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JAANUS

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  • Accessories (4)
  • Architecture (375)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (8)
  • Art History (173)
  • Buildings (18)
  • Castles (29)
  • Crafts (15)
  • Decorations (24)
  • Document (15)
  • Folk Dwellings (25)
  • Gardens (31)
  • Gates (6)
  • General Terms (142)
  • Iconography (15)
  • Joints (5)
  • Lanterns (2)
  • Measurement (3)
  • Painting (93)
  • Roofing Tiles (17)
  • Sculpture (48)
  • Shrines (14)
  • Storehouses (3)
  • Structures (18)
  • Tea Houses (46)
  • Tools (9)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 545
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
chōnabari 釿梁 ✓

Transverse roof beams that span the distance from the center posts of a vernacular house with a thatched roof to the *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
chōnaguri 釿栗

Cutting decorative patterns with an adze *chōna 釿 on chestnut wood …

Architecture, General Terms
chōnahajime 釿始

Also written 釿初, 手斧初. Also called kozukuri hajime 木造り始め or onohajime 斧始め. A carpenter's ceremony performed…

Architecture, General Terms
chōnamekezuri 釿目削 ✓

Also called chōnahatsuri 釿斫. A decorative pattern carved into the visible surface of a timber using an adze *…

Architecture, General Terms
chōren 頂蓮

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

Art History, Sculpture
chōsenshiki yamajiro 朝鮮式山城

Lit. Korean type mountain castle. A general term for castle structures in Japan that resemble those in ancient Korea.…

Architecture, Castles
choshi 楮紙

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

Art History, Painting
chōshitsu 彫漆

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

Art History, Crafts
chōshizenshugi 超自然主義

Lit. hyper-naturalism. The idea of basing a garden, or a single element in it, on nature, but exaggerating the natural…

Architecture, Gardens
Chotō 猪頭

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

Art History, Painting
chōyō・taigetsu 朝陽・対月 ✓

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

Art History, Painting
chōzu-ishi 手水石

Lit. hand-washing stone. One of the seven trump stones *nanatsu-ishi 七つ石…

Architecture, Tea Houses
chōzubachi 手水鉢

Lit. hand water bowl. A water basin used to rinse the hands or as a decorative element in gardens. Usually made of stone,…

Architecture, Gardens
chōzuya 手水舎

Also written 手水屋. Also called suibansha 水盤舎 or temizuya 手水舎. Shrine or temple building for cleaning hands…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
chūban 中判

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

Art History, Painting
chūberi 中縁

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

Art History, Painting
chūbō 中房

The central, circular part of a round, eave-end, pendant tile *gatō 瓦当…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
chūdai 中台

The middle base of a lantern *tōrō 灯籠 upon which rests the flame holder and…

Architecture, Gardens
chūdan 中段

Middle area. In upper class residences especially from the Momoyama period and through the Edo period, seating was…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
chūden 中殿

The space *ai-no-ma 相の間 between the sanctuary *…

Architecture, Shrines
chūdō 中堂

Lit. central hall. A hall situated between two Buddhist halls or a hall with corridors attached on either side. The most…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
chūhon 中本

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

Art History, Painting
chūjin 中陣

A term used in shrine architecture: a middle area between the *honden 本殿, *…

Architecture, Shrines
chūjō 中将

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

Art History, Sculpture
chūkin 鋳金

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

Art History, Sculpture
chūkondō 中金堂

Lit. middle golden hall. An image hall *kondō 金堂 located at the center of…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
chūmon 中門

1 Middle gate. The second or inner gate on the north-south axis of a temple compound in the ancient period…

Architecture, Gates
chūmon-zukuri 中門造り

A type of vernacular house *minka 民家, characterized by one or more wings or…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
chūmonrō 中門廊

1 A Heian-period corridor intersected by gates. In the most elaborate Heian-period shinden style…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
chūnikai 中二階 ✓

A term for a loft or attic occupying the roof space of a vernacular house *minka…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
chūsei kenchiku 中世建築

Lit. medieval architecture. Temple and shrine buildings erected during the Kamakura, Nanbokuchō, and Muromachi periods when…

Architecture, General Terms
chūshikō ganna 中仕工鉋

A smoothing plane, used to further smooth the surface of timber after the general roughing plane *…

Architecture, Tools
chūshin kazari 中心飾

Also tenjō chūshinkazari 天井中心飾. Lit. center flower.

