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JAANUS

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  • Accessories (3)
  • Architecture (515)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (9)
  • Art History (398)
  • Buildings (42)
  • Castles (26)
  • Crafts (15)
  • Decorations (32)
  • Document (17)
  • Folk Dwellings (16)
  • Gardens (49)
  • Gates (21)
  • General Terms (207)
  • Iconography (58)
  • Joints (16)
  • Lanterns (5)
  • Measurement (7)
  • Painting (209)
  • Roofing Tiles (27)
  • Sculpture (105)
  • Shrines (32)
  • Storehouses (3)
  • Structures (41)
  • Tea Houses (31)
  • Tools (10)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 906
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
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
butsuden-zu 仏伝図

Lit. illustrated biographies of the Buddha. Artistic representations, usually painted or in low-relief sculpture, of the…

Art History, Iconography
butsudō 仏堂

Also called *butsuden 仏殿; bukkaku 仏閣, *…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
butsugan 仏龕

Also gan 龕. A niche carved out of a wall for the purpose of installing a Buddhist image, or a miniature Buddhist…

Art History, Sculpture
Butsugen butsumo 仏眼仏母

Also Butsugenson 仏眼尊 (Venerable Buddha-Eye). Lit. Buddha-Eye, or Mother of the Buddha. Sk: Buddhalocanal Locana. An Esoteric…

Art History, Iconography
Butsugen mandara 仏眼曼荼羅

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 (a mandala concerning a single deity…

Art History, Iconography
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

Lit. Buddha's gate. Also *nandaimon 南大門; *…

Architecture, Gates
Butsunichian kōmotsu mokuroku 仏日庵公物目録

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

Art History, Painting, Document
butsuzō 仏像

A general term that refers to all images of the Buddha used as objects of worship, although most commonly used to refer to…

Art History, Sculpture
buzai 部材

A generic term for the structural members which form the framework *honegumi…

Architecture, General Terms
byakudan 白檀

Sandalwood; santalum album. A tree with fine-grained hardwood, native to India and Southeast Asia. The wood is pale-yellow…

Art History, Sculpture
Byakue Kannon 白衣観音

Also Byakushozon 白処尊 and Byakue Kanjizaimo 白衣観自在母. (Sk: Panduravasini); White-robed *…

Art History, Iconography
byakugō 白毫 ✓

Also *mikenkō 眉間光, miken byakugō 眉間白毫, miken byakugōsō 眉間白毫相…

Art History, Sculpture
byakugun 白群

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

Art History, Painting
byakuroku 白緑

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

Art History, Painting
byōbu-e 屏風絵

Paintings on folding screens *byōbu 屏風. 

The earliest record of…

Art History, Painting
byōbu 屏風

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

Art History, Painting
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.
1 A pagoda constructed to enshrine a Buddhist image.
2 A five…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
sabi さび

Also written 寂.
1 An idea of beauty particularly important in the tea ceremony and haiku 俳句…

Art History, Architecture, General Terms
sabi-urushi 錆漆

Also sabi 錆. A paste made by mixing powdered burnt clay *tonoko 砥の粉…

Art History, Sculpture
sabibori サビ彫

When woodblocks are being carved to reproduce pages of handwritten characters, sometimes the point of a small knife will be…

Art History, Painting
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
sagabon 嵯峨本

Also called kōetsubon 光悦本 or suminokurabon 角倉本, although some scholars consider each of these names to…

Art History, Painting
Sagano 嵯峨野

A pictorial subject of an area in the western part of Kyoto city, famous for autumn grasses and singing insects. Besides…

Art History, Painting
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
sahari 響銅

Also written 佐波理. An alloy of copper containing less than ten percent tin, lead and zinc and of a pale yellowish color. It…

Art History, Crafts
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
Saigyō monogatari-e 西行物語絵

Paintings based on Saigyō monogatari 西行物語 (The Tale of Saigyō), a fictionalization of the poet-priest…

Art History, Painting
saijō 斎場

1 An area temporarily purified to erect temporary buildings and facilities for performing the *…

Architecture, Shrines
saikakubon 西鶴本

The name for a group of *ukiyo zōshi 浮世草子 (books of the floating world;…

Art History, Painting
saikan sanyū 歳寒三友

Ch: suihan sanyou. Lit. "three friends of wintery seasons." A painting theme featuring pine matsu 松, plum…

Art History, Painting
saikan 斎館

Also *kandachi 神館, shinkan 神館.
1 At Ise Jingū…

Architecture, Shrines
saiken 細見

Also Yoshiwara saiken 吉原細見. Annually published guide to the new *Yoshiwara…

Art History, Painting
saikondō 西金堂

An image hall *kondō 金堂 situated to the west of a pagoda in temple grounds.…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
saimitsuga 細密画

