Ch: Fu Daishi. Buddhist Master Fu or Great Teacher Fu. The Chinese Buddhist layman Fu Xi (Jp: Fu Kyū 傅翕, 497-569)…

Sanskrit: Potalaka. Sometimes written 普陀楽山, 布落迦山; also called Fudaraku 補陀落. Octagonal island-mountain paradise…

Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing *Fudō …

The chief of the Five Great Myōō, *Godai Myōō 五大明王, Fudō has been, and…

Depictions of Mt. Fuji 富士 painted from the Heian period to modern times in a variety of contexts. A usually quiet (but still…

Lit. universally good (Sk: Samantabhadra); also Henkitsu 遍吉. A bodhisattva, *bosatsu…

Lit. axe-cut stroke. A painting texture stroke, *shunpō 皴法, said to have been…

Devotional paintings of Mt. Fuji 富士 in a large hanging scroll format. Usually they are in the form of sankei mandara…

A pictorial subject taken from the "Wisteria Leaves" (Fuji no uraba, underleaves of wisteria), Chapter 33 of …

A pictorial subject taken from the "Purple Trousers" (Fujibakama, also translated as Mistflowers), Chapter 30 of…

Lit. Wind God and Thunder God. Based on popular Indian deities (Sk: Vayu and Varun) and Chinese deities (Ch: Fengshen 風神 and…

Fujiwara period. A period of approximately two hundred years corresponding to the Middle Heian period (Heian chūki…

Deep. A noh mask, *nōmen 能面, representing a middle-aged woman torn by…

Ch: Puhua. An itinerant priest of the Tang Dynasty depicted in paintings as wandering the streets of Zhenzhou 鎮州 in a state…

Lit. Landscape painting, a general term, usually applied only to works in the long western tradition of landscape by…

Also zōkin bokashi 雑巾ぼかし, rag shading. Any wiping technique used to produce gradated tones (shading) on a woodblock…

A technique to create tints by placing a cut-out pattern on paper and scraping paint through a wire mesh with a brush,…

The part of a lotus-petal base, *rengeza 蓮華座, for a Buddhist image…

1　Also written 葺返. A board which projects diagonally out from the top of a statue canopy, *…

A compositional technique used to depict a residential interior. The technique involves rendering a building without a roof…

1　The arrangement of muntins, lattice (*fukiyose gōshi…

Also fukiyosebuki 吹寄葺, fukiyose renben 吹寄蓮弁, or *fukiyose…

A later-era appellation given to a group of artists from the late Edo period who consciously attempted revive the past *…

The god of happiness, represented in kyōgen 狂言 plays by a masked figure, *…

A restoration copy. A painting that is copied with the intent of restoring it to near its original state. This means…

Ch: Fuxi. A legendary Chinese sage and ruler who was the founder of Chinese civilization and first sovereign of the Five…

Also known as Fukūkensaku Kannon. His name, "non-empty noose," is pronounced differently in Shingon 真言 (Fukaukenjaku) and…

The woodblock-printed paper that formed the outer covers for prints and woodblock books. In the 1770s-80s it became popular…

A type of mounting for hanging scrolls, *kakemono 掛物. The *…

Ch: Fu Lu Shou. A popular deity of wealth (fuku 福), happiness (roku 禄), and longevity( ju 寿),…

Also read fukurotsuzuri. Also called karatoji 唐綴 and fukurozōshi 袋草子. Lit. pouch-binding. The…

Also fuchoku 布置. Composition in Chinese painting. Included in the fifth canon, "Plan and Design, Place and Position…

Replica casting. A technique used in metal casting, where a simple, flat metal object was covered with clay to make a mold.…

Also funagatakō 舟形光. Lit. boat-shaped halo. A halo, *kōhai 光背, with a…

Also read fundame. A technique of coating a statue with gold. Used during and after the Kamakura period. The figure…

Also funnugyō 忿怒形 or shinnusō 瞋怒相. An angry expression found on Buddhist images. The opposite of *…

1　A Tang Dynasty term for rough sketches or underdrawings made with gesso powder, *…

Also pronounced funsōe or funsōi. A Buddhist monk's robe made from rags. According to Buddhist tradition,…

Lit. refined taste. An aesthetic ideal implying traditional elegance, chic stylishness, creative ingenuity, and sometimes…

Ch: Fengliuzhentu. Lit. Depictions of Elegant Battles. A Chinese painting subject included among the Pictures of…

Lit. cloth masks. Also sakumen 作面. Eighth-century burlap (ramie) pieces with a human face sketched in the…

Lit. satirical pictures. Paintings and prints satirizing current events, world affairs, government, and politics. The…

Knotted zō. A noh mask, *nōmen 能面, representing a mature young woman. A…

Biography of Famous Painters in Japan, a comprehensive mid-19th-century biography of painters. Supplemented and…

Primer on Master Painters of Japan, an early 18th-century biography of painters by Asai Fukyū 浅井不旧. Asai, a native…

Ch: Fengshuidong. Lit. the wind and water caves. A grotto complex near Hangzhou 杭州 which was the subject of poems by Su…

