Also takushu 磔手 and chōshu 張手 (Sk: vitasti). A unit of measure that originated in India, used in the…

Lit. the hot water for tea. Also known as sadō 茶道 or chadō. The ritual art of preparing and drinking…

Father old man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a cheerful old man. The powder…

The path purifier, mask worn by the first actor in a procession of ancient theatrical performances gigaku 伎楽.…

Plovers or (rarely) sanderlings: small birds that live in flocks near water, a popular design motif either alone or combined…

The Buddhist acolyte form of the name *Kūkai 空海 (774-835; see *…

Lit. knowledge-fist mudra. A mudra or hand gesture *in 印 formed by…

Also referred to as the First mandala. A small wooden painting. The oldest of the Three Jōdo Mandalas *…

Ch: Zhulin Qixian. Lit. Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. A pictorial theme based on seven Chinese literati who, to…

A yellow-brown paper made in China from bamboo fibers. Commonly known in Japan as *tōshi…

Also enjiraku or enchiraku 円地楽. A piece in imperial court dancing *…

Also called chinkinbori 沈金彫. A technique developed in aizunuri 会津塗 that involves cutting a design into a…

Also chinzō chōkoku, see *chinsō 頂相. Portrait sculptures of…

Also chinzō. Lit. head's appearance. A naturalistic portrait, sculpted or painted, of a Zen 禅 master's head.

A multi-colored print which was rolled around a bar and then rubbed to give it crinkles and creases as if it had been…

Ch: Zhang Guolao. Also called Tongxuan (Jp: Tsūgen 通玄). One of the Daoist, eight immortals *…

Ch: Zhang Liang・Huang Shigong. Heroic Chinese warriors of the Han dynasty. 

Zhang Liang (BC 168-137), originally…

Lit. pictures of horse training. One theme of genre painting *fūzokuga 風俗画…

Also read nagaban. Also called naga-e 長絵. Lit. long format. A size of *…

Eyes carved directly into the surface of a wooden sculpture. This method was in general use until the late Heian period when…

Also written 丁字. A deep yellow, dull orange, or tan colored aromatic dye senryō 染料 made from the flowers or…

1　A hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 that is vertically oriented…

Also kinjūza 禽獣座 and jūza 獣座. A pedestal or throne for a Buddhist image in the form of a bird or a…

Ch: Niaoke. Lit. bird's nest. A painting subject depicting the Tang dynasty eccentric priest Dōrin 道林 (Ch: Daolin), also…

A bird's-eye view. Also fukan zuhō 俯瞰図法 (view from above). One type of perspective popular in Japanese…

Also pronounced chōketsui. A garment with long sleeves. Seen, for example, on images of *…

Chasing. Carving patterns or letters with a chisel on metal work. A common technique is nanako-uchi 魚々子打 (fish-roe…

Ch: diexingtu. Lit. Picture of the Butterfly of Happiness, or Picture of the Butterfly and the Emperor's Visit. A…

A painting and calligraphy technique where the brush is held perpendicular to the paper so that just the tip is used to…

Also kairen 開蓮. A lotus flower found on the head of a *Fudō Myōō …

Also read kōzogami and kajigami 梶紙. Formerly called kokushi 穀紙 during the Heian period. Paper…

Carved lacquer. A generic term used for many carved lacquer techniques where layers of lacquer are applied to a thickness of…

Ch: Zhutou. A painting subject depicting the Northern Song dynasty eccentric priest Zhimeng (J: Shimō 志蒙). He was known…

Ch: chaoyang duiyue. A Zen painting subject depicting a priest sewing in the morning sun (Jp: chōyō …

Lit. medium-size format. A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print. The term chūban…

A part of the mounting of a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物. The chūberi…

Lit. a middle-size book. A woodblock printed book, popular during the Edo period, which is one-half the size of a …

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 supposedly intended to represent the 9th-century poet and…

Metal casting. A technique used in metalwork to produce vessels or sculptures by melting down metal and pouring it into a…

A pictorial subject matter taken from The Treasury of Loyal Retainers Chūshingura, an epic and well-loved story of…

Also chūdai-no-son 中台の尊. The principal statue in a group of Buddhist statues. The central image in a triad or group…

Also imono 鋳物. Casting. A technique used to make cast sculptural forms. 

The base material was heated…

Sk: yaksa. Evil spirits believed to harm human beings and hinder Buddhist teaching. Usually appear in sculptures as small…

Also hikkōbori 筆耕彫. The engravers or block-carvers of written text woodblocks for printed books. From…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a sprite who possesses the elixir of long life…

Commonly known as Jie Daishi 慈恵大師 or Great Master Jie. The posthumous name of Ryōgen 良源 (912-85), abbot at…

A famous courtesan of Sakai 堺 known for her relationship with the Daitokuji 大徳寺 priest *…

A picture based on a word pun, popular around the mid-18th century. Most were drawn by town painters *…

Also bosatsusō 菩薩相. The expression of compassion found on Buddhist images. The opposite is *…

A lidded food container, usually layered and lacquered with decorations of sunken gold *…

