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JAANUS

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  • Accessories (3)
  • Architecture (362)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (3)
  • Art History (211)
  • Buildings (18)
  • Castles (26)
  • Crafts (15)
  • Decorations (16)
  • Document (10)
  • Folk Dwellings (24)
  • Gardens (29)
  • Gates (6)
  • General Terms (156)
  • Iconography (23)
  • Joints (15)
  • Lanterns (2)
  • Measurement (3)
  • Painting (118)
  • Roofing Tiles (17)
  • Sculpture (52)
  • Shrines (8)
  • Storehouses (4)
  • Structures (18)
  • Tea Houses (31)
  • Tools (11)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 571
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
tabigeta 旅桁

1 One of the purlins used in a hidden roof *noyane …

Architecture, General Terms
tachiagari 立上

A vertical timber that rises from a level or inclined surface. In modular measurement of timber *…

Architecture, General Terms
tachichōzubachi 立手水鉢 ✓

Lit. "standing water basin." A type of tall basin *chōzubachi 手水鉢 that can…

Architecture, Gardens
tachikibutsu 立木仏

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

Art History, Sculpture
tachisama 立狭間

A loophole *sama 狭間 cut in a wall about chest high to a standing soldier.…

Architecture, Castles
tagane 鏨

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

Art History, Sculpture
tagasode 誰袖

Lit. "whose sleeves?" Painting theme depicting beautiful kimono 着物 draped across a wooden rack, ikō …

Art History, Painting
tahōtō 多宝塔 ✓

A 2-storied pagoda that developed from the circular, roofed one called *hōtō 宝塔…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
tai-no-shiro 対の城

Lit. "confronting castle." Also termed mukaijiro 向城 (facing castle) and *tsukejiro…

Architecture, Castles
taibō 大房

Also pronounced daibō. A large room 6.7 m wide and 12.7 m deep, constructed in a style customary from about the mid…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
taiheibire 大瓶鰭

Also oigata 笈形, *gasshōhire 合掌鰭. A pair of decorative sculpted…

Architecture, Decorations
taiheizuka 大瓶束 ✓

Lit. "large bottle strut." A strut that is used mainly in Zen style architecture *…

Architecture, General Terms
taiko-otoshi 太鼓落 ✓

The trimming or hewing of the opposite sides of a log so that the surfaces become flat and parallel making it easier to join…

Architecture, General Terms
taiko 太孤

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

Art History, Sculpture
taikobari fusuma 太鼓張襖 ✓

Also called taikobari 太鼓張, fukuroshōji 袋障子, bōzufusuma 坊主襖.
A type of paper-covered,…

Architecture, General Terms
taikobashi 太鼓橋 ✓

Also called soribashi 反橋. An arched bridge made of stone or wood. One example is the Yoka Jinja 与賀神社 (1607) in Saga…

Architecture, General Terms
Taikōbō 太公望

Ch: Taigongwang. A Chinese scholar who was thought to be a paragon of humble virtue and learned accomplishment, and who…

Art History, Painting
taikodo 太鼓戸 ✓

A door frame covered on both sides with boards or panels. The inside of the door, like a drum taiko 太鼓, is empty.…

Architecture, General Terms
Taima mandara 当麻曼荼羅

Mandala of Taima. The most complete depiction of the *Kangyō hensō…

Art History, Iconography
tainaibutsu 胎内仏

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

Art History, Sculpture
taisha 代赭

Red ochre. A red pigment whose main component is ferric oxide (haematite), Fe203. Used in Japanese style painting *…

Art History, Painting
taisha-zukuri 大社造 ✓

Also called ōyashiro-zukuri. The oldest style of shrine architecture. Its small scale is thought to resemble that…

Architecture, Shrines
taishaku 大尺

Lit. "large shaku 尺." An ancient unit of length. Introduced in the Taihōryō 大宝令 codes of 701, it measured 35.6 cm,…

Architecture, Measurement
Taishakuten 帝釈天

A major Hindu god called Indra or Sakra who has two major roles in Buddhist literature, one as king of the gods and lord of…

Art History, Iconography
taishidō 太子堂

A hall either dedicated to Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子 (ca. 574-622), the second son of Emperor Yōmei 用明 (r. 585-87), or a building…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
taishoku 褪色

Fading. A lessening of the intensity of a color by exposure to sunlight or air. Chemically unstable dyes or pigments undergo…

Art History, Painting
taishōtoku 退走禿

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

Art History, Sculpture
taisō byōbu 太宗屏風

A type of folding screen *byōbu 屏風 used in the Imperial Palace…

Art History, Painting
Taizō kyūzuyō 胎蔵旧図様

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

Art History, Iconography
Taizō zuzō 胎蔵図像

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

Art History, Iconography
Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅

A *mandara 曼荼羅 based on the Dainichikyō 大日経 (Sk: …

Art History, Iconography
taka-no-hashi 鷹の嘴

Lit. "hawk's beak." A decorative, curved pattern often found on moldings. The pattern has pointed tips like a bird's beak.…

Architecture, Decorations
takagari 鷹狩

A pictorial subject depicting the sport of falconry, birds trained to hunt cranes tsuru 鶴, pheasants kiji…

Art History, Painting
takahei 高塀

Also pronounced takahe. The gable walls of the central thatched portion kirizuma 切妻 of the roof *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
takahei-zukuri 高塀造り

Also pronounced takahe-zukuri. Lit. "high wall construction." Also called *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
takaikegaki 高生垣

A hedge, 3 to 5 m high, planted as a wind screen or for fire control.

Architecture, Gardens

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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