Abbreviation of fusumashōji-e 襖障子絵. Paintings on sliding-door panels, *fusuma…

A term used for one of the parts of the mounting of a hanging scroll, *kakemono…

Also shokanbukuro-e 書簡袋絵. The woodblock-printed pictures on folded paper covers which functioned as envelopes, …

Abbreviation of either the *kekka fuza 結跏趺坐 (full-lotus posture) or the *…

Paintings with the daily activities and special pleasures of contemporary life as their subject matter. Equivalent to the…

Ch: Wang Xizhi (303-61). A famous Chinese calligrapher of the Eastern Jin period, considered an originator of both the…

Ch: Huang Renlan. A Chinese immortal who travels many thousands of ri 里 (a ri is approximately 4 km) on…

Ch: Wang Ziqiao. A Zhou dynasty Taoist immortal associated with playing the shō, ō , a traditional reed…

Ch: Wang Zhi (ca. 255-209 BC). A Jin dynasty woodcutter from Quchuan 衢川, who while wandering through the mountains of Guzhou…

Ch: Wang Zhaojun. A beautiful court lady of the Former Han dynasty mistakenly sent to the Huns 匈奴. Her family name was Qiang…

Also akujō 悪尉. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面…

Paintings done by Ōbaku 黄檗 (Ch: Huangbo) Zen 禅 monks and their followers. Many modern historians also include religious…

Lit. "large format." A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print. The term ōban…

Also simply beshimi べし見; formerly written 閉歯見. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面…

A decoration in the form of a lion's head *shigami 獅噛, found on…

A standard large-sized sheet of *hōsho 奉書 paper. Approximately 39 x 53 cm. The…

Yellow ochre pigment. Lit. "yellow earth." Made from earth containing hydrated ferric oxide (goethite FeO.OH or limonite…

Lit. "large (or full) face pictures." A type of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, or…

A projecting mould used in metalwork. Moulds used for metalwork were divided into two types: ogata (convex or…

Lit. "The Fan Target." A pictorial theme connected with a famous incident from the Battle of Yashima *…

A fan used to cool or for ceremonial purposes. Generally the same as sensu 扇子, although ōgi generally…

Portraits of the successive kings of Ryūkyū 琉球 (modern-day Okinawa Prefecture).

A hill in the *Sagano 嵯峨野 area, northwest of Kyoto, facing the low mountains of…

Lit. "the imperial visit to Ohara." Also written 小原御幸. A pictorial theme related to the pathos-filled journey of the retired…

1　A mounting for paintings and calligraphy which originated in China. It consists of a scroll with rollers…

A square wooden box with four legs carried as a backpack by mountain ascetic priests, yamabushi 山伏. The interior of…

Lit. "old man." A type of mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays to represent an old man. The term ōji usually…

1　Charming, or delightful. An approach to the aesthetic indicating a carefree appreciation of objects and…

Also hakushikijō 白色尉. The white faced mask of a happy old man used in *Noh…

Proto-Noh masks *nōmen 能面 used in the three-piece ritual Shikisanba 式三番…

Also written 嗚滸絵. Comic, satiric paintings popular among aristocrats in the Heian period. The priest Kakuyū 覚猷 (1053-1140;…

The highest ranking of the official painters *goyō-eshi 御用絵師…

Lit. "large head depictions." A common type of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print…

Also okuzuke 奥付, atogaki 後書, batsu 跋 (Ch: ba), or batsubun 跋文 (Ch: bawen…

Lit. "Eight views of Ōmi." An early and famous Japanese version of the eight views, or *…

Woman of ōmi. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young-to-…

Also sumi-ta 墨板 (black ink block); jizumi-ita 地墨板; sumizuri-no-ita 墨摺の板; daihan 台板…

Lower-ranking groups of official painters employed by the shogunate during the Edo period. The disciples and branch families…

A book containing excerpts from *kabuki 歌舞伎 plays, used by…

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

Onna-e (feminine painting) is a most maligned term that invites various interpretations, some even contradictory.…

Noh masks *nōmen 能面 representing women. This category divides broadly into three…

Sometimes written 斧始め. Also te-onohajime 手斧始, katanahajime 刀始. A ceremony performed when an artist is…

Noh masks *nōmen 能面 of ghosts and spirits. Although all the …

Lit. "extra large format." A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print. The term ōōban…

Oribe 織部 ware. Produced mainly from 1600 to the 1630s, this high-fired pottery juxtaposing rich fluid glazes with abstract…

Lit. "folded paper."
1　An appraisal of an artwork written on paper usually folded in half and placed in…

Also jōsōbon 帖装本 and orijō 折帖 or jō 帖. Ch: zheben (Jp: shōhon 摺本). An…

Fabric pictures. Representations of figures, birds, animals, flowers, landscapes or characters of a poem that are cut out of…

Also tsuichōbutsu 鎚ちょう仏. A repose relief depicting Buddhist deities (and the technique involved). Usually small,…

Lit. "the plum tree where the warbler dwells." A painting subject inspired by an episode in the 10th-century tale in …

Also okame おかめ, ofuku お福, otogoze 乙御前, and *sanpei…

Also pronounced ōdan, ōni. A deep yellow color, produced by dyeing yellow gardenia *…