

Also akazuri-e 赤摺絵 and *hōsō-e 疱瘡絵. Woodblock prints produced in the…

Lit. red book. Forms of illustrated popular fiction, *kusazōshi 草双紙, with…

Lit. small red book. A type of *akahon 赤本. Woodblock printed picture books with…

Crimson; madder red. Known as *sohi そひ in the Nara and Heian periods. Originally…

A pictorial subject based on Chapter 13 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji). In the third month,…

Lit. autumn plants. Often rendered as autumn grasses, a common design motif in decorative arts and painting. Most frequently…

Lit. Dutch paintings, ranga 蘭画 of Akita. A Japanese work in a European style produced by the earliest school of…

A small river running through Takatsuki 高槻 City, Osaka (formerly Settsu 摂津 Province). Famous from Episode 6 of Ise…

A woodblock print designed and privately published to expose a secret indiscretion, then distributed to the home and friends…

A school of painting that arose in Kyoto during the 15th century, separate from the dominant painting ateliers of the Zen 禅…

Woodblock printed sheets designed by lesser-known *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists…

An Edo period illustrated book of popular fiction *kusazōshi 草双紙, with a…

Pictorial subject matter based on "Heartvine" Aoi, Chapter 9 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Lit. blue gold. An alloy of gold or silver which contains impurities that create a color with a bluish tinge. In painting,…

1　An old name for the pigment *iwa-rokushō …

Also *kiwame-in 極印. The printed censor seals that appear on an *…

Sliding screens *fusuma 襖, on which various images are painted including a…

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…

A type of *ehon 絵本, a woodblock-printed picture book. Small books of…

A repeating six-sided geometric design that resembles the leaves of the hemp plant, asa 麻. The design has six…

A pictorial subject based on "The Morning Glory" Asagao, Chapter 20 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

A color-name used in dyeing. A light blue color with a hint of green, made by adding yellow to a pale indigo dye *…

Lit. reed-hand script. A decorative, pictorialized style of calligraphy, de 手, developed during the 9th century in…

A mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture associated with legends of *Yamauba 山姥 and *…

Lit. indeterminate shading. A type of *fuki bokashi 拭きぼかし, a…

Lit. later seal. An artist's seal placed posthumously on a painting or calligraphy, sometimes by a well-meaning person…

Lit. a later signature. A forged signature put on an unsigned painting or work of calligraphy in order to increase its…

Also read nochizuri. Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, produced…

Also written 厚葉. A thick type of paper called *ganpishi 雁皮紙. Because both…

Multi-colored woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵, depicting the…

Lit. going down to the East. In the pre-Edo periods, traveling from the capital city of Kyoto toward the Eastern provinces…

Also written 吾妻錦絵, *nishiki-e 錦絵, azuma-e 東絵, *…

Lit. Eastern cottage. A pictorial subject based on "The Eastern Cottage" Azumaya, Chapter 50 of Genji…

Lit. azusa bow. The azusa 梓 tree is a kind of birch. The phrase serves as a pillow-word, makurakotoba…

A pictorial subject taken from "Maboroshi" ("The Wizard"), Chapter 41 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Painters born during the period extending from the Nanbokuchō through the Muromachi periods, when major social changes took…

A general term for the Kano school *Kano-ha 狩野派, or for Kano-…

A pictorial subject based on "The Cypress Pillar" Makibashira, Chapter 31 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (…

Ch: Magu. Two female Taoist immortals. The first is said to have lived in the Han dynasty and was sister of the immortal…

A low folding screen about 50 cm high, and usually with two panels, *nikyoku byōbu…

Also called keshibon 芥子本, keshigatabon 芥子形本, and hinamamehon 雛豆本. A miniature book. The…

Lit. "chopping board format." An extremely large size of wood-block *ukiyo-e…

Edo period sketches usually done impromptu or in fun, often of unusual or humorous subjects. In modern times manga…

Also read maniaishi, maniai 間似合. A rough paper of poor quality attached to sliding partitions *…

Also written 卍文. A decorative pattern symbolizing good fortune, popularly known as the swastika motif. It is thought to have…

Ch: manhuahui. Lit. "gathering amid myriad flowers." A Chinese painting subject showing the peony procession of…

