Goddess of the Arts. A minor Buddhist deity revered in Japan as patroness of the arts. According to the Gigei tennyo…

Sk: kalpa. Regulations prescribing Esoteric Buddhist mikkyō 密教 ceremonies, incantations and services, and the…

Silver Buddha. Bronze was the most frequent metal used in the production of Buddhist statues. Where silver was used instead…

Lit. Ginkakuji type. One kind of water basin *chōzubachi 手水鉢, based on the…

An annual festival at Yasaka Jinja 八坂神社 and surrounding area of Kyoto, and a popular subject of Japanese genre painting *…

Also called *yasaka-zukuri 八坂造. The style of the main shrine building *…

Also sōgishi 僧祇支 (Sk: Sankaksika). A robe worn by Buddhist priests under the *…

Also called Kugyōmon 公卿門 or Karagomon 唐御門. A 4-legged gate *…

Also called *ura-ita 裏板. The panel used to fill the space made by the…

1　Also *betsuin 別院. A branch temple.

2…

Burdock masonry. A construction technique used to lay the stones in a dry stone wall *…

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

The wooden ribs or coffers laid in a criss-cross pattern to form a coffered ceiling *gō…

An Esoteric Buddhist hall dedicated to the central Buddha of the Shingon 真言 sect, *…

Also gobutsukan 五仏冠, gobutsu hōkan 五仏宝冠, gochi nyoraikan 五智如来冠