1 A group of decorative patterns in…

Architecture, Decorations
Chūshingura 忠臣蔵

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

Art History, Painting
chūshinseki 中心石

Lit. center stone(s). A single stone or stone arrangement *ishigumi 石組,…

Architecture, Gardens
chūson 中尊

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…

Art History, Sculpture
chūtō 柱頭

A synonym for the large bearing block *daito 大斗 placed on the tops of pillars…

Architecture, General Terms
chūzō 鋳造

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

The base material was heated…

Art History, Sculpture
tabigeta 旅桁

1 One of the purlins used in a hidden roof *noyane …

Architecture, General Terms
tachiagari 立上

A vertical timber that rises from a level or inclined surface. In modular measurement of timber *…

Architecture, General Terms
tachichōzubachi 立手水鉢 ✓

Lit. "standing water basin." A type of tall basin *chōzubachi 手水鉢 that can…

Architecture, Gardens
tachikibutsu 立木仏

Lit. "standing tree Buddha." A Buddhist image carved on a living tree or on wood that retains the form of the original tree…

Art History, Sculpture
tachisama 立狭間

A loophole *sama 狭間 cut in a wall about chest high to a standing soldier.…

Architecture, Castles
tagane 鏨

Graver. A sharp, pointed steel tool used in metalwork and stone carving. Used for engraving, carving, and chiselling,…

Art History, Sculpture
tagasode 誰袖

Lit. "whose sleeves?" Painting theme depicting beautiful kimono 着物 draped across a wooden rack, ikō …

Art History, Painting
tahōtō 多宝塔 ✓

A 2-storied pagoda that developed from the circular, roofed one called *hōtō 宝塔…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
tai-no-shiro 対の城

Lit. "confronting castle." Also termed mukaijiro 向城 (facing castle) and *tsukejiro…

Architecture, Castles
taibō 大房

Also pronounced daibō. A large room 6.7 m wide and 12.7 m deep, constructed in a style customary from about the mid…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
taiheibire 大瓶鰭

Also oigata 笈形, *gasshōhire 合掌鰭. A pair of decorative sculpted…

Architecture, Decorations
taiheizuka 大瓶束 ✓

Lit. "large bottle strut." A strut that is used mainly in Zen style architecture *…

Architecture, General Terms
taiko-otoshi 太鼓落 ✓

The trimming or hewing of the opposite sides of a log so that the surfaces become flat and parallel making it easier to join…

Architecture, General Terms
taiko 太孤

Old Persian man taikofu 太孤父 and young Persian boy taikoji 太孤児, two types of gigaku masks *…

Art History, Sculpture
taikobari fusuma 太鼓張襖 ✓

Also called taikobari 太鼓張, fukuroshōji 袋障子, bōzufusuma 坊主襖.
A type of paper-covered,…

Architecture, General Terms
taikobashi 太鼓橋 ✓

Also called soribashi 反橋. An arched bridge made of stone or wood. One example is the Yoka Jinja 与賀神社 (1607) in Saga…

Architecture, General Terms
Taikōbō 太公望

Ch: Taigongwang. A Chinese scholar who was thought to be a paragon of humble virtue and learned accomplishment, and who…

Art History, Painting
taikodo 太鼓戸 ✓

A door frame covered on both sides with boards or panels. The inside of the door, like a drum taiko 太鼓, is empty.…

Architecture, General Terms
Taima mandara 当麻曼荼羅

Mandala of Taima. The most complete depiction of the *Kangyō hensō…

Art History, Iconography
tainaibutsu 胎内仏

A small Buddhist image that is placed inside a larger one as an offering. In most cases, older images were placed inside…

Art History, Sculpture
taisha 代赭

Red ochre. A red pigment whose main component is ferric oxide (haematite), Fe203. Used in Japanese style painting *…

Art History, Painting
taisha-zukuri 大社造 ✓

Also called ōyashiro-zukuri. The oldest style of shrine architecture. Its small scale is thought to resemble that…

Architecture, Shrines
taishaku 大尺

Lit. "large shaku 尺." An ancient unit of length. Introduced in the Taihōryō 大宝令 codes of 701, it measured 35.6 cm,…

Architecture, Measurement
Taishakuten 帝釈天

A major Hindu god called Indra or Sakra who has two major roles in Buddhist literature, one as king of the gods and lord of…

Art History, Iconography
taishidō 太子堂

A hall either dedicated to Shōtoku Taishi 聖徳太子 (ca. 574-622), the second son of Emperor Yōmei 用明 (r. 585-87), or a building…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
taishoku 褪色

Fading. A lessening of the intensity of a color by exposure to sunlight or air. Chemically unstable dyes or pigments undergo…

Art History, Painting
taishōtoku 退走禿

"Running in retreat," a *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

Art History, Sculpture
taisō byōbu 太宗屏風

A type of folding screen *byōbu 屏風 used in the Imperial Palace…

Art History, Painting
Taizō kyūzuyō 胎蔵旧図様

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

Art History, Iconography
Taizō zuzō 胎蔵図像

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

Art History, Iconography
Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅

A *mandara 曼荼羅 based on the Dainichikyō 大日経 (Sk: …

Art History, Iconography
taka-no-hashi 鷹の嘴

Lit. "hawk's beak." A decorative, curved pattern often found on moldings. The pattern has pointed tips like a bird's beak.…

Architecture, Decorations
takagari 鷹狩

A pictorial subject depicting the sport of falconry, birds trained to hunt cranes tsuru 鶴, pheasants kiji…

Art History, Painting
takahei 高塀

Also pronounced takahe. The gable walls of the central thatched portion kirizuma 切妻 of the roof *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
takahei-zukuri 高塀造り

Also pronounced takahe-zukuri. Lit. "high wall construction." Also called *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
takaikegaki 高生垣

A hedge, 3 to 5 m high, planted as a wind screen or for fire control.

