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…

Ch: Luofuxian. The story and pictorial theme of an immortal on Mt. Luofu 羅浮山 (Jp: Rafusen) and the spirit…

Ch: Lanzan weiyu 懶瓚煨芋. A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) painting subject depicting the late 8th century Chinese Zen priest Lanzan…

An abbreviation of the term rakusei kanshiki 落成款識. Lit. "inscription cast into ancient bronze vessels at…

Paintings of scenes in and around Kyoto. Famous sites, festivals and activities within the capital rakuchū 洛中…

Also written 楽書. Graffiti or scribblings. The earliest examples in Japan are the scribblings in the margins or on the backs…

Ch: lanyemiao. Lit. "orchid-leaf drawing." A style of ink-painting using fluid, modulated lines that resemble the…

Ch: Lanting qushui. Lit. "meandering stream and orchid pavilion." A painting theme which refers to a gathering held…

Ch: Ling Zhaonu. Raised by her aged parents as a devout Buddhist, this semi-legendary daughter of Tang dynasty lay Buddhist…

A set of books from which the larger portion is missing; the odd volume or smaller portion (i.e., several pages) of a larger…

Ch: Lingyun Guanhua. The Tang dynasty Zen 禅 priest Lingyun Zhiqin (Jp: Reiun Shikin 霊雲志勤), a disciple of Weishan Lingyu (Jp…

A long piece of paper or board the same length as *zenshi 全紙 (approximately 135…

A piece of paper, three-quarters the size of *zenshi 全紙. When a…

Also renge karakusa 蓮華唐草. Lit. "lotus pattern." A decorative floral and vine design motif that originated in China…

Also *shumon 珠文. A design pattern that uses circles to represent pearls which…

Also tetsuyōsō 綴葉装 or retsuyōsō 列葉装.
A multisection book. A type of Japanese book-binding. The…

Ch: Li Bai (701-62). One of the two most famous poets of the early Tang dynasty along with Du Fu (Jp: *…

Ch: Li Guang sheshi. Lit. "Li Guang shooting a rock." The Han dynasty archer Li Guang (Jp: Ri Kō 李広) who, on a…

Hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 in a set of two or more. Each…

The Six Canons or Principles, thought to be essential for the appreciation of Chinese painting. They were set out in the…

Ch: Lin Lingsu. A Daoist immortal in the service of the Northern Song Emperor Huizong (Jp: Kisō 徽宗, r. 1101-25). A staunch…

A technique used to copy *mosha 模写 a painting or work of calligraphy. The…

A school of painters and decorative artists, which began in 17th-century Kyoto and then spread to Kanazawa and Edo. The term…

Ch: Nongyuxian. Lit. "Immortal Rōgyoku 弄玉 (Ch: Nongyu)." According to legend, a court lady of the Spring and Autumn Annals…

Ch: Louge shanshui. A type of painted landscape composed by combining a multi-story tower or viewing pavilion with…

The Six Immortal Poets. A pictorial theme depicting six outstanding poets of the 9th century. Designated by Ki no Tsurayuki…

Also rokumaiori byōbu 六枚折屏風. A folding screen with six panels, measuring approximately 1.5 m high and 3.7 m wide.…

The six distances in Chinese landscape painting. Read riku-en. First mentioned by Han Zhuo (Jp: Kan Setsu 韓拙,…

Also *iwa-rokushō 岩緑青. A green pigment *…

A type of Chinese paper *karakami 唐紙. Decorated paper imported to Japan…

Ch: Lu Dongbin. Also called Lu Yan (Jp: Ryo Gan 呂巌) or Chunyangzi (Jp: Jun'yōshi 純陽子).
A popular Taoist hero,…

Paper used for writing and painting; for documents, classical books, Buddhist sutras etc. Ryōshi used in Japan…

The decoration of paper used for calligraphy and painting *ryōshi 料紙. Paper…

Also written 竜. Ch: long. A dragon.
1　Mythological animal and cosmological symbol of Chinese…

Ch: longhutu. Painting of a dragon *ryū 龍 and tiger …

A design pattern which represents flowing water. One of the oldest designs in Japan, it appears as parallel 'S' lines…