A circular, decorative design used either as a single unit or repeated to create patterns for textiles and family crests. A…

Sometimes referred to as Kyō-ha 京派 or the Kyoto school. A painting school in Kyoto which was popular during the…

Also written 政. An abbreviation of masagami 柾紙, also written 政紙. A smooth grain, lightweight, off-white paper…

Traditional Japanese paper *washi 和紙 made from hemp, asa…

A zigzag pattern which forms a decorative band resembling a series of lozenge shapes. It was used on the built-up ridges of…

1　A pictorial subject taken from "Matsukaze" ("The Wind in the Pines"), Chapter 18 of  Genji…

Also matsu-ni-taka-(no)-zu 松に鷹図. Lit. "paintings of hawks in pine trees." Pine trees matsu 松 were not…

Lit. "glasses picture." A painting which is designed to be viewed through an apparatus which further heightens an illusion…

Paintings of famous locations around the Japanese capital of Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō 平安京) at certain characteristic…

Illustrated topographies of famous places within a defined geographical region, published from the mid-to-late Edo period.…

A privately published Edo period topography and guide to famous places. Official topographies were compiled before these…

A picture calendar koyomi 暦 totally set out in pictures. Originally these were made for the illiterate, but when…

Ch: Malangfu. One of 33 manifestations of *Kannon 観音 (Sk:…

1　A surface of a Japanese architectural component that faces front.

2　Endpaper,…

A type of mounting for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物. In this mounting, the…

A type of mounting for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物. A …

Also read minoshi. Lit. "mino paper." A generic term for handmade paper *…

A pictorial subject based on "Minori" ("The Rites" or "The Venerable Law"), Chapter 40 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (…

Chinese painting of the Ming (Jp: Min 明) and Qing (Jp: Shin 清) dynasties. The term, used primarily in distinction to *…

A pictorial subject based on "Miotsukushi" ("Channel Buoys"), Chapter 14 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Also written 水松色.

1　Olive color. A color name used in dyeing, produced by…

Pictures depicting shows of acrobatics, jugglers, magic tricks and curious animals which were produced with intent to…

Ablutions performed to remove sin or illness. As a pictorial theme it is most closely associated with Section 65 of Ise…

A piece of silk used for a Buddhist painting, particularly icon painting, which is sanctified at a ceremony in esoteric…

Parody pictures. Also nise 擬, yatsushi 略絵, fūryū 風流. Analogues of Japanese and Chinese…

Lit. "Litharge painting." A modern term for a type of ancient oil painting that uses lead oxide, or *…

Lit. "yellow lead monoxide," PbO. Made by heating lead. Used as a yellow pigment in early Japanese painting, for example on…

Paper made from the fibres of mitsumata 三椏 (edgeworthia papyrifera). The mitsumata bush, native…

A pictorial subject taken from "Miyuki" ("The Royal Outing"), Chapter 29 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

One kind of early polychrome print *benizuri-e 紅摺絵, or…

Also suisai-enogu 水彩絵具. Water colors. Paints with a water binder *baizai…

Ch: Mao Bao zhugui. Lit. "Mao Bao rescuing a tortoise." A Chinese painting theme showing the Jin dynasty scholar…

Pictorial subject matter depicting the episode of Watanabe no Tsuna 渡辺綱 (953-1024) fighting against a demon at Modoribashi,…

1　Also written 萌黄色, 萌木色. A strong yellow-green color. A dye of this colour was made by mixing yellow…

1　A copy of an original painting or text. Used generally and interchangeably with *…

A picture with the Japanese syllabary cleverly used as part of the motif. Another type of moji-e was called …

Sutras written in such a way that the characters form the image of a pagoda. One of the two methods is called moji…

Also mokkōgata 木瓜形, kamon か文. A decorative pattern shaped like a flower with an oval center and four…

Lit. "mokkō double diamonds." A decorative pattern of interlocking diamond shapes incorporating the indented…

Lit. "mokkō diamonds." A design pattern of interlocking diamond shapes incorporating the indented oval motif known…

Ch: mogu. Sometimes pronounced bokkotsu. Lit. "boneless." A painting technique in which objects are…