| Title | Contains Image(s) | Description | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| bai 唄 | ✓ | A circular nail head cover *kugikakushi 釘隠, placed over a nail to attach a… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| baijō 梅杖 | Lit. plum post. A wooden post used to support the heavy but structurally weak branches of old plum trees. |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| baikenmon 梅軒門 | Lit. plum eaves gate. Also written 梅見門. A type of gate used in tea gardens *roji… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| baku 瀑 | A cascade. A type of garden waterfall in which the water falls at a 90 degree angle. One common type of baku is the… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| bakuhana 獏鼻 | ✓ | Lit. tapir nose. Also called bakugashira 獏頭. A type of nosing *kibana… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| bakuryō 曝涼 | Lit. airing. Also called mushiboshi 虫干. The practice of inspecting and airing valuables that have been in storage… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ban 盤 | A heavy wooden plank placed above the ceiling of the first story of a two-storied pagoda *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| banbei 蕃塀 | ✓ | Also pronounced hanbei. A single, free-standing, short timber fence placed as a guard in front of the north, east,… |
Architecture, Shrines |
| banchi ばん池 | Also called hanchi 畔池 written with the character ばん池, to indicate a 'halved pond.' Lit. levee pond. A type of… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| banjiro 番城 | Short for zaiban shijō 在番支城. A branch castle *shijō 支城, with… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| banshin 番神 | Also kyakushin 客神, ishin 夷神. Also written 蛮神 banshin. Gods that were thought to have originated… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| banzuke 番付 | A system used to label each structural members of a building before construction, while being dismantled for repair, or… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| battari shōgi ばったり床几 | Alternative term for a shop-front shutter and folding table *agemise … |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| bentendō 弁天堂 | Also called benzaitendō 弁才天堂. A small structure that houses an image of Benten 弁天 (Sk: Sarasvati, *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| betsugū 別宮 | Also bessha 別社, edamiya 枝宮, or edayashiro 枝社. |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| betsuin 別院 | Also called *gobō 御坊. In the Nagoya area, it is called kakesho… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| biseki 尾石 | Lit. tail stone. A stone in a rock garden that represents the tail of a tortoise *… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| bishamon kikkō 毘沙門亀甲 | A decorative pattern composed of three joined hexagonal shapes. It is named after the guardian deity *… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| bishamondō 毘沙門堂 | ✓ | A temple hall dedicated to *Bishamonten 毘沙門天, one of the four gods, or *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| biwa-ita 琵琶板 | Also written 枇杷板. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| bokashi 暈 | 1 A gradation of colors or tones from dark to light or vice versa. One example is colorization of the… |
Architecture, Decorations, Art History, Painting | |
| bokuseki 墨跡 | Black ink brush writing by Zen 禅 priests, as well as by laymen who practiced Zen meditations and wrote Buddhist sermons, or… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| bokusekimado 墨蹟窓 | A window on the side wall of an alcove *tokonoma 床の間, used to provide light… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| bonjimon 梵字文 | ✓ | Lit. Sanskrit motif. A Sanskrit character, bonji 梵字, that decorates pendants *… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| bōrōgata tenshu 望楼型天守 | ✓ | A lookout tower set atop the roof of a residence *kyokan 居館, usually a… |
Architecture, Castles |
| botan karakusa 牡丹唐草 | 1 Abbreviation of botan karakusagawara 牡丹唐草瓦. A roof tile, often an eaves-end tile, whose pendant… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles, Painting, Art History | |
| bōzumi 棒隅 | Lit. straight corner. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| budō karakusamon 葡萄唐草文 | ✓ | Also abbreviated to *budō karakusa 葡萄唐草. A grape-patterned arabesque used… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| bugakuryū teien 武学流庭園 | Lit. garden of the Bugaku lineage. A style of Japanese garden developed in the middle of the Edo period by Ōishi Bugaku 大石武学… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| buke-zukuri 武家造 | A style of residential architecture in use among the bushi 武士 or warrior class. As defined by the early 20th-… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| bukku 仏供 | Also jukubukku 熟仏供, butsuhan 仏飯, or butsushō 仏餉. Cooked rice made as an offering to the Buddha,… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| bunmawashi 規 | An old term for a compass used to draw circles. They were imported from Portugal. The beam compass has a large radius,… | Architecture, Tools | |
| buntōgata 分棟型 | ✓ | Lit. divided-ridge style. Often abbreviated to buntō 分棟 and sometimes referred to as betsumune-zukuri… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
