| 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 | |
| jabara ita 蛇腹板 | ✓ | Lit. snake belly board. The boards lined up under the thick eave ends nokizuke 軒付 of a cypress bark *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| jabara 蛇腹 | Lit. snake's belly. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jabara shirin 蛇腹支輪 | ✓ | Also called honshirin 本支輪 (main shirin). A short, curved, non-supporting transitional member that connects… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| jabara tenjō 蛇腹天井 | ✓ | Lit. snake belly ceiling. An open or exposed ceiling composed of curved, parallel rafters, thought to resemble a snake's… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| jabaragawa 蛇腹皮 | Lit. snake skin. The boards lined up under the thick eave ends nokizuke 軒付 of a cypress bark *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jari 砂利 | Gravel, small stones, or pebbles. A corrupted form of sazare 細 meaning tiny stones. Jari have been given… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jibuki 地葺 | The traditional method of laying or setting tiles on the sheathing *noji 野地 of… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| jibukuro 地袋 | ✓ | A small cabinet with sliding doors at the bottom of open, often split-level shelves *… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings |
| jibutsudō 持仏堂 | Also called *butsuma 仏間. |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| jichinsai 地鎮祭 | Also called chinjisai 鎮地祭; jisai 地祭, jiiwai 地祝, tsuchimatsuri 土祭 or tokoshizume no… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| jidaruki 地垂木 | Also called omodaruki 母垂木. A base rafter that extends outward from the roof framework, generally the eave purlin *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jien hikaku 地円飛角 | ✓ | Also read chien hikaku. Double eaves *futanoki 二軒, composed of base… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| jifuku 地覆 | 1 A sleeper. The lowermost horizontal beam that spans the width of a bay *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jifuku-ishi 地覆石 | Also written 地幅石. A long horizontal base stone, sometimes called a sleeper, or a continuous plinth course. It is placed at… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jifuku nageshi 地覆長押 | Also jinageshi 地長押. A non-penetrating tie beam that is shaped to fit snugly around the base of a pillar. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jigokuhozo 地獄ほぞ | ✓ | Lit. hell tenon. So named because once it is inserted, it is impossible to withdraw. A blind tenon joint with wedges *… |
Architecture, Joints |
| jigyō 地業 | Also 地形 chikei. The preliminary foundation work on a building. Materials for this include: rubble *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jihiro 地火炉 | Also read jikaro. |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings, Folk Dwellings | |
| jikidō 食堂 | Also called saidō 斎堂. A refectory. An independent building on temple grounds where priests and monks had their… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| jiku 軸 | 1 A roller used for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 or hand… |
Art History, Painting, Tea Houses, Architecture | |
| jikuana 軸穴 | Also 軸孔; jikuzuriana 軸吊穴; jiku uke 軸受; tobira jikuana 扉軸穴. The socket into which the pivot hinge… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jikubu 軸部 | The framework or body of a building between the foundation and the roof structure. In traditional architecture it includes… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jikukakekugi 軸掛釘 | Also jikukugi 軸釘, kakemonokugi 掛物釘. A hook for hanging scrolls, *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| jikuzuri 軸吊 | ✓ | Also written 軸釣, 軸摺. Pivot hinge. A metal covered wooden-core pivot inserted into a socket *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| jimune 地棟 | A base ridge. |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jinaimachi 寺内町 | Also jinaichō. A type of religious township that developed in the Sengoku period in connection mainly with temples… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jingūji 神宮寺 | Also called jingoji 神護寺, jingū'in 神宮院, jinganji 神願寺, miyadera 宮寺, or bettōji… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| jinja kenchiku 神社建築 | Lit. shrine architecture. The architecture associated with Shinto shrines, including all the shrine buildings, shaden… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| jinja 神社 | ✓ | A generic name for a Shinto shrine. Before World War Two shrines were classified into five categorize: first rank, … |
Architecture, Shrines |
| jinjiro 陣城 | Lit. camp fortress. A temporary fortification constructed on a battlefield or stopping-place by armies on the march, used… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| jinuki 地貫 | Also called shimonuki 下貫. A penetrating tie beam at the base of a pillar or a tie beam beneath a building's… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jiro 地炉 | Also *ro 炉 |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jishin bansho 自身番所 | The office or guardroom provided in each city ward *machi 町, in the city of Edo… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jisumigi 地隅木 | A base hip rafter found at the corners of a roof. Ordinary rafters *jidaruki… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jizaikagi 自在鈎 | ✓ | A pothook. A device that enables a pot nabe 鍋 or tea kettle tetsubin 鉄瓶 to be suspended over a sunken… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings, Tea Houses |
| jizō gōshi 地蔵格子 | A latticed door made with both horizontal and vertical laths at the same surface level. There are no recessed laths nailed… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jizōdō 地蔵堂 | ✓ | A temple hall where the Buddhist deity *Jizō 地蔵 (Sk. Ksitigarbha) is… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| jō 畳 | Also written 帖. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| jō 丈 | A unit of linear measure that equals 3.03 meters or about 10 feet. Equivalent to 10 shaku 尺. Although the metric… |
Architecture, Measurement | |
| jōdan 上段 | ✓ | A dais or a part of the floor in aristocratic dwellings of the *shoin 書院 style,… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings |
| Jōdo sanmandara 浄土三曼荼羅 | Lit. three Pure Land Mandalas. Traditionally refers to the three most famous types of *… |
Architecture, Iconography | |
| jōdo teien 浄土庭園 | Lit. Pure Land garden. Large pond gardens at Pure Land Buddhist temples which recreate the palatial garden of *… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| Jōdodō 浄土堂 | Lit. Pure Land Hall. The main hall of the Shingon 真言 sect temple of Jōdoji 浄土寺 in Hyōgo Prefecture, dedicated to *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| Jōgan gishiki 貞観儀式 | The Jōgan gishiki is a ten volume collection of ceremony regulations compiled by Fujiwara Ujimune 藤原氏宗 by order of… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Jōge nidanshiki teien 上下二段式庭園 | Lit. upper-lower, two-step style garden. A modern term designating a common type of bipartite garden featuring a small pond… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| jōgi 定規 | ✓ | A gauge used to confirm the straightness of structural members. A structural member is placed between the two boards of the… |
Architecture, Tools |
| jōgo zukuri 漏斗造 | Also called jōgomune 漏斗棟. A roof-style found on vernacular houses *minka… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jōgyōdō 常行堂 | Also called jōgyō sanmaidō 常行三昧堂. A hall where a devotee walks around a statue of the *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| jōi 上居 | Also written 常居. |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| jōjōdan 上々段 | ✓ | A relatively small space elevated one step higher than the *jōdan 上段,… |
Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings |
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