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…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a sprite who possesses the elixir of long life…

Also bosatsusō 菩薩相. The expression of compassion found on Buddhist images. The opposite is *…

Also read jibutsu. Sk: lakasana. The hand-held attributes of a Buddhist image. Along with the mudra *…

Also ninchū. A vertical groove between the nose and upper lip of Buddhist images. The jinchū differed…

Lit. God body or God style; also written 神容. A noh mask*nōmen 能面 representing a…

An object shaped like a lotus bud and stem used in Buddhist rituals, particularly favored by the Ji 時 sect. Usually made of…

The Ten Greatest Ancient Sculptors of Noh masks *nōmen 能面…

Also nitō. Round earrings found on sculpted Buddhist images. These were used on Chinese figures, but were extremely…

A style of sculpture created by the Buddhist sculptor *busshi 仏師 Jōchō 定朝 (?-…

A standard height for a Buddhist statue. A variation of the *jōroku 丈六.…

A decorative scarf worn by Buddhist deities and guardian figures. It is draped diagonally across the upper body, usually…

A mask representing an old man, jō 尉, in particular the old men masks of the *…

A standard height for a Buddhist statue. Abbreviation of one *jō 丈 and six …

Also written 縄牀. Also jōton 縄榻. A rough chair, originally from India, with the back or seat wrapped in rope or cord…

Sixteen. A noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing the young Heike 平家…

A general term for any ornamental band of cloth found on a bodhisattvas *bosatsu…

A portrait, sculpted or painted, made during the lifetime of the subject. The most common was a *…