1　A general term that refers to the title or preface, dai 題 or daiji 題辞, and the…

Also daibusshi-shiki 大仏師職, zōbutsu-chōkan 造仏長官. An important Buddhist sculptor *…

Also jōrokubutsu 丈六仏. The term used to describe a very large statue of Buddha. Originally any statue more than…

A standard lotus pedestal *rengeza 蓮華座 used to support a *…

Also sōgyari 僧伽梨 (Sk: sanghati). A robe worn by Buddhist priests. The largest of the three robes *…

Also Taigensui Myōō 太元帥明王. Sometimes read Daigen Myōō. In Sanskrit, Atavaka, which means lord of the forest, and which is…

Lit. *myōō 明王 of great awesome virtue. A god thought so powerful as to be able to…

Translation of Sanskrit Mahesvara (also transliterated as Makeishura 摩醯首羅), one of the many names of Shiva, who, along with…

Also called Yukisuki-no-byōbu 悠紀主基屏風. Folding screens *byōbu 屏風 used…

1　An abbreviation for *Daikokuten 大黒天 (Sk: Mahakala). Regarded by…

Daikokuten is generally famous as a god of luck. He is most familiar in Japan as a fat, smiling figure with a big sack over…

Lit. Great Sun. Translation of the Sk. Mahavairocana "(Great) Illuminating One"; also translated as (Dai)Henjō (大)遍照 "(Great…

Also written 題箋. Also called *harigedai 貼外題 and gedaigami 外題紙. A…

A pedestal or dais upon which a Buddhist image is placed. The type of pedestal is related to the type of image it supports…

Also dakkanshitsu 脱乾漆, dakkatsu kanshitsuzō 脱活乾漆像, dakkatsu kanshitsu-zukuri 脱活乾漆造. Hollow dry…

1　The traditional term for kinpeki nōsaiga 金碧濃彩画, a painting which has strong colors, particularly…

1　Also written 反. A step. The level part or tread of a flight of stairs. When made of wood, the tread is…

Japanese paper *washi 和紙 originally made from mayumi 檀 fibers (the…

A Buddhist statue made from fragrant, fine-grained wood such as white sandalwood *…

Sk: Bodhidharma. Ch: Damo. A semi-legendary Indian monk credited with bringing the teachings of Zen (Ch: Chan) to China.…

Also written 伊達. Originally derogatory, the term implies a man arrogant and full of his own prowess; it later came to…

Lit. pictures of Tartars hunting. A popular screen painting theme in the late 16th and early 17th century. The pictures…

Also kindei 金泥 and gindei 銀泥.

1　Gold or silver foil ground to a fine powder to…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 used to represent a terrestrial spirit or a dragon god.…

Gold eyes. A Noh mask, *nōmen 能面, representing a mature woman who carries within…

Lit. things from overseas.

1　Objects brought from abroad, including numerous art works. See *…

Lit. things from past generations. Art works or antiquities which have been treasured among people for long period of time.…

Lit. pasted paper leaf book. Also called *kochōsō 胡蝶装, as it is called in…

Also hōdō 宝幢, tendō 天幢, or bandō 幡幢. A small, rectangular cloth banner on a pole used as a…

The movable face plate. The most elaborate gimmick used on the bugaku mask, *…

Lit. body carving. The carver of woodblocks for *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints who was…

A title of artistic or cultural advisors in the Ashikaga 足利 shogunate, established about the time of Yosimitsu 義満 (1358-1408…

A man's hip-length jacket, generally worn over other clothing or armor by high-ranking samurai 侍 from the late…

Rotating eyes, a gimmick used for many bugaku masks, *bugakumen 舞楽面…

Lit. child, young boy.

1　A boy between 8 and 20 years old living in a Buddhist temple. He studies…

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 (a form of mandara centered…

A temple of the Tendai 天台 sect in Hidaka 日高, Wakayama Prefecture. The setting of a dramatic old Japanese tale first recorded…

Decorative drapery used on statues in the Kamakura region from the late Kamakura period. The drapery was made in clay relief…

Also written 純子. Patterned damask weave. A thick and glossy silk variety of shusu 繻子 (satin), with the design made…

Any painting produced with a type of thick, opaque paint made from inexpensive pigment and the white pigment, *…

A technique where a mixture of animal glue, *nikawa 膠, and powdered burnt clay…

Also 礬沙, 陶砂. Sizing. Dōsa is made by dissolving animal glue, *nikawa 膠…

Lit. Daoist Buddhist paintings. A genre of painting on Daoist (Taoist; Jp: Dōkyō 道教) and Buddhist (shaku 釈 from *…

Also Sae-no-kami 塞の神 (also read Sai-no-kami), Dōrokujin 道陸神, and other less common names. A folk deity associated with roads…

Bronze work. Bronze casting has been very important in Japan since ancient times, and was used for Yayoi period dōtaku…

Also shibai-e 芝居絵 and geki-e 劇画. Includes kabuki gekijō zu 歌舞伎劇場図 and *…

The most popular form of theatre among townspeople in Japan since the early Edo period. The form has its origins in the…

