| 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.
|
Architecture, Joints | |
| ariotoshi 蟻落 | Also called *arikake 蟻掛. |
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. |
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. |
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 | |
| sabi さび | Also written 寂. |
Art History, Architecture, General Terms | |
| sabi-urushi 錆漆 | Also sabi 錆. A paste made by mixing powdered burnt clay *tonoko 砥の粉… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| sabibori サビ彫 | When woodblocks are being carved to reproduce pages of handwritten characters, sometimes the point of a small knife will be… |
Art History, Painting | |
| sabikabe 錆壁 | The finishing coat on a wall that consists of iron rust mixed with clay or plaster. Originally, old nails were boiled, and… | Architecture, General Terms | |
| sadōguchi 茶道口 | ✓ | Also written 茶堂口, 茶頭口; also chatateguchi 茶立口, or *katteguchi 勝手口.… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| sagabon 嵯峨本 | Also called kōetsubon 光悦本 or suminokurabon 角倉本, although some scholars consider each of these names to… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Sagano 嵯峨野 | A pictorial subject of an area in the western part of Kyoto city, famous for autumn grasses and singing insects. Besides… |
Art History, Painting | |
| sagefuri 下振 | Also called shōjiki 正直. A plumb line with a plumb bob, furiko 振子, at the lower end. The plumb bob is a… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| sagekiri 下げ切 | A little used placement of the firebox *ro 炉, in a tea ceremony room *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| sagiashi 鷺足 | Also sagi-no-ashi. Lit. "heron's leg." A type of long, curved leg found on a Chinese style desk, tōzukue… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| sahari 響銅 | Also written 佐波理. An alloy of copper containing less than ten percent tin, lead and zinc and of a pale yellowish color. It… |
Art History, Crafts | |
| saiben rengemon 細弁蓮華文 | Lit. "narrow petal lotus motif." A motif with as many as twelve or sixteen narrow petals found on some circular pendant… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| Saiendō 西円堂 | ✓ | An octagonal hall at Hōryūji 法隆寺, Nara, which was destroyed by a typhoon in 1050. The structure was rebuilt in 1250. It is… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| Saigyō monogatari-e 西行物語絵 | Paintings based on Saigyō monogatari 西行物語 (The Tale of Saigyō), a fictionalization of the poet-priest… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saijō 斎場 | 1 An area temporarily purified to erect temporary buildings and facilities for performing the *… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| saikakubon 西鶴本 | The name for a group of *ukiyo zōshi 浮世草子 (books of the floating world;… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saikan sanyū 歳寒三友 | Ch: suihan sanyou. Lit. "three friends of wintery seasons." A painting theme featuring pine matsu 松, plum… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saikan 斎館 | Also *kandachi 神館, shinkan 神館. |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| saiken 細見 | Also Yoshiwara saiken 吉原細見. Annually published guide to the new *Yoshiwara… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saikondō 西金堂 | An image hall *kondō 金堂 situated to the west of a pagoda in temple grounds.… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| saimitsuga 細密画 | Miniature paintings in a detailed style best suited for fans or albums. Two other terms, mitsuga 密画 and saiga… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Saimon 西門 | An eight-legged *hakkyakumon 八脚門, 3-bay wide, 1-entrance gate with a gable… |
Architecture, Gates | |
| Saimyōji shiorido 西明寺枝折戸 | Lit. "Saimyōji 西明寺-style latticed bamboo door." One type of raised lattice door *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| sairei zu 祭礼図 | Lit. "festival pictures." Paintings that originated in folk beliefs and Shinto rituals shinji 神事, mostly related to… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saishiki busshi 彩色仏師 | Lit. "Buddhist colorist." An artist who applies colored pigment to the nimbus or pedestal of a Buddhist statue. A … |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| saishiki 彩色 | The application of color to various architectural elements. In the case of paintings, this normally involves the use of… |
Art History, Painting | |
| saishikizō 彩色像 | A painted statue, usually a Buddhist image. Saishikizō are colored over the entire surface of the figure;… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| Saisōrō 採桑老 | A *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| saitan surimono 歳旦摺物 | Also simply saitan 歳旦. A woodblock print commissioned by a poet, or a man of versatile tastes, to give to his… |
Art History, Painting | |
| sakadono 酒殿 | ✓ | Also misakedono 御酒殿; the prefix mi 御 is an honorific. |
Architecture, Shrines |
| Sakaki 賢木 | ✓ | A pictorial subject based on "Sakaki" ("The Sacred Tree"), Chapter 10 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of… |
Art History, Painting, Document |
| sakakibashira 逆木柱 | ✓ | Also sakabashira 逆柱 or sakasabashira 逆さ柱. Lit. "upside down pillar." |
Architecture, Decorations |
| sakazukimendo 杯面戸 | ✓ | Also written 盃面戸. Sometimes called goki 呉器 or gokibame 呉器羽目. The space created between small bearing… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| saku-itabei 柵板塀 | A fence supported by posts along its rear side, usually with more than four posts per one bay. The facing boards are placed… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| saku 柵 | 1 Fence. Read ki (also written 城) in the ancient period. A palisade of stakes aligned at regular… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| Sakuheimon 朔平門 | ✓ | The Sakuheimon is the center gate on the north side of Kyoto Gosho 京都御所, during the end of the Heian period. It can be seen… |
Architecture, Gates |
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