| 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 | |
| ibara 茨 | Also called iga いが. Lit. cusp. 1 The point where two curved lines or forms meet. The… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ibaraki 茨城 | Lit. thorn tree fortress. A simple and usually temporary fortress surrounded by thorn trees or briar bushes to defend it… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| ichi no ji kuzushi 一の字崩 | ✓ | A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子, and transoms*… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| ichi no ji tsunagi 一の字繋 | A decorative pattern used for muntins on sliding doors *shōji 障子 and transoms*… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| ichi no ma 一の間 | Lit. room one. The innermost and most prestigious room, six to twelve straw mats *tatami… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings, Folk Dwellings | |
| ichi no mon 一の門 | The first or main gate of a castle. At Matsuyamajō 松山城 in Ehime Prefecture, the gate plan was square *… |
Architecture, Gates, Castles | |
| ichi no oni 一の鬼 | ✓ | The ogre-face tile *onigawara 鬼瓦, placed at the ends of offspring ridges *… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| ichiboku kaidan 一木階段 | A ladder hewed from a single log during the Yayoi period. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichijōhan no seki 一畳半の席 | ✓ | Also written 一帖半の席. A very small tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室, no more… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| ichijūdana 一重棚 | ✓ | Also ichijū tsuridana 一重釣棚. A single shelf suspended by a slender bamboo pole. It is made of paulownia when it… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| ichimai biraki 一枚開 | A single window or door opening. Also, a single door or window. They may swing on hinges one way, both ways, or slide. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichimonji dana 一文字棚 | A term used in all parts of Japan in the Edo period, for a straight shelf *tana… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ichimonji gawara 一文字瓦 | 1 Also called ichimonji nokigawara 一文字軒瓦; ichimonji karakusagawara 一文字唐草瓦. A type of… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| ichimonji 一文字 | 1 Two strips of fabric directly above and below a painting measuring the exact width of the painting,… |
Art History, Painting, Architecture, Gardens | |
| ichirin ike 一輪生 | ✓ | A small flower vase which is just large enough for one flower stalk. Most vases of this type were made of ceramic but… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| ido 井戸 | 1 A well supplying drinking water. It may be deep or narrow, depending on the depth of the water table. The… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings, Tea Houses | |
| idoko 居所 | Shortened form of idokoro 居所. A name for rooms or spaces in the following contexts: |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| iejiro 家城 | Lit. house castle. |
Architecture, Castles | |
| igeta 井桁 | 1 A generic term for any group of structural members set in a grid pattern. 2 The… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ijō kōbai 居定勾配 | Also abbreviated to ijō 居定. The degree of pitch on the underside of a rafter support *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ikazuchimon いかずち文 | Lit. lightning pattern. A pattern of thick and thin zig-zag lines. A variation of raimon 雷文 (see *… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| ike niwa 池庭 | Lit. pond garden. A very general term for any garden with a pond. It includes other terms such as the archaic garden pond *… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| ike no kokoro 池の心 | Lit. heart of the pond. The most important part of a pond, which, may be the center, bottom, or surface. The term is… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| ikegaki 生垣 | ✓ | Lit. living fence. A type of hedge made of trees, bamboo, or other living plants planted in a row and trimmed so as to form… |
Architecture, Gardens |
| ikekomigata tōrō いけこみ形灯籠 | Also written 生込み形灯籠. A lantern which lacks a base; the stem is inserted directly into the ground. Most lanterns of this type… |
Architecture, Lanterns | |
| ikken ikka 一間一花 | ✓ | A type of decorative pattern painted on coffered ceilings *gōtenjō 格天井 or… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| ikken'ya 一軒屋 | An independently framed urban-vernacular house *machiya 町家 of a more… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| ikkensha zukuri 一間社造 | A style of main shrine building that has a small one-bay sanctuary *honden… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| ikuwamon 的門 | A gate at Heijō palace, Heijōkyū 平城宮 (8th century), in Nara that no longer exists but is mentioned in Shoku Nihongi… |
Architecture, Gates | |
| ima 居間 | Lit. living room. A room commonly utilized as the principal space for daily living. 1 The daily… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| imae 居前 | The correct seating position for the host when performing tea ceremony. For example, in the Urasenke 裏千家 school, a portable… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| imibiyaden 忌火屋殿 | Lit. pure fire hall. A hall for the preparation of food to be offered to the gods at Ise Jingu 伊勢神宮. The character 忌 imi… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| imotsugi 芋継 | Same meaning as imomeji 芋目地. 1 A straight-line, end-to-end blind stub tenon *… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| in no koguchi 陰の虎口 | Defensive castle entrance, or yin entrance. A generic term for various types castle entrance *… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| in'yō no kuruwa 陰陽の郭 | Defensive castle compounds in no kuruwa 陰の郭 and offensive castle compounds yō no kuruwa 陽の郭. In Chinese,… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| in'yōseki 陰陽石 | ✓ | Lit. yin and yang stone. A pair of stones representing male and female principles or genitalia. Also called on'yōseki… |
Architecture, Gardens |
| inagi 稲城 | Also read inaki. Lit. rice plant fortress. A small and temporary defensive palisade of bundles or sheaves of rice… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| inago 稲子 | Slip fasteners. The wooden or bamboo pieces used on the reverse side of the overlapped boards of a board-and-batten ceiling… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| inakama 田舎間 | Also edoma 江戸間. A length of 1.8 m or less, defining the standard length of a single bay: the distance from the… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| inari torii 稲荷鳥居 | ✓ | A type of gate-like structure *torii 鳥居 at inari 稲荷… |
Architecture, Shrines |
| inazuma kanamono 稲妻金物 | T-shaped metal fitting inserted into a track and used for hanging scrolls in an alcove *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| inazuma orekugi 稲妻折釘 | Also *nijū orekugi 二重折釘. A twice bent nail that is used under the ceiling… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| inazumabishi 稲妻菱 | ✓ | A architectural design pattern in the shape of a diamond, *hishi 菱, which… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| inazumamon 稲妻文 | ✓ | Also *raimon 雷文. An architectural design pattern thought to be based on flashes… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| inokosasu 豕扠首 | ✓ | Also sasuzuka sasuzaoshiki 扠首束扠首竿式, *sasuzao 扠首竿, *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| inome gegyo 猪目懸魚 | ✓ | Lit. boar's-eye gable pendant. A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚, decorated with heart-… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| inomedana 猪目棚 | ✓ | Also kariokidana 仮置棚. Lit. boar's eye shelf. A two-tiered shelf *nijūdana… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| inomemado 猪目窓 | Lit. boar's eye window. A window in a tea ceremony structure thought to resemble a boar's eye. The window is really… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| intō 印塔 | A representation of a pagoda that has been printed or rubbed onto paper or cloth. The paper or cloth was laid on a carved… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| inubashiri 犬走り | Also written 犬行. Lit. dog run. A narrow inset in wall ramparts, or in an embankment of earth forming a footpath or ledge.… |
Architecture, General Terms |
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