| burō 廡廊 | A corridor that enclosed an open area or surrounded a space in which buildings were erected. A term from the 7th-9th century… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| bussharitō 仏舎利塔 | Also called *sharitō 舎利塔. A reliquary in a stupa or pagoda. These could be… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| busshōya 仏餉屋 | ✓ | Also called gokusho 御供所. A Buddhist building used to prepare ritual food offerings called busshō 仏餉, *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| busshudana 仏守棚 | Lit. Buddha protecting shelf. A type of decorative shelf with sliding-door cabinets on the bottom and an ogee-shaped… | Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings | |
| butaigamachi 舞台框 | Lit. stage framework. A framing member that runs the entire width of the upper part of a *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| butaikabe 舞台壁 | Lit. proscenium wall. The wall at the front part of a *kabuki 歌舞伎 stage. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| butsudan 仏壇 | ✓ | An altar or tabernacle in the form of a podium, table, recess, or cabinet used in the sanctuaries of temples and in private… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
| butsudan-no-ma 仏壇の間 | ✓ | A room in traditional vernacular houses *minka 民家, in parts of Hyōgo Prefecture… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
| butsuden 仏殿 | ✓ | Also *daiyū hōden 大雄宝殿. The main hall of a Zen temple. Butsuden… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| butsudō 仏堂 | Also called *butsuden 仏殿; bukkaku 仏閣, *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| butsuma 仏間 | A room for Buddhist images (either two- or three-dimensional images) or, especially in a residence, an altar or tabernacle… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures, Folk Dwellings | |
| butsumon 仏門 | Architecture, Gates | ||
| buzai 部材 | A generic term for the structural members which form the framework *honegumi… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| byōbudana 屏風棚 | A type of decorative double hanging shelf *tsuridana 釣棚, placed in an alcove… |
Architecture, Accessories | |
| byōbuori 屏風折 | Also termed *orihei 折塀 (folding wall). A castle wall that zig-zags… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| byōmon 廟門 | ✓ | Also called reibyōmon 霊廟門. An entrance gate to a mausoleum. It can be an elaborate gate in two-storied or simulated… |
Architecture, Gates |
| byōtō 廟塔 | Lit. mausoleum pagoda. |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| gagari 鋸賀利 | A heavy duty ripsaw. It is similar to a coarse, ordinary, standard ripsaw that cuts along the wood grain except that the… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| gagyō 丸桁 | ✓ | Also read gangyō, gayō, nokigeta 軒桁, or *dashigeta… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| gagyōbane 丸桁桔 | Also read gangyōbane. A single heavy beam attached at right angles to the eave purlins *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gaien 外苑 | Lit. outer garden. The area outside the sacred enclosure of a shrine, mausoleum, or temple. Typically, the approach to the… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gaiku 外区 | ✓ | The section of a pendant *gatō 瓦当, outside the lotus flower motif, on a semi… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| gakubuchi 額縁 | 1 The wooden rails and stiles around doors or windows. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gakumi-ishi 額見石 | Lit. plaque-viewing stone. One of the trump stones *yakui-ishi 役石 in the… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| gakusho 楽所 | ✓ | Also called gakuya 楽屋 or gakudokoro 楽所. A small, simple, open building, like a roofed platform at some… |
Architecture, Shrines |
| gamamushiro tenjō 蒲蓆天井 | ✓ | Also called gamatenjō 蒲天井. A wood-board ceiling to which reed-mace, braided straw or rush mats are attached.… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| gan'uchi 雁打 | Lit. flying geese. The poetic name given to a type of zig-zag arrangement of stepping stones *… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| ganburigawara 雁振瓦 | ✓ | Also called *kanmurigawara 冠瓦, *… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| gangi hashigo 雁木梯子 | ✓ | Lit. zig-zag ladder. A kind of ladder, hashigo 梯子(see *kaidan 階段),… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| gangi 雁木 | Also written 岸岐. |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings, Tools | |
| gangibō 雁木棒 | A thatching tool, kayayane fuki kōgu 茅屋根葺き工具, with a timber head, about 25 x 30 x 5 cm, fixed to a cylindrical… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| gangidana 雁木棚 | Also aikidana 合木棚 or kangidana 函木棚. An alcove in a *shoin… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings, Tea Houses | |
| gangizaka 雁木坂 | One type of warrior run *mushabashiri 武者走, comprised of stone steps … |
Architecture, Castles | |
