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…

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

A pictorial subject taken from "Maboroshi" ("The Wizard"), Chapter 41 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Painters born during the period extending from the Nanbokuchō through the Muromachi periods, when major social changes took…

A general term for the Kano school *Kano-ha 狩野派, or for Kano-…

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…

Round chip box. Also called wagemono 綰物 (bent round object) or himono 檜物 (cypress object). A…

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…

Lit. "sprinkled picture." A technique which originated in the Heian period for lacquer ware decoration in which designs are…

A pictorial subject based on "The Cypress Pillar" Makibashira, Chapter 31 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (…

Ch: Magu. Two female Taoist immortals. The first is said to have lived in the Han dynasty and was sister of the immortal…

A low folding screen about 50 cm high, and usually with two panels, *nikyoku byōbu…

Also called keshibon 芥子本, keshigatabon 芥子形本, and hinamamehon 雛豆本. A miniature book. The…

Lit. "chopping board format." An extremely large size of wood-block *ukiyo-e…

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

Also written 曼陀羅 or 曼拏羅. Mandala. A diagram that depicts Buddhist deities according to certain geometric formats and…

Edo period sketches usually done impromptu or in fun, often of unusual or humorous subjects. In modern times manga…

Also read maniaishi, maniai 間似合. A rough paper of poor quality attached to sliding partitions *…

Also written 卍文. A decorative pattern symbolizing good fortune, popularly known as the swastika motif. It is thought to have…

Ch: manhuahui. Lit. "gathering amid myriad flowers." A Chinese painting subject showing the peony procession of…

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

The name used for the images of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ in the guise of *Kannon…

Transliteration of Sanskrit Marici, the name of a Buddhist goddess representing an amalgamation of several Hindu antecedents…

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…

A circular, decorative design used either as a single unit or repeated to create patterns for textiles and family crests. A…

Sometimes referred to as Kyō-ha 京派 or the Kyoto school. A painting school in Kyoto which was popular during the…

Also written 政. An abbreviation of masagami 柾紙, also written 政紙. A smooth grain, lightweight, off-white paper…

Traditional Japanese paper *washi 和紙 made from hemp, asa…

Mashiko ware. A modern pottery type made in Mashiko 益子 village, Tochigi prefecture. The Mashiko kiln was started around 1853…

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

The protective deity of the Jōgyō zanmaidō 常行三味堂 of Enryakuji 延暦寺 on Mt. Hiei 比叡 in Kyoto. He is usually portrayed…

A zigzag pattern which forms a decorative band resembling a series of lozenge shapes. It was used on the built-up ridges of…

1　A pictorial subject taken from "Matsukaze" ("The Wind in the Pines"), Chapter 18 of  Genji…

Also matsu-ni-taka-(no)-zu 松に鷹図. Lit. "paintings of hawks in pine trees." Pine trees matsu 松 were not…

Lit. "glasses picture." A painting which is designed to be viewed through an apparatus which further heightens an illusion…

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

Lit. "famous thing." Term applied to items of tea ceremony *chanoyu 茶湯…

Celebrated fabrics. Cloth chosen and admired by tea adepts and other elites from the 14th to 17th century. Most are *…

Paintings of famous locations around the Japanese capital of Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō 平安京) at certain characteristic…

Illustrated topographies of famous places within a defined geographical region, published from the mid-to-late Edo period.…

A privately published Edo period topography and guide to famous places. Official topographies were compiled before these…

A picture calendar koyomi 暦 totally set out in pictures. Originally these were made for the illiterate, but when…

Also popularly known as Manari Myōjin 馬鳴明神 or Sanjin 蚕神 (God of Silkworms). A bodhisattva *…

Ch: Malangfu. One of 33 manifestations of *Kannon 観音 (Sk:…

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. "polished stone." A vague term which means any stone which is highly finished or polished, but may also refer to the…

Lit. "Amida looking back." An image of a standing *raigō-in Amida 来迎印阿弥陀…

1　A surface of a Japanese architectural component that faces front.

2　Endpaper,…

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…

A type of mounting for a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物. In this mounting, the…

The art of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. Esoteric Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the 8th…

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