Miniature paintings in a detailed style best suited for fans or albums. Two other terms, mitsuga 密画 and saiga…

Art History, Painting
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
sairei zu 祭礼図

Lit. "festival pictures." Paintings that originated in folk beliefs and Shinto rituals shinji 神事, mostly related to…

Art History, Painting
saishiki busshi 彩色仏師

Lit. "Buddhist colorist." An artist who applies colored pigment to the nimbus or pedestal of a Buddhist statue. A …

Art History, Sculpture
saishiki 彩色

The application of color to various architectural elements. In the case of paintings, this normally involves the use of…

Art History, Painting
saishikizō 彩色像

A painted statue, usually a Buddhist image. Saishikizō are colored over the entire surface of the figure;…

Art History, Sculpture
Saisōrō 採桑老

A *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen…

Art History, Sculpture
saitan surimono 歳旦摺物

Also simply saitan 歳旦. A woodblock print commissioned by a poet, or a man of versatile tastes, to give to his…

Art History, Painting
sakadono 酒殿 ✓

Also misakedono 御酒殿; the prefix mi 御 is an honorific.
1 A shrine building specific to…

Architecture, Shrines
Sakaki 賢木 ✓

A pictorial subject based on "Sakaki" ("The Sacred Tree"), Chapter 10 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Art History, Painting, Document
sakakibashira 逆木柱 ✓

Also sakabashira 逆柱 or sakasabashira 逆さ柱. Lit. "upside down pillar."
1 An upside down…

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-en 三遠

The three types of distances desired for mountains in Chinese ink painting as defined by the famous Academy landscapist of…

Art History, Painting
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
sanageyō 猿投窯

Sanage 猿投 kilns. A group of old kilns in an area stretching from the western area of modern Nagoya 名古屋 city to the northern…

Art History, Crafts
sanbari 桟梁 ✓

The transverse beams placed in a row at right angle to the large header beams *kabuki…

Architecture, General Terms
Sanbasō 三番叟

1 A pictorial subject taken from the auspicious *kabuki 歌舞伎…

Art History, Painting, Sculpture
Sanchūjin jōzetsu 山中人饒舌

Lit. "Chatter of a Mountain Dweller." A two-volume treatise on painting theory by the late Edo artist and Confucian…

Art History, Painting, Document
sandaibutsu 三大仏 ✓

Lit. "three great Buddhas." The three largest images in the history of Buddhist statuary in Japan. Originally the …

Art History, Sculpture
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
sandō 三道

Three horizontal grooves in the neck of a Buddha *nyorai 如来 or bodhisattva *…

Art History, Sculpture
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
sangaibishi 三蓋菱 ✓ Also written 三階菱. A design motif created from three piled-up diamond shapes. Art History, Painting
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
sangokubutsu 三国仏

Lit. "three countries Buddha." Buddhist statues made from the fourth to the seventh centuries in Korea. At that time, Korea…

Art History, Sculpture
sanja-zukuri 三社造

Also called sangenyashiro or sangensha 三間社. A type of Shinto shrine. The main building *…

Architecture, Shrines
sanjō bussho 三条仏所

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 that was located in Kyoto's Sanjō 三条…

Art History, Sculpture
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
Sanju 散手

Abbreviation of Sanju hajinraku 散手破陣楽. *Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

Art History, Sculpture
Sanjūbanshin 三十番神

Also read Sanjūbanjin. Various sets of thirty *kami 神 who…

Art History, Iconography
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
sanjūnisō 三十二相

The thirty-two physical characteristics that symbolize the superhuman qualities of the Buddha. These originated in Indian…

Art History, Sculpture
Sanjūrokkasen 三十六歌仙

Lit. "thirty-six immortal poets." Imaginary portraits of the 36 outstanding poets from the 7th to 10th centuries selected by…

Art History, Painting
sanjūsanshin 三十三身

Abbreviation of Kannon sanjūsanshin 観音三十三身. The 33 forms in which, according to the *…

Art History, Iconography
Sanjūsanten 三十三天

Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Sk: Trayastrimsa deva). Also referred to as Tōriten とう利天, with tori thought to be…

Art History, Iconography
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
sankei mandara 参詣曼荼羅

Large-scale hanging scroll paintings of the landscapes of shrines and temples which include images of pilgrims worshipping…

Art History, Iconography

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JAANUS is the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology compiled by Dr. Mary Neighbour Parent.

Originally built by the Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation, it is now hosted and maintained by the Media Center for Art History at Columbia University