Lit. horse-mouth mudra. A mudra or hand gesture *in 印, formed by placing both palms…

Lit. bind (Sk: bandha). A mudra or hand gesture *in 印, formed by clasping both…

A gigaku mask *gigakumen 伎楽面, representing a Brahmin (the highest…

Also written 髪頭, 鉢頭, 撥頭. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and the mask of a terse,…

Also 辮髪. A long rope of hair hanging down the left side of the face and the left shoulder of a sculpted figure.…

Also called akujō beshimi 悪尉べし見, depending upon the school of Noh mask *nōmen…

Also sōgyō 僧形. A statue of a figure with a round shaved head, usually representing a Buddhist priest. Most commonly…

An abbreviation of *Bishamonten 毘沙門天, one of the four heavenly kings, or *…

A box for sutras. Indian sutras were written on long, narrow palm leaves. The leaves were stacked one top of the other, with…

1　Abbreviation of bodai satta 菩提薩た, a transliteration of the Sanskrit bodhisattva (Pari bodhisatta…

A mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays to represent a demon. Glaring eyes, a wide jaw, and bared teeth give the mask a…

Masks worn when performing certain of the *bugaku 舞楽 dances developed from…

Also bukkō 仏工, zōbusshi 造仏師. A sculptor of Buddhist statues. 

The term was first used in the…

The lineage of a Buddhist sculptor *busshi 仏師, often presented as a…

A workshop or school of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師. Bussho usually…

Also gan 龕. A niche carved out of a wall for the purpose of installing a Buddhist image, or a miniature Buddhist…

A general term that refers to all images of the Buddha used as objects of worship, although most commonly used to refer to…

Sandalwood; santalum album. A tree with fine-grained hardwood, native to India and Southeast Asia. The wood is pale-yellow…

Also *mikenkō 眉間光, miken byakugō 眉間白毫, miken byakugōsō 眉間白毫相…

Also hōbachi 宝鉢 (Sk: patra). A bowl used by Buddhist monks for meals, and as a begging bowl. The hachi is rounded and deep…

Also read hachijū shukō, hachijū zuigyōgō 八十随形好 hachijū zuigōsō 八十随好相. The 80 auspicious bodily…

The joining or gluing together of parts when making a wooden statue or vessel. Originally the term meant sticking feathers…

A Buddhist image contained in a box-shaped miniature shrine. Two symmetrical rectangular wings flank a main image, carved in…

Also hakuire 箔入れ, hakuoki 箔置き. Making a design by stitching gold, silver, or colored foil with glue onto…

An artist who applies gold or silver leaf *shippaku 漆箔 to the surface of a…

Bumpynosed fierce old man. A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a…

Lit. half *jōroku 丈六. A measure of height for a Buddhist statue. Eight …

Also hanka 半跏, hankaza 半跏坐, hanfuza 半趺坐, daibosatsuza 大菩薩坐, and bosatsuza 菩薩坐.…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a female serpent-demon filled…

1　A pictorial subject based on "The Lady at the Bridge" Hashihime, Chapter 45 of Genji…

Also written 廿一. Lit. Barely twenty. Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the…

Also hatasode 端袖, hiresode 鰭袖. A style of sleeve found on Buddhist images. The sleeve of the robe is tied…

Written 折, 片木, or 剥.

1　A sculpture process of thinly shaving or scraping.

…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a strong warrior in full maturity. Wide open…

A style of wearing a Buddhist robe where the right shoulder is exposed. Frequently seen on *…

Also pronounced hensan, or called fukuken-e 覆肩衣, which literally means garment covering the shoulders. A…

Lit. secret Buddha. A Buddhist image which is ordinarily kept secret. Hibutsu are enshrined in miniature shrines *…

Two noh masks *nōmen 能面 used one in the first and the other in the second act of…

Also hiregata tenne 鰭形天衣. Lit. fin-shaped heavenly scarf. A long, ornamental scarf (see *…

Also hitenkō 飛天光. Lit. flying apsaras nimbus. A halo *kōhai 光背,…

A decoration in the shape of a lion's head *shigami 獅噛, found on…

Also suibyō 瓶. A flower vase, found as an attribute *jimotsu 持物…

1　Also pronounced hōshu. A sacred gem. Usually a ball or tear-drop shape object that is sacred to…

A type of nimbus *zukō 頭光, or halo, found on a Buddhist image in the shape…

Also tenkan 天冠. A crown on a Buddhist sculpture. Usually made in wood or bronze openwork *…

A statue of Buddha wearing a crown ornamented with precious stones. This tradition originated in India, first with crowned…

Also hōkei 寶髻. The hair of a sculpted figure tied up on top of the head in a topknot. Found on bodhisattva *…

Lit. Dharma-realm meditation mudra. Hokkai 法界 is the Dharma-realm, (Sk: dharmadhatu), and jōin is an…

Sk: ratnapeta. Lit. a box for treasures. The treasures referred to are sutras. As a *…

A manner of representing drapery folds in Buddhist sculpture, in which high rounded curves regularly alternate with low…

The principal image (or group of images) of worship at a Buddhist temple or a single building within the temple complex. The…

Also read hora. Also written 宝螺. Also sometimes called ra 螺. Sk: dharmasankha. A conch shell used as a…

Measurements of a Buddhist statue and attachments. They include:

sōkō 総高: full height including the…

Also sujikō 筋光, nukigokō 貫後光, and kasagokō 傘御光. A radial nimbus. A type of the…

Also hassai 髪際. Lit. Hairline. The point where the hair meets the forehead on a sculpted figure. The hairline is…

Also 白払. A kind of brush, used to drive away insects during meditation. The hossu originated in ancient India, and…

The act of passing a Buddhist statue from the hands of the artist to the temple that commissioned the piece. Because the…

Also hōfukuzō 法服像. Lit. portrait in religious (i.e. Buddhist) appearance. A portrait of a person who has taken…