| ganro-no-seki 丸炉席 | Also called chadō 茶堂. A tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室 which… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| ganro 丸炉 | Also called *ganro-no-seki 丸炉席. A cylindrical iron stove used in a tea… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| ganwaridoko 龕破床 | Also called ganaidoko, gangōdoko 龕合床. An alcove with the floor board the same height as the matted room, a… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| garan haichi 伽藍配置 | ✓ | The arrangement of buildings within the precinct of a Buddhist temple constructed between the late 7th century to 12th… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| garan-ishi 伽藍石 | Also garanseki 伽藍石. Lit. temple stone. A base stone from a ruined temple used as a stepping stone *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| garan 伽藍 | An abbreviated form of sōgya ranma 僧伽欄摩 (Sk: samgha arama). Lit. A garden for monks. Also rendered as sōen… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gasshō 合掌 | 1 The triangular frame created by joining a pair of cruck-like members *… |
Architecture, General Terms, Art History, Sculpture | |
| gasshō-zukuri 合掌造 | ✓ | A distinctive style of farmhouse nōka 農家 which evolved in the Edo period in the Shirakawa 白川 and Shōkawa 荘川 areas… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
| gasshōhire 合掌鰭 | Also oigata 笈形, *taiheibire 大瓶鰭. Lit. principal-rafter fins. A… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| gatō mon'yō 瓦当文様 | ✓ | Patterns, motifs, designs applied to the circular antefixes *gatō 瓦当 on semi… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| gatō 瓦当 | ✓ | 1 Eave-end tiles with a circular or semi-circular ornamental pendant. Gatō were brought to Japan… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| gawageta 側桁 | Also pronounced kawageta. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gawakabe 側壁 | Also read sokuheki or kawakabe. The exterior wall of a building. An outside wall or end wall. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gedan 下段 | Lit. low step. The lowest level of floor space in a formal *shoin 書院 style room… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings | |
| gedō 外堂 | Lit. outer hall. The outer part of a two part structure called the *sōdō 僧堂… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| gegyo 懸魚 | ✓ | Also gegyo 掛魚 (Ch: guayu); formerly also pronounced kengyo. Gable pendant, lit. hanging fish.… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| gejin 外陣 | 1 In shrine architecture, the main hall *honden 本殿 is divided… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gejōseki 下乗席 | Lit. dismounting stone. A type of keystone *yakui-shi 役石, stepped on when… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| gekan 下間 | Lit. lower space. It is a room adjoining the main rooms of the priests' quarters in a Zen temple. It is located near the… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Gekkamon 月華門 | 1 A gate in the corridor connecting the two halls Kyōshoden 校書殿 and Anpukuden 安福殿 in the Imperial Palace at… |
Architecture, Gates | |
| Gekkōden 月光殿 | A guest hall at Gokokuji 護国寺 in Tokyo. It is a large single storied structure of 7 x 6 bays, and has a hip-and gable roof *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| genjibei 源氏塀 | ✓ | Genji 源氏 fence is a board fence with posts set at intervals and a base runner set between the foundation stones of the posts… |
Architecture, Gardens |
| genkaibashi 厳海橋 | Lit. Genkai bridge. A type of bridge used to span deep garden streams or ravines. It is constructed with a triangular timber… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| genkan chūmon 玄関中門 | A structure with a gable roof *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造, projecting from the… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| genkan 玄関 | 1 The entrance gallery or porch used in the guest hall *kyakuden… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| gennō 玄能 | A type of hammer with an iron head and an oak handle. The gennō is used to strike a chisel or plane, or to… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| gensōdoko 原叟床 | A style of alcove *tokonoma 床の間, attributed to Kakukasai Sōsa 覚々斎宗左… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| gentanryū teien 玄丹流庭園 | Lit. Gentan lineage garden. A style of late Edo period garden in the Izumo 出雲 district, Shimane Prefecture, associated with… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| geshō 牙象 | 1 Also gejō. A type of molding *kurigata 繰形. The… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| geya kōzō 下屋構造 | A structural system characterized by the creation of a peripheral zone *geya 下屋… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| geya 下屋 | Lit. lower house. Also pronounced shitaya or shimoya. Also written 下家. Also referred to as *… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| geya-zukuri 下屋造 | A form of construction characterized by the use of a strut *tsuka 束 standing… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| geyabari 下屋梁 | A beam that spans the peripheral structural zone *geya 下屋, created by extending… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| geyabashira 下屋柱 | The posts along the outside of the peripheral zone *geya 下屋 created by extending… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
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