Ch: Ma Shihuang. An ancient, legendary practitioner of Daoist arts and horse doctor during the rule of Emperor Huang (Ch:…

Ch: Mei Fu. Chinese immortal shown in painting as riding a luan (Jp: ran 鸞), a mythical bird similar to a…

Lit. double format. A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print used for full-color woodblock…

Also kōchakuzai 膠着剤. Binder, vehicle. A liquid mixed with a pigment *ganryō…

Also written 馬棟 or 波連. The most important tool used in the process of woodblock printmaking. A baren is made up of…

Also written ベンガラ, 紅柄, or 紅殻. Sometimes pronounced benigara. Red earth pigment. A bright, purplish-red pigment *…

Discriminating Jade from Stone Collection, a late 17th-century miscellany on art which ranges from the discussion of tea…

A black-line hand-colored woodblock print *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 that began to be…

A red dye, senryō 染料, and pigment *ganryō 顔料, made from the safflower…

Also murasaki-e 紫絵; beni-nuki 紅抜き. Woodblock prints which completely omit bright vermilion *…

Primitive polychrome woodblock prints in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵. Appeared after *…

Musashibō Benkei 武蔵坊弁慶, a semi-legendary warrior-monk of the 12th century, who was associated with Minamoto no *…

Also bero-ai ベロ藍. Prussian blue or Berlin blue. A synthetic blue paint made from ferric ferrocyanide, imported to…

Miscellaneous Record of Classified Sacred Images, a late Heian compendium of Buddhist iconography. Also called the…

A term which comes from the Portuguese for painting with oil pigments on the reverse side of glass. Fifty such paintings are…

Lit. pictures of beautiful women. Pictures depicting the beauty of the appearance, manners, and customs of women. The word…

Ch: Pipaxing. A painting subject based on the Song of the Lute, a narrative poem by the mid Tang dynasty poet, Bai…

Various block carving and printing techniques used to create gradated tones (shading) on woodblock prints, particularly 19th…

1　A gradation of colors or tones from dark to light or vice versa. One example is colorization of the…

Lit. pictures of horses at pasture. One type of genre painting *fūzokuga 風俗画…

Lit. ink plum. Ch: momei. Paintings of plum (actually prunus) rendered in sumi 墨 ink. Along with ink…

Ch: mozhu. Painting of bamboo rendered in *sumi 墨 ink. Bamboo…

Lit. herdboy and ox. Ch: mutong muniu. A Chinese painting theme long popular in Japanese ink painting. The subject…

Lit. ink play. Ch: moxi. The literati conception of painting as a form of self-expression, meant to convey ideas…

Ch: molan. Paintings of wild orchids rendered in *sumi 墨 ink. Related to…

1　Abbreviation of botan karakusagawara 牡丹唐草瓦. A roof tile, often an eaves-end tile, whose pendant…

A Chinese floral pattern *karakusamon 唐草文, composed of curling grape vines…

Paintings of *bugaku 舞楽, a classical Japanese court dance that sometimes used…

Ch: Fenggan. The Tang-dynasty priest noted for his eccentric behavior, who was usually depicted with his pet tiger. Fenggan…

Also bunbō shigan 文房四玩, bunbō shiyū 文房四友, and bunbō shikō 文房四候. Lit. the four treasures of the…

A general term for objects like brushes, paper, ink *sumi 墨, and inkstone *…

Bunchō's Treatise on Painting, an early 18th-century miscellany on painters, painting techniques, tools, and…

A class of mounting for hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物, that was originally…

Ch: wenrenhua. Lit. literati painting.  A type of painting in China, Korea, and Japan. In Japan, the term …

Catalog of objects in Butsunichian, the 14th-century inventory of artistic and other properties of Butsunichian 仏日庵…

A pale blue pigment *ganryō 顔料, used in Japanese painting *…

A pale green pigment *ganryō 顔料, used in Japanese painting *…

Paintings on folding screens *byōbu 屏風. 

