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

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 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 *…

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…

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…

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

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

A pictorial subject taken from Arrowhead, the play from the *kabuki…

A pictorial subject taken from "Yadorigi" ("The Ivy"), Chapter 49 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

Lit. "burned brush." A wooden stick with a burned tip. Like charcoal used in western style painting, yakifude is…

A type of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print which shows one or several actors in a stage pose or…

Lit. "picture books illustrating actors." Books that bound together actor prints, but also included theater and stage scenes…

Printed books criticizing actors' skills. Theater reviews were not published in booklet form until 1656 with Yakusha-no-…

Ch: Yaoshan Li'ao. A Zen 禅 painting subject depicting the philosophical debate between the Tang dynasty hermit-priest…

Ch: Yaoshan she chenzhongchen; lit. "Yakusan's Shooting of the Great King of the Big Deers." A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan)…

Lit. "mountain indigo." Perennial plant 30-40 cm high, Mercurialis leiocarpa Sieb. et zuc., used to make a blue dye…

Also written 楊梅樹. A brown vegetable dye senryō 染料 obtained from the evergreen tree Myrica rubra,…

Also written 大和絵 and 倭絵. A widely used description term which has carried various nuances in different periods, but…

The most commonly used style of mounting hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 in…

Also musubitoji 結び綴じ, lit. "knot-binding." The simplest style of book-binding, and usually a type of pouch-binding…

Also read Yamanba. Oni-onna 鬼女 (demonic woman) or yama-onna 山女 (mountain woman) are used occasionally.…

Also written 夜叉付子. A brown vegetable dye senryō 染料 made from the alder tree (Alnus firma), which…

A pictorial subject depicting scenes from the Battle at Yashima, an important engagement in the Genpei Battles Genpei…

1　Lit. "eight bridges." A type of low bridge built over a shallow pond or marsh using wooden planks without…

Western-influenced paintings and prints produced in Japan before the Meiji period, including *…

Western-style painting produced during the Meiji period. Yōga employed the use of western materials such as oil…

A blank, unpainted space. It is considered one of the identifying characteristics of both Chinese and Japanese painting.…

Also bakemono-e 化物絵 and yūrei-e 幽霊絵. *Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints that depict…

Ch: Yang Guifei (719-56). The famous Chinese beauty and concubine of Emperor Xuanzong (Jp: *…

Carmine, a crimson pigment. An alkaline organometallic compound, taken from the female cochineal insect which lives on…

A pictorial subject based on "The Flute," Yokobue, Chapter 37 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Also Yokohama 横浜 *ukiyo-e 浮世絵. Late ukiyo-e prints which depicted foreigners at the port…

Lit. "reading books." An Edo period woodblock printed novel prevalent from the mid to late Edo period that focused on…

A pictorial subject based on "The Wormwood Patch" Yomogiu, Chapter 15 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The…

Also yomaiori byōbu 四枚折屏風. A folding screen with four panels. Before the 12th or 13th century, this type of screen…

An area in Mt. Ōmine 大峰, Nara, most famous for cherry blossoms. Important not only as a place of great scenic beauty, but…

The tragic warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune 源義経 (1159-89), whose many exploits both real and legendary are recounted in…

The licensed pleasure and prostitution quarter of Edo. First established in 1617 near Nihonbashi 日本橋 by Shōji Jin'emon…

A pictorial subject in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 taken from the popular *…

A pictorial subject taken from "Evening Faces" Yūgao, Chapter 4 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

A pictorial subject taken from the "Evening Mist" Yuugiri, Chapter 39 of Genji monogarari 源氏物語 (The…

*ukiyo-e 浮世絵 beauty prints *bijinga 美人画…

An Edo period "Who's Who" of prostitutes in the pleasure districts. The yūjo hyōbanki was one of two major…

Organic pigment. An insoluble paint material *ganryō 顔料 made from animal…

A pictorial subject taken from "The Floating Bridge of Dreams" Yume no ukihashi, Chapter 54 of Genji monogatari…

Lit. "Crescent Moon;" loaded or pulled bow (shaped) moon. A pictorial subject in *ukiyo-e…

Lit. "drifting bow." A pictorial subject depicting an incident at the Battle at Yashima *…

A low class of prostitutes during the Genna 元和 and Kan'ei 寛永 eras (1615-44). Typically, after meeting customers by washing…

Lit. "depictions of amusements." A major category of genre painting *fūzokuga…

Traditional design motifs, used either in single units or repeated to create patterns, based on designs from Heian courtly…

The History and Benefits of the Yūzū Nenbutsu engi. A handscroll theme recounting the early history of the Yūzū…