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  • Architecture (134)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (8)
  • Art History (60)
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  • General Terms (30)
  • Iconography (3)
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  • Painting (27)
  • Roofing Tiles (3)
  • Sculpture (23)
  • Shrines (8)
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  • Tea Houses (26)
  • Tools (4)

Displaying 101 - 191 of 191
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
wachigaigawara 輪違瓦 ✓

Also tsumegawara 爪瓦. A row of narrow tile pieces cut crosswise from semi-cylindrical tiles *…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
wajō 倭城

A Japanese castle. Refers to 25 castles constructed in various regions of Korea by the Japanese forces during the Bunroku-…

Architecture, Castles
wakaba 若葉 ✓

1 An abstract decorative pattern of extended curved lines based on the form of a leaf. The pattern is…

Architecture, Decorations
wakamiya shinzō 若宮神像

Lit. "Shinto image of a young prince." A generic term covering both images of a divine son of the main enshrined Shinto…

Art History, Iconography
Wakamurasaki 若紫 ✓

Lit. "young lavender." A pictorial subject based on "Wakamurasaki" ("Lavender"), Chapter 5 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語…

Art History, Painting, Document
Wakana 若菜 ✓

A pictorial subject taken from "Wakana" ("New Herbs"), which is divided into two parts, making up Chapters 34 and 35 of …

Art History, Painting, Document
wakaonna 若女

Young girl. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman. The mature…

Art History, Sculpture
wakaotoko 若男

Young man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young commoner with…

Art History, Sculpture
wakiagari 脇上 ✓

The wakiagari allowed visitors to enter or leave the residence from a waiting palanquin kago 駕篭 without…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakidana 脇棚 ✓

Shelves forming part of an arrangement in the space next to the decorative alcove *…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakido 脇戸 ✓

A small door, usually beside the main door of a structure. Sometimes there is one on each side of the main door.

Architecture, General Terms
wakiganna 脇鉋

A plane used to smooth the sides of a groove, particularly in a doorsill or lintel, after the base plane, *…

Architecture, Tools
wakigegyo 脇懸魚

Lit. "side gable pendant." Also *kudarigegyo 降懸魚, *…

Architecture, Decorations
wakihonjin 脇本陣

A secondary *honjin 本陣, authorized by the Tokugawa 徳川 government for the…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
wakijin 脇陣

Side sanctuary. Areas beside the main hall *hondō 本堂 of a Buddhist…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
wakikoguchi 脇虎口

A side entrance to a castle. A small, inconspicuous entrance located on the side of a castle, in contrast with the main gate…

Architecture, Castles
wakikokabe 脇小壁

A long, narrow, vertical wall constructed between two or more pillars, or on each side of an entrance or a window.

Architecture, General Terms
wakimon 脇門

Also read *ekimon 掖門. A side gate or a small gate on one or both sides of a…

Architecture, Gates
wakishōji 脇障子

Wooden screens placed at the back ends of side verandas *en 縁. They…

Architecture, General Terms
wakizura 脇面

The left and right sides of a purlin *keta 桁.

Architecture, General Terms
waku 枠

A frame constructed around the perimeter of a window or doorway; the opening into which sliding panels and other structural…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakugi 和釘

Also called nihon kugi 日本釘. A square nail used during and after the Kofun period. The nail was made of hand-wrought…

Architecture, General Terms
wakuhijiki 枠肘木

Two bracket arms *hijiki 肘木 positioned at right angle to one…

Architecture, General Terms
wakyō 和鏡

Japanese style mirrors. Wakyō were developed as part of toilet sets in the Heian period. Previously large and…

Art History, Crafts
wamono 和物

Lit. "Japanese things." A term used in *chanoyu 茶湯 in…

Art History, Crafts
wanagi hozo 輪薙ほぞ

A tenon referred to as channeled or as fingered. It is used on king posts *shinzuka…

Architecture, Joints
wanagikomi 輪薙込

Wanagikomi is an angle joint, also called an open mortise and tenon joint, a slip slot or finger mortise. It…

Architecture, Joints
wansen 腕釧

A wristlet. A decorative ring *kansen 鐶釧 found on the wrists of…

Art History, Sculpture
warabidegata 蕨手形

Short for warabidegata suihotsu 蕨手形垂髪. Strands of hair *suihotsu…

Art History, Sculpture
warabidemon 蕨手文 ✓

Also warabimon 蕨文. A design pattern which represents the bracken fern in spring when it gives out curling shoots.…

Art History, Painting
warabite 蕨手 ✓

Also warabide. A style of ornamentation which features a curved design based on curling bracken shoots. It is found…

Architecture, Decorations
warafude 藁筆

Stiff brushes made of beaten straw. Warafude were popular with the *Kano-ha…

Art History, Painting
waraijō 笑尉

Lit. "laughing old man." A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a…

Art History, Sculpture
waranawa 藁縄

1 Rope made by twisting together strands of straw. In clay statuary, the central wooden core *…

Art History, General Terms, Architecture, Sculpture
waraza 藁座 ✓

1 Also called enza, maruza 円座, or ukeza kanamono 受座金物. The metal or…

Architecture, General Terms
waridakebari 割竹張

To cover or enclose with split bamboo. For example, found on the doors of a simple garden gate teimon 庭門 with a…

Architecture, General Terms
wariguri-ishi 割栗石

Also called wariguri 割栗, kuri-ishi 栗石 or guri ぐり (lit. "stones crushed like chestnuts"). Rock…

Architecture, General Terms
warihada 割肌

The surface of a member that was split vertically by pounding in a wedge *kusabi…

Architecture, Joints
warihagi 割矧

A sculpture technique used to carve a large hollow space *uchiguri…

Art History, Sculpture
warihaiden 割拝殿 ✓

Lit. "divided worship hall." A long structure under a single roof divided in the center by a passageway *…

Architecture, Shrines
warikebiki 割毛引

Lit. "splitting gauge." The splitting gauge is used to mark thin pieces of wood along the grain so that it can be broken…

Architecture, Tools
warikubi 割首

A wood statue technique used to join the head and body at the neck. The head and body of a Buddha statue are carved from a…

Art History, Sculpture
warikusabi 割楔

1 An extremely strong joint that uses a blind wedge-split tenon warikusabi hozo 割楔ほぞ to join two…

Architecture, Joints
warima 割間

The interval between the vertical slats *tateko 竪子 and horizontal…

Architecture, Gardens
washi 和紙

Handmade Japanese paper made from long natural fibers. Most commonly used fibers include mulberry kōzo 楮 (see *…

Art History, Painting
washibana akujō 鷲鼻悪尉

Eagle-nosed fierce old man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing a…

Art History, Sculpture
wata-ita 綿板

Also called *ireko-ita 入子板. A board that connects the rails and crosspieces…

Architecture, General Terms
watabana 綿花

Also written 綿鼻. A molding *kurigata 繰形 in the shape of a silk-…

Architecture, Decorations
watari yagura 渡櫓 ✓

1 A connecting gallery or tower inside a square compound *masugata…

Architecture, Castles
watariago 渡腮

Also called *agokaki 腮欠, agokake 腮掛. A cogged right-angled joint…

Architecture, Joints
wayō 和様

1 Lit. "Japanese style architecture." The architectural techniques and styles introduced from China during…

Architecture, General Terms, Art History
wayō hijiki 和様肘木 ✓

A bracket arm *hijiki 肘木 that is characterized by curved surfaces on the…

Architecture, General Terms
wayō kōran 和様高欄 ✓

A railing in the wayō style *wayō 和様. The horizontal…

Architecture, General Terms

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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