Sk: a-hum. 'A' is the sound of the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet and is pronounced with the mouth open.…

A raised platform with a *tatami 畳 mat on top, often having a brightly…

A statue of a figure with its mouth open. Usually seen on one of a pair of guardian kings *Niō…

Also written as 阿瘤尉. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing a dignified, old man who…

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽, as well as the mask *…

Lit. nun. A character in kyōgen 狂言 plays, represented by a masked figure *…

One of a group of chanted prayers used to express penitence to various Buddhist deities. Prayers of repentance to *…

Also read Amida kuhon-in. Lit. Mudras of the nine grades of Amida. The Pure Land jōdo 浄土 into which *…

The simplest form of robe that a Buddhist priest wears when he is either resting or at work. The andae is one of…

A style of Buddhist statuary originated by Kaikei 快慶 (?-1189-1221-?), a devout believer in the Pure Land sect, Jōdokyō …

Lit. rough cutting. The second stage in the making of a wooden statue. The first stage is to cut a large block of timber the…

Lit. rough clay. Clay mixed with other materials (known as *susa すさ),…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The broad bone structure, direct…

Also written 麻緒, 麻苧, asahimo 麻紐, asa-ito 麻糸. Cord or thread made from hemp, asa 麻, and Chinese…

Lit. foot-tenon. A rectangular piece of wood that projects from the sole of a standing wooden statue and fits into a…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the basic emaciated *…

Also written 霊神, 網像, 危. Noh masks *nōmen 能面, representing a wraith or a…

Also written 阿夜岐理 and called Aikirijo 愛嗜女. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and a…

Lit. "standing tree Buddha." A Buddhist image carved on a living tree or on wood that retains the form of the original tree…

Graver. A sharp, pointed steel tool used in metalwork and stone carving. Used for engraving, carving, and chiselling,…

Old Persian man taikofu 太孤父 and young Persian boy taikoji 太孤児, two types of gigaku masks *…

A small Buddhist image that is placed inside a larger one as an offering. In most cases, older images were placed inside…

"Running in retreat," a *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

Also takaya bussho 高矢仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors active in Nara *…

An image that has more heads, eyes, or limbs than the human figure.

Also *tamen kōhi 多面広臂. A Buddhist image with more heads, eyes, or limbs than…

A single topknot. Hair tied on top of the head in a simple round topknot *hōkei…

Also tekō, yubitsugai 指番. A protective piece of leather or metal used to protect the back of a soldier's…

Also *shō 摂. Clay statue. An old term used in the Nara period to…

Lit. "mudra for turning the Dharma-wheel." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印…

Also tenchigen. A facial expression found on *Fudō Myōō 不動明王, where the right…

Lit. "heavenly youth," also warabemai 童舞 (dancing child). A dance mask representing a young boy with parted hair…

1　Also sangai 傘蓋, hōgai 宝蓋, kagai 華蓋, kengai 懸蓋. Sk: chatra…

Lit. "heaven people."

1　The heavenly gods as opposed to the gods of earth, chigi 地祇.
…

Also hōkandai 宝冠台. A decorative band around the head found on *bosatsu…

Also tenne 纏衣. A long, narrow strip of ornamental cloth, found on images of *…

A Buddhist statue made of cast iron. Cast iron statues were not as common in Japan as bronze (see *…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the *…

Gilding. A decorative technique used in metalwork, where an object was coated with a thin layer of gold. In Japan, this…

A pestle with a single sharp blade at each end, found as an attribute *jimotsu…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old, plebeian man used only…

Powdered burnt clay or pulverized whetstone. Used for polishing swords and coloring wood. Tonoko was mixed with…

A style of sculpture represented by the work of the 7th-century sculptor known as Tori busshi 止利仏師. Tori was believed to be…

Lit. "life-size." A standard unit of measurement for Buddhist statues *hōryō…

Decoration found on the head of a Buddhist sculpted figure. This includes hairstyles *…

A cylindrical seat or round pedestal *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist image. Many images…

Also written 津波井仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師 active in Nara *…

Also 通圓. A mask of an old man, used in the kyōgen 狂言 play Tsūen (The Tea Priest, Tsūen…

An abbreviation of tsūryō kenpō 通両肩法. A style of wearing a Buddhist robe covering both shoulders. The robe…

Dangling chin, a gimmick used on some bugaku masks *bugakumen…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the God of Thunder. Great…

Enclosed inner mould. The *nakago 中型 was a term used in metal…