Architecture, Gardens
takaku-bashira 多角柱

A pillar or post that is multi-sided or cut with many facets.

Architecture, General Terms
takama bussho 高間仏所

Also takaya bussho 高矢仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors active in Nara *…

Art History, Sculpture
takarabune 宝船 ✓

A sailboat hokakebune 帆掛船 at full sail, loaded with rice bushels and treasures takara 宝, often bearing the…

Art History, Iconography
Takasago 高砂

Now a modern city on the Inland Sea (southwest of Osaka in Hyōgo Prefecture), most famous as the sea-coast setting for the…

Art History, Painting
takatoriyaki 高取焼 ✓

Takatori 高取 ware. Made in Chikuzen 筑前 Province (modern Fukuoka Prefecture) of northern Kyūshū 九州, the Takatori kilns were…

Art History, Crafts
take-bashira 竹柱

Lit. "bamboo post." One that has been squared off.

Architecture, General Terms
take-no-fushi ranma 竹の節欄間 ✓

Also take-no-fushi 竹の節. Lit. "bamboo joint transom." A type of transom shaped like a balustrade which became…

Architecture, Decorations
take tokusabei 竹木賊塀 ✓

Lit. "bamboo and horsetail tokusa 木賊 fence."

1 A fence that has split and crushed bamboo…

Architecture, Gardens
takegaki 竹垣 ✓

Lit. "bamboo fence." A generic name for any kind of fence made with bamboo. Specific types include *…

Architecture, Gardens
Takekawa 竹河 ✓

A pictorial subject taken from "Takekawa" ("Bamboo River"), Chapter 44 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Art History, Painting, Document
takekugi 竹釘

A bamboo nail. Usually the nail is 7.5 mm square and made from giant bamboo madake 真竹 (also nigatake 苦竹).…

Architecture, Tea Houses
takenaga bōsho 丈長奉書

A long-sheet size of *hōsho 奉書 paper. Approximately 53 x 72 cm. The largest…

Art History, Painting
takerenji 竹連子 ✓

Bamboo or bamboo muntins that are used for windows in dwellings where a suggestion of rusticity is needed, or in tea…

Architecture, General Terms
takeshōji 竹障子

Paper-covered bamboo frames used as full-sized sliding doors *shōji 障子, or the…

Architecture, General Terms
takeyarai 竹矢来 ✓

Also written 竹柵. A roughly constructed bamboo fence with horizontal pieces placed close to the top, at the center, and at…

Architecture, Gardens
takiguchi 焚口

The stokehole or stokeholes in the side of a cooking range *kamado 竃. The…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
takigumi-ishi 滝組石

Lit. "waterfall stone arrangement." A type of stone arrangement used for garden waterfalls. Also pronounced taki-…

Architecture, Gardens
tako-e 凧絵

Pictures on kites. It is thought that kite flying became popular in Japan in the 18th century, and the early designs for…

Art History, Painting
tako 蛸 ✓

A tool called a "punner" in English, used to pound down broken stones laid below the foundation of a building. It consists…

Architecture, Tools
takudana 卓棚

A set of decorative shelves used in an alcove. A single, high shelf with enclosed sliding doors is constructed slightly…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
Takuma-ha 宅磨派

Also written 託磨派 and 宅間派. One of the schools of *ebusshi 絵仏師, priest-painters…

Art History, Painting
tama-ishi 玉石

Lit. "round stone." A boulder about 15-30 cm across, which has been naturally rounded by a river or ocean waves. Often…

Architecture, Gardens
tama-ishijiki 玉石敷 ✓

A type of paving using naturally rounded stones *tama-ishi 玉石, about 15-30 cm in diameter.…

Architecture, Tea Houses
tamabuchi 玉縁

Lit. "jewelled edge."

1 The tip on the rear, narrow end of a half-round roof tile *…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles, Gardens
tamagaki 玉垣 ✓

The generic term for a fence surrounding the square or rectangular space containing the main sanctuary *…

Architecture, General Terms
Tamakazura 玉鬘 ✓

A pictorial subject taken from "Tamakazura" ("The Jeweled Chaplet"), Chapter 22 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The…

Art History, Painting, Document

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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