| 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 | |
| mabara mairado 疎舞良戸 | A plank door filled with widely set, horizontal laths, kozan 小桟. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| mabarawari 疎割 | Also abarawari あばら割. Lit. "sparsely proportioned." The same meaning as ma-mabara 間疎 (sparse or scanty).… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| mabashira 間柱 | 1 Posts or pillars of the same or smaller diameter than the main pillars of a building. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| mabiro 間広 | Translucent sliding screens *shōji 障子, opaque screens *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| machi-ishi 待石 | Lit. "waiting stone." One of the seven trump stones *nanatsu-ishi 七つ石 in… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| machi 町 | Also pronounced chō. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| machiai 待合 | ✓ | Also machiaishitsu 待合室. |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| machinami 町並 | Also pronounced chōnami. |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| machiya 町家 | 1 Also written 町屋. One of the two main categories of vernacular house *minka… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| mado 窓 | Window. Many other characters for window used have been used since the 6th century. For example: 窗 and 牒, 向 and 間戸 or 間門.… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| madodai 窓台 | ✓ | A window sill. The horizontal part at the bottom of a window frame in a wooden building. The sill is supported by the base… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| madogamachi 窓框 | The window frame into which a window sash is installed. The timber that surrounds a window. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| madokazari 窓飾 | Lit. "window decoration." A thin decoration that is hung around the outer border of a window, over the curtain, to provide… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| madonageshi 窓長押 | The non-penetrating tie beams used for the frame of a window opening. One, called madoshita nageshi 窓下長押, is placed… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| madori 間取 | A floor plan. The arrangement of rooms in a dwelling, including access points, windows, hallways, verandas, toilets, and… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| madowakibashira 窓脇柱 | Posts placed on each side of a window. In the case of thatched tea ceremony houses *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| madowaku 窓枠 | ✓ | A window frame into which a window sash or casing is set. The frame consists of two vertical side pieces, tatewaku… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| mae-ishi 前石 | 1 Also called kazari-ishi 飾石, tōage-ishi 灯あげ石, tōtomoshi-ishi 灯ともし石. A flat… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| mae-nagare 前流 | The front gable of a gable roof that flows directly away from the ridge and extends further than the rear gable. The long… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| maebiki oga 前挽大鋸 | ✓ | A large ripsaw with a blade about 60 cm long and 40 cm wide. It was first introduced in the 15th century and was used until… |
Architecture, Tools |
| maebikinoko 前挽鋸 | Standard purpose carpenters' ripsaw. A ripsaw with a blade approximately 35-40 cm long and 12 cm wide. The blade narrows… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| maezutsumi 前包 | ✓ | A transverse timber positioned at the base of the latticework *kitsune gōshi… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| mafumi 馬踏み | Also bafumi, hirami 褶. The flat top of an earthen embankment *doi… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| magaki 籬 | Latticework or a grille *kōshi 格子 positioned between the hard-packed earthen… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| magane 真矩 | Lit. "a true carpenter's square." A right angle or a 90 degree angle. A structural element that corresponds to a right angle… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| magaribashira 曲柱 | Also pronounced magamibashira. Also called *yugamibashira 歪柱.… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| magariya 曲り屋 | ✓ | Also written 曲屋. A farmhouse, nōka 農家, with a room that housed stables *umaya… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings |
| magariya-zukuri 曲屋造 | A general term for farmhouses with an L-shaped plan *magariya 曲り屋 |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| magatama 曲玉 | 1 Also written 勾玉. A bead with religious significance, introduced to Japan from the Korean peninsula. It is… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| magiri 間切 | Lit. "section breaks." A technique used to build a castle wall. Separate sections of the castle wall *… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| magobisashi 孫廂 | Also 孫庇; matabisashi 又庇, 又廂. Lit. "grandchild aisle." A narrow additional aisle. Traditional buildings, especially… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| magoshōji 孫障子 | ✓ | A small section within a translucent sliding screen *shōji 障子 that can be opened… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| magozuka 孫束 | ✓ | Also called kozuka 小束. A very short strut or post used in a roof truss. Magozuka are the shortest struts… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| maguchi 間口 | 1 The length of the front facade of a building or frontage of a plot of land from corner to corner. … |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| maguro-ishi 真黒石 | ✓ | Lit. "deep black stones." A generic name for black stones found in the Nachi 那智 area of Wakayama prefecture and the Kamo 鴨… |
Architecture, Gardens |
| magusa まぐさ | ✓ | Lintel, header or head jamb. Also magosa まごさ. A lintel without grooves or tracks, placed horizontally at the top of… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| maidono 舞殿 | ✓ | Also read maiden. Also kaguradono, kaguraden 神楽殿 or kagura 神楽. Lit. "dance hall."… |
Architecture, Shrines |
| mairado 舞良戸 | ✓ | A wooden sliding door constructed of a single wooden panel *wata-ita… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| mairako 舞良子 | ✓ | Thin, parallel strips of wood about 2-3 cm wide and 1.8 cm thick affixed to the front and back of a door *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| majikiri 間仕切 | A partition. The partitioning or dividing of an interior or an individual room into separate spaces, allowing for tremendous… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| makibashira 巻柱 | Pillars that are decorated with ornamental bands. The bands may be made of metal, painted with lacquer or covered with… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| makikanagu 巻金具 | U-strap. A コ-shaped metal fitting used to secure wooden joints. |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| makito 巻斗 | ✓ | Small, square, or slightly rectangular bearing blocks placed on a bracket arm *hijiki… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| makura 枕 | 1 A wedge-shaped piece of wood used to join structural members. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| makurasabaki 枕捌 | ✓ | Also called makurabasami 枕挟 or makurabakama 枕袴. The non-penetrating tie beams *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| mamemaki-ishi 豆撒石 | Lit. "thrown bean stones." A poetic name for a seemingly random arrangement of stepping stones *… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| manakado 間中戸 | Lit. "a half door." Also called hantobira 半扉 or hando 半戸, both meaning a half door. A low door, about one… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Mandaradō 曼荼羅堂 | ✓ | Also Taimadera *Hondō 当麻寺本堂. Mandaradō literally means a hall… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| mandokoro 政所 | The administrative offices housed in the refectory of an ancient temple. During the Heian period, and continuing through the… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| maneki-zukuri 招造 | A style of gable roof, manekiyane 招屋根, in which one side is a standard normal length from ridge to eave ends and… |
Architecture, General Terms |
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