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 term used to group a number of artists and artistic styles associated with the city of Nagasaki 長崎 from the 17th through…

Also called nagasaki-e 長崎絵 or Nagasaki prints. Woodblock prints made in the port city of Nagasaki during the Edo…

Also written 中子. Sometimes known as *ogata 雄型. Inner mould. When a metal statue…

Lit. "Becoming bestial." A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 used for the wife taking revenge…

Pictures of a catfish, namazu 鯰. Japanese legend has it that the movement of large catfish deep inside the earth…

Also written 魚子, 斜子. Lit. "fish-roe."
1　A pattern of small dots thought to resemble fish-roe, and…

Lit. "the seven Komachi." Seven episodes concerning the mid-9th century poetess Ono no Komachi 小野小町, one of the Six Poetic…

Folding screens *byōbu 屏風, usually in a pair, depicting Portuguese and…

Western painting brought by the Portuguese and Spanish who arrived in Japan in the 16th century, nanban bijutsu…

Lit. "Southern barbarian art." Considered to be the first manifestation of direct Western influence on Japanese culture,…

The Southern and Northern Court period (1336-92). It takes its name from two separate antagonistic Imperial courts supported…

Lit. "Southern painting." An abbreviation of *nanshūga 南宗画, which…

A group of artists who produced bird-and-flower painting introduced to Japan by the Chinese artist Shen Nanpin (Jp: Shin…

Ch: nanzonghua. The Southern school of Chinese painting. Composed of literati (scholars) as opposed to the Northern…

A general term for Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師 working in Nara…

Lit. "painting atelier of the southern capital" (nanto 南都, an alternative name for Nara 奈良). Refers to the three…

Ch: Nanquan zhihua. Lit. "Nanzen 南泉 (Ch: Nanquan) pointing at flowers." A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) dialogue in which the…

Ch: Nanquan zhanmao. A painting subject depicting the Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) parable of the priest Nanquan Puyuan (Jp:…

Also nankin busshi or nankyō busshi 南京仏師, yamashinadera busshi 山階寺仏師, otera busshi 御寺仏師…

A type of illustrated woodblock-printed book or handscroll popular from the Muromachi through mid-Edo periods. Although…

The Nara period (645-794). In 645 a coup to restore Imperial authority was carried out by Prince Naka no Ōe 中大兄 (later,…

A pictorial theme based on the *kabuki 歌舞伎 play named after its…

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and the mask *…

A type of wooden sculpture characterized by round chisel nata 鉈 marks that are left on the surface. Natabori…

Lit. "nirvana painting." A genre of painting that depicts the death of the historical Buddha *…

The Kyoto-Osaka region kamigata 上方 term for a *kabuki 歌舞伎 play book…

Era name. The practice of naming eras originated in China when the first era name, Jian wu (Jp: Kengen 建元), was given to the…

Also jibutsu 持仏 and uchibotoke 内仏. A Buddhist image which is kept at close proximity for personal daily…

Also pronounced nenchū gyōji. Lit. "annual events." Nenjū gyōji originally meant the monthly celebrations…

A standing screen *tsuitate shōji 衝立障子 placed on the low wooden floor…

Also juzu 数珠, 誦数. A string of beads or a rosary, used for Buddhist prayer and invocation. Particularly associated…

The date of production of a work of art. Nenki are often accompanied by the signature of the artist shomei…

Also called komatsuhiki 小松引 (pulling up small pines). Lit. "Day of the Rat Celebration." One of the traditional…

Paper *washi 和紙 used in painting and drawing to transfer an image to…

Also gyōdō 行道, gōshō-e 迎接会, raigō-e 来迎会. A Buddhist ceremony brought to Japan from the…

A modelling material resembling *kokuso-urushi 木屎漆 but harder in…

A miniature sculpture that is ties to a portable tiered container *inrō 印籠 worn…

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 performed right after *…

A statue or painting depicting the Buddhas *Shaka 釈迦 and Tahō 多宝…

An abbreviation of Nichiren Shōnin 日連上人 (1222-82). A radical reformer of popular Buddhism and founder of the …

1　Lit. "face likeness pictures." Very often bust portraits or a likeness of the head. See *…

Lit. "Japanese-style painting." The term came into use during the Meiji period to distinguish indigenous painting from…

Also nijū enkōhai 二重円光背, nijū ensō二重円相. Lit. "double round halo." A type of halo *…

Lit. "25 bodhisattvas *bosatsu 菩薩." The bosatsu that are…

The 28 attendants of *Senju Kannon 千手観音. They protect those who place…

Lit. "28 lunar mansions." In the astronomical theory of both ancient India and China the path of the moon during a single…

Ch: ershisixiao. Lit. "twenty-four paragons of filial piety." A popular theme in Chinese figure painting based on…

Also read niga byakudō-zu. Lit. "picture of Two Rivers and the White Path." Inspired by a parable taught by the…

A transparent or semi-transparent animal glue, used as a binder *baizai 媒剤, and…

Also muken chōsō 無見頂相, chōkeisō 頂髻相, *ushitsunisha…

From the late Heian period a small circle carved at the front part of the base of the *nikkei…

Illustrations of a diary or an illustrated diary. Diaries of high literary value or writings in the form of diaries occupy…

Solar Radiance and Lunar Radiance.

1　Sk: Suryavairocana and Candravairocana. Two…

Also nikuhitsu ukiyo-e 肉筆浮世絵. A painting done with a brush and colored ink on paper or silk and not carved in a…

Also nimaiori byōbu 二枚折屏風. A folding screen with two panels. Came into use in the mid-Muromachi period with a…

A floral and vine design pattern that is a variation of a Chinese grass motif *…

Also called *chūhon 中本 or eiri chūgata yomihon 絵入中型読本; in the…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 based on the Ninnō Gokoku Hannya…