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 visor that projected from the front of a soidier's helmet *kabuto 冑. First…

Also omaedachi 御前立. Lit. "standing in front." A Buddhist sculpture, positioned on the altar in front of the shrine…

Abbreviation of maedatemono 前立物. Also tatemono 立物. An upstanding decoration found on the front of a…

Also written 摩崖仏. Ch: moyafo. Also known as magai sekibutsu 磨崖石仏 or 摩崖石仏. A Buddhist image carved into the…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman. The gracefully curved mouth…

Dancing old man. A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old god or…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman in her first bloom. Very similar…

Also shusokushi manmōsō 手足指縵網相. A web-like membrane between the fingers and toes found on sculpted Buddhist…

A statue completely carved in the round, as opposed to relief *ukibori 浮彫. A…

Also *itchū 一鋳. A metal casting technique where the statue is cast in one…

Also written 増髪. Long, tangled hair. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面…

A type of mould used in metal casting and ceramics. Megata refers to a hollow mould into which molten metal,…

A type of halo *kōhai 光背 found on Buddhist images. A square…

Also mida jōin. Lit. "Amida's meditation mudra." Mida is an abbreviation of *…

Also *eizō 影像 or *shin-ei…

Lit. "crescent: three moons." Noh masks *nōmen 能面 representing a…

Lit. "forehead light." A curl of white hair on the forehead of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It is said to emit a bright light…

Utensils used during ritual incantation and prayer in Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. Introduced to Japan in the…

An incantation in esoteric Buddhism to purify and sanctify *misogi 御衣木, the wood used for…

Lit. "hanging skirt base." A pedestal *daiza 台座 which is covered by the skirt of…

Also mosaku 模作, mosha 模写, mokosaku 模古作. Works of art such as statues which are copies of…

Wooden sculpture. While wooden sculptures are relatively rare in India and China, wood has traditionally been the chief…

Also mokushin kanshitsuzou 木心乾漆像, mokushin kanshitsu-zukuri 木心乾漆造. Lit. "wood-core dry lacquer." A method…

Also pronounced kyōkō. A protective breast-plate found on Buddhist guardian deities *…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a fierce, old man. The shape of…