The earliest record of…

A folding screen consisting of multiple, joined panels. Folding screens vary in size; the standard size consists of six…

Ch: Luofuxian. The story and pictorial theme of an immortal on Mt. Luofu 羅浮山 (Jp: Rafusen) and the spirit…

Ch: Lanzan weiyu 懶瓚煨芋. A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) painting subject depicting the late 8th century Chinese Zen priest Lanzan…

An abbreviation of the term rakusei kanshiki 落成款識. Lit. "inscription cast into ancient bronze vessels at…

Paintings of scenes in and around Kyoto. Famous sites, festivals and activities within the capital rakuchū 洛中…

Also written 楽書. Graffiti or scribblings. The earliest examples in Japan are the scribblings in the margins or on the backs…

Ch: lanyemiao. Lit. "orchid-leaf drawing." A style of ink-painting using fluid, modulated lines that resemble the…

Ch: Lanting qushui. Lit. "meandering stream and orchid pavilion." A painting theme which refers to a gathering held…

Ch: Ling Zhaonu. Raised by her aged parents as a devout Buddhist, this semi-legendary daughter of Tang dynasty lay Buddhist…

A set of books from which the larger portion is missing; the odd volume or smaller portion (i.e., several pages) of a larger…

Ch: Lingyun Guanhua. The Tang dynasty Zen 禅 priest Lingyun Zhiqin (Jp: Reiun Shikin 霊雲志勤), a disciple of Weishan Lingyu (Jp…

A long piece of paper or board the same length as *zenshi 全紙 (approximately 135…

A piece of paper, three-quarters the size of *zenshi 全紙. When a…

Also renge karakusa 蓮華唐草. Lit. "lotus pattern." A decorative floral and vine design motif that originated in China…

Also *shumon 珠文. A design pattern that uses circles to represent pearls which…

Also tetsuyōsō 綴葉装 or retsuyōsō 列葉装.
A multisection book. A type of Japanese book-binding. The…

Ch: Li Bai (701-62). One of the two most famous poets of the early Tang dynasty along with Du Fu (Jp: *…

Ch: Li Guang sheshi. Lit. "Li Guang shooting a rock." The Han dynasty archer Li Guang (Jp: Ri Kō 李広) who, on a…

Hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 in a set of two or more. Each…

The Six Canons or Principles, thought to be essential for the appreciation of Chinese painting. They were set out in the…

Ch: Lin Lingsu. A Daoist immortal in the service of the Northern Song Emperor Huizong (Jp: Kisō 徽宗, r. 1101-25). A staunch…

A technique used to copy *mosha 模写 a painting or work of calligraphy. The…

A school of painters and decorative artists, which began in 17th-century Kyoto and then spread to Kanazawa and Edo. The term…

Ch: Nongyuxian. Lit. "Immortal Rōgyoku 弄玉 (Ch: Nongyu)." According to legend, a court lady of the Spring and Autumn Annals…

Ch: Louge shanshui. A type of painted landscape composed by combining a multi-story tower or viewing pavilion with…

The Six Immortal Poets. A pictorial theme depicting six outstanding poets of the 9th century. Designated by Ki no Tsurayuki…

Also rokumaiori byōbu 六枚折屏風. A folding screen with six panels, measuring approximately 1.5 m high and 3.7 m wide.…

The six distances in Chinese landscape painting. Read riku-en. First mentioned by Han Zhuo (Jp: Kan Setsu 韓拙,…

Also *iwa-rokushō 岩緑青. A green pigment *…

A type of Chinese paper *karakami 唐紙. Decorated paper imported to Japan…

Ch: Lu Dongbin. Also called Lu Yan (Jp: Ryo Gan 呂巌) or Chunyangzi (Jp: Jun'yōshi 純陽子).
A popular Taoist hero,…

Paper used for writing and painting; for documents, classical books, Buddhist sutras etc. Ryōshi used in Japan…

The decoration of paper used for calligraphy and painting *ryōshi 料紙. Paper…

Also written 竜. Ch: long. A dragon.
1　Mythological animal and cosmological symbol of Chinese…

Ch: longhutu. Painting of a dragon *ryū 龍 and tiger …

A design pattern which represents flowing water. One of the oldest designs in Japan, it appears as parallel 'S' lines…