Lit. Picture of the ten realms. In Buddhism the ten realms jikkai 十界 refer to the ten realms of being, which are…

Also kanshi 干支 and eto えと. Ch: shigan shierzhi. Lit. ten stems and twelve branches. Referred to…

Sk: Dhrtarastra. A guardian deity with fierce expression *funnusō 忿怒相,…

1　A roller used for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 or hand…

Also read jibutsu. Sk: lakasana. The hand-held attributes of a Buddhist image. Along with the mudra *…

Campaign jacket. A short garment worn over armor. Based on European prototypes introduced by the Portuguese at the end of…

Ch: renwu shibamiao. Lit. eighteen types of figural portrayal. A group of brush styles traditionally employed in painting to…

Also ninchū. A vertical groove between the nose and upper lip of Buddhist images. The jinchū differed…

Also read Jinja Daishō. Lit. General Deep-Sand. A divinity said to have appeared in a dream to the renowned Chinese…

Lit. God body or God style; also written 神容. A noh mask*nōmen 能面 representing a…

A base coat. The process of preparing ancient painting surfaces by completely covering the materials used, such as paper,…

An object shaped like a lotus bud and stem used in Buddhist rituals, particularly favored by the Ji 時 sect. Usually made of…

A portrait bearing a poetic inscription written by the painter.

The Ten Greatest Ancient Sculptors of Noh masks *nōmen 能面…

Ch: Shizhuzhai shuhuapu. Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting, a late Ming period color woodblock-printed…

Also nitō. Round earrings found on sculpted Buddhist images. These were used on Chinese figures, but were extremely…

Also tsubushi 潰し. A plain background of a single color on a woodblock print *…

Also jitsugetsu zu 日月図. A pictorial subject that combines the motifs of the sun and moon in landscapes of the four…

Lit. earth repository (Sk: Ksitigarbha). A bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 believed to…

Making carbon ink *sumi 墨 by grinding an ink stick on an inkstone…

Amida with the jō-in 定印 or *zenjō-in 禅定印 (Sk: dhyanamudra;…

1　A form of concertina-folded book *orihon 折本.

…

Ch: Jingping tidao. Also reads jōhei tōtō. A painting subject of the Tang dynasty Zen priests Izan Reiyū い山霊祐 (Ch:…

A style of sculpture created by the Buddhist sculptor *busshi 仏師 Jōchō 定朝 (?-…

The Five Chinese Patriarchs of the Pure Land Jōdo 浄土 sect. The sect was organized in Japan by *…

Abbreviation of jōdo hensō zu 浄土変相図. Also known as jōdo mandara 浄土曼荼羅. Pictorial representations, often…

Art of the Pure Land faith. Originating in the Nara period, Pure Land Buddhism is a more personal form of the faith than…

Lit. superior cloth. A jōfu lightweight, fine hand-woven cloth made lightweight from delicate hand-twisted ramie…

A hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 made of a paper called *…

Also called tenchi 天地 or jidai 地題. A part of the mounting of a hanging scroll *…

Also called *kaiga 界画. A line drawing technique where a straight edge or…

A standard height for a Buddhist statue. A variation of the *jōroku 丈六.…

A decorative scarf worn by Buddhist deities and guardian figures. It is draped diagonally across the upper body, usually…

Also read Jōe Monju (Ch: shengyi wenshu). Lit. rope-robed *Monju…

A mask representing an old man, jō 尉, in particular the old men masks of the *…

Lit. cord-mark period. The Jōmon period ran from ca. 10,000 BC-ca. 300 BC. The period takes its name from the decoration on…

A standard height for a Buddhist statue. Abbreviation of one *jō 丈 and six …

Also written 縄牀. Also jōton 縄榻. A rough chair, originally from India, with the back or seat wrapped in rope or cord…

Abbreviation of Shaka jūdai deshi 釈迦十大弟子. The Ten Chief Disciples of the historical Buddha *…

Ch: jiuniu. Lit. ten bulls. A Zen 禅 (Ch: chan) allegory in which Buddhist training, from first initiation to final…

Sk: Ekadasamukha. Eleven-headed Kannon; a form of *Kannon 観音 with eleven miniature faces…

Ch: shuxia meiren. A painting theme of a beautiful woman under a tree. The subject found throughout Asia may have…

Also jūni yakusha taishō 十二薬叉大将, jūni shinshō 十二神王. The twelve protective deities *…

Twelve Deities. A group of tutelary deities consisting of various Hindu gods, which was incorporated into Esoteric Buddhism…

Sk: Cundi. Also Juntei Butsumo 准胝仏母, Shichigutei Butsumo 七倶胝仏母, or Butsumo Juntei 仏母准胝. …

Ten Kings. The ten kings of hell who preside at the gates of the underworld, assigning souls to heaven or hell. The Buddhist…

Ch: Shou laoren. A Chinese Taoist god known as the immortal of the Northern Song and also considered the personification of…

A kind of table game played with one king and 16 round, pawn-like piece of paper on each side of a divided board. The board…