| 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 | |
| sabi さび | Also written 寂. |
Art History, Architecture, General Terms | |
| sabikabe 錆壁 | The finishing coat on a wall that consists of iron rust mixed with clay or plaster. Originally, old nails were boiled, and… | Architecture, General Terms | |
| sadōguchi 茶道口 | ✓ | Also written 茶堂口, 茶頭口; also chatateguchi 茶立口, or *katteguchi 勝手口.… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| sagefuri 下振 | Also called shōjiki 正直. A plumb line with a plumb bob, furiko 振子, at the lower end. The plumb bob is a… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| sagekiri 下げ切 | A little used placement of the firebox *ro 炉, in a tea ceremony room *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| sagiashi 鷺足 | Also sagi-no-ashi. Lit. "heron's leg." A type of long, curved leg found on a Chinese style desk, tōzukue… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| saiben rengemon 細弁蓮華文 | Lit. "narrow petal lotus motif." A motif with as many as twelve or sixteen narrow petals found on some circular pendant… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| Saiendō 西円堂 | ✓ | An octagonal hall at Hōryūji 法隆寺, Nara, which was destroyed by a typhoon in 1050. The structure was rebuilt in 1250. It is… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| saijō 斎場 | 1 An area temporarily purified to erect temporary buildings and facilities for performing the *… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| saikan 斎館 | Also *kandachi 神館, shinkan 神館. |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| saikondō 西金堂 | An image hall *kondō 金堂 situated to the west of a pagoda in temple grounds.… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| Saimon 西門 | An eight-legged *hakkyakumon 八脚門, 3-bay wide, 1-entrance gate with a gable… |
Architecture, Gates | |
| Saimyōji shiorido 西明寺枝折戸 | Lit. "Saimyōji 西明寺-style latticed bamboo door." One type of raised lattice door *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| sakadono 酒殿 | ✓ | Also misakedono 御酒殿; the prefix mi 御 is an honorific. |
Architecture, Shrines |
| sakakibashira 逆木柱 | ✓ | Also sakabashira 逆柱 or sakasabashira 逆さ柱. Lit. "upside down pillar." |
Architecture, Decorations |
| sakazukimendo 杯面戸 | ✓ | Also written 盃面戸. Sometimes called goki 呉器 or gokibame 呉器羽目. The space created between small bearing… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| saku-itabei 柵板塀 | A fence supported by posts along its rear side, usually with more than four posts per one bay. The facing boards are placed… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| saku 柵 | 1 Fence. Read ki (also written 城) in the ancient period. A palisade of stakes aligned at regular… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| Sakuheimon 朔平門 | ✓ | The Sakuheimon is the center gate on the north side of Kyoto Gosho 京都御所, during the end of the Heian period. It can be seen… |
Architecture, Gates |
| Sakuteiki 作庭記 | Lit. "Treatise on Garden Making." The oldest and most revered Japanese text on garden design, it was probably… |
Architecture, Gardens, Document | |
| sama 狭間 | ✓ | Also read hasama. A loophole or porthole made in the wall of the keep, tower, or parapet to allow a castle to… |
Architecture, Castles |
| samakubari 狭間配 | Lit. "loophole distribution." The number of loopholes per two meter (one ken 間) interval in a castle. Also refers… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| samidare 五月雨 | Lit. "fifth month rain." A geometric pattern used for fretwork muntins. The design is inspired by early summer rain, … |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| samisentsugi 三味線継 | ✓ | A wooden splicing joint used for a beam. The length of the joint is 3x the height of the beam and the tenon *… | Architecture, Joints |
| samon 砂紋 | Also read shamon. Lit. "sand crest." The technique of making a pattern or design in sand or gravel. The creation of… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| san-no-tsuji 桟の辻 | The junction points on a door or window frame where the top rail *kamigamachi… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| san'yō 三葉 | Lit. "three leaves." A decorative pattern carved into the shape of three leaves; used particularly for metal fittings found… |
Architecture, Decorations | |
| sanbari 桟梁 | ✓ | The transverse beams placed in a row at right angle to the large header beams *kabuki… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sandandaki 三段滝 | Lit. "three-stage waterfall." One common type of garden waterfall. Through the arrangement of earth and rocks, the waterfall… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| sando 桟戸 | ✓ | A simple door made of vertical planks with horizontal cross members that are about as wide as the vertical ties placed… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sane 実 | 1 A structural element or tenon that projects out from the end of a board, post, or beam. Such projecting… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| sanehijiki 実肘木 | ✓ | A purlin-bearing bracket arm; one that is inserted into the small bearing blocks *makito… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sangarado 桟唐戸 | ✓ | Also read sankarado. Paneled entrance doors introduced from China in the 13th to 14th century. They are associated… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sangawara 桟瓦 | ✓ | A pantile that combines a broad concave tile *hiragawara 平瓦 and a semi-cylindrical… | Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| sangawarabuki 桟瓦葺 | ✓ | Also called jigawara 地瓦 because it is a base tile; and kanryakugawara 簡略瓦 because it combines a broad… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles |
| sangedatsumon 三解脱門 | Also *sanmon 三門. The most famous example is the very large 21.05 m x 9.72 m gate at Zōjōji 増上寺… |
Architecture, Gates | |
| sangen-ikko 三間一戸 | ✓ | A 3 x 2 bay gate, often 8-legged style *hakkyakumon 八脚門, with entrance… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| sangendō 三間堂 | ✓ | A building with 3 bays on all four sides, commonly written 3 × 3 bays. The result is usually a square building. However,… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures |
| sanja-zukuri 三社造 | Also called sangenyashiro or sangensha 三間社. A type of Shinto shrine. The main building *… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| sanjū-no-tō 三重塔 | Three-storied pagodas, most of which are made of wood, but a small percentage are made of stone. See *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Sculpture | |
| sanjū orekugi 三重折釘 | ✓ | A nail that is bent in three tines at a ninety degree angle. Like the twice bent nail *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sanjūbari 三重梁 | ✓ | Roof framework composed of struts separating three tiers of transverse beams, each proportionately shortened in length than… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| sanjūdana 三重棚 | ✓ | 1 Triple shelves. Shelves which now are rarely seen in a tea ceremony room except at Nishihonganji… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| sankaku tōrō 三角灯篭 | A variation on the *yukimi dōrō 雪見灯籠. This type of lantern is found in the… |
Architecture, Lanterns | |
| sankō tōrō 三光灯籠 | An unusual lantern style found along the pond at Katsura Rikyū 桂離宮, Kyoto. It is a small, rectangular box-shaped lantern… |
Architecture, Lanterns | |
| sankoshomon 三鈷杵文 | Lit. "three-prong pounder motif." Also called *kongōsho 金剛杵 (vajra pounder,… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| sankyōmon 三きょう門 | Also called sanren āchimon 三連アーチ門. A gate with three arches, made within a stone wall. |
Architecture, Gates | |
| sanmaidō 三昧堂 | Also called nenbutsu sanmaidō 念仏三昧堂. Nenbutsu 念仏 prayers are recited, to obtain unity with *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| sanmen sōbō 三面僧房 | Priest and monk dormitories constructed to the north, east and west of the lecture hall *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| sanmen zushi 三面厨子 | A miniature shrine characterized by three doors, one placed at the front and one on each side of the structure. It contains… |
Architecture, Accessories |
Displaying 1 - 100 of 515