The eighteen *kabuki 歌舞伎 plays selected as best by Ichikawa Danjūrō 7 七代市川団十郎…

Pictures of *kabuki 歌舞伎. In the broad sense of the term, kabuki zu…

Also written as 兜. A helmet, usually made of iron. The earliest Japanese helmets were made in the Kofun period. There were…

Lit. bird-and-flower painting. Paintings of birds and flowers, flowers only *kakiga…

Also ka'enkō 火焔光. Lit. flame nimbus. A halo *kōhai 光背 on a…

1　Lotus petal design carved around the lower base kiban 基盤 of a lantern *…

Also called sakaguma 反隈 (or 逆隈) or teriguma 照隈. Lit. highlighting. Reverse shading. A shading *…

A pictorial subject based on the "Flares" Kagaribi, Chapter 27 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

1　A pictorial subject taken from one of the eighteen great kabuki plays *…

A pictorial subject taken from "The Drake Fly" Kagerō (also translated as Dayfly or Mayfly), Chapter 52 of G…

Also called kaio'oi 貝覆. A shell-matching game played originally by nobles in the Heian period. A half clam shell…

A ceremony where a Buddhist image not normally on view is unveiled to all worshippers. Normally carried out during a…

Ch: jiehua. Lit. boundary painting. Both a painting technique and a painting genre in China. As a technical term,…

Also abbreviated to kaigen or kaigan 開眼, jugan, or jugen 入眼. Lit. eye-opening ceremony.…

Kaigetsudō school. A school of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists in early 18th century who…

A school of painters active from the 16th century to the 19th century founded by Kaihō Yūshō 海北友松 (1533-1615) and passed…

Lit. Humble Words on Matters of Painting, a late 18th century polemic on painting theory by Kuwayama Gyokushū 桑山玉洲 (1746-99…

Shell buckets. Paired octagonal wood-based lacquer-decorated containers with fitted inrōbuta zukuri 印籠蓋造 lids used…

Ch: Jieziyuan huazhuan. Lit. Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting; a Qing dynasty painting manual that had a…

A round metal or wooden plate with a separately made or repousse (hammered from the rear) image of a Shinto deity *…

A print mounted on a hanging scroll. A format used for *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints.…

Also called by names such as kakejiku 掛軸, kakefuku 掛幅, jikumono 軸物, *…

Lit. persimmon color. An orange color, said to resemble the persimmon fruit, or a reddish-brown like the color of persimmon…

Ch: huahui hua. Paintings of flowers and various types of grass. This term is usually applied to Chinese painting,…

The moveable paintings used as backdrops for a *kabuki 歌舞伎 play. A piece of…

A variation of *tenmokuyū 天目釉. A red-brown glaze which is often used on straight…

Ch: Guo Ziyi (697-781). A Tang dynasty general, known for his military conquests and progeny. A native of Huazhou 華州 in…

Compilation of Kakuzen. An early Kamakura-period compilation of traditional Buddhist iconography. Also called Hyakkanshō…

Lit. frame base. The pieces of wood used around a window used to denote the lowest horizontal section of the dais for a…

The Kamakura period (1185-1332) is named for the city in modern Kanagawa Prefecture where Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-99…

The subject of a number of paintings in the possession of Danzan Jinja 談山神社 on Tōnomine 多武峯 in Nara. Kamatari is a deity…

A pre-13th century term for small paintings executed on paper in the *yamato-e…

A Shinto deity. Although the word deity may imply a singular definite presence, kami have no fixed number, form or…

*Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints from the Osaka-Kyoto area (kamigata 上方 denotes…

Lit. paper figure. The preliminary underdrawing *shita-e 下絵 for a Kamakura and…

Hairless old man. Also written 上無尉. Alternate name, inarijō 稲荷尉. A nō mask *…

A painting subject of horse racing at Kamigamo Jinja 上賀茂神社 in Kyoto. The event was a popular custom held on May 5th (today…

Also sentenmon 旋転文. A spiral pattern used in drapery folds on Buddhist statues. Ridges, representing creases in the…

Ch: Han Wudi (159-87 BC). Lit. Emperor Wu of Han. The seventh emperor of the Former Han (Jp: Zenkan 前漢), who ruled from 141-…

Kan'ei culture. The culture of the Kan'ei era (1624-44) and by extension that of the whole early Edo period *…

A signature *rakkan 落款 or a seal *…

Ch: Guan Yu (d. 219 CE). A Chinese general. A painting theme and the subject and title of a *…

Lit. book in kana script. A popular literarily form produced between 1600-82, principally in the Kyoto area. These…

Lit. Eight views of Kanazawa. Eight scenic spots around Kanazawa, the southern part of Kuraki 久良岐 in Sagami 相模 Province (…

Ch: guanputu. A pictorial theme that features a scholar gazing at a waterfall. The theme probably relates to the poem Ballad…

Lit. beauties of the Kanbun 寛文 era (1661-73). A generic and recently coined term for paintings of beautiful women and men,…

A ceremony held every year to commemorate Buddha's *Shaka 釈迦 birthday, April 8th…

Lit. Chinese painting. Several painting styles which developed in Japan after the mid-13th century under the influence of…

Guide to Chinese Style Painting. A late 18th century treatise on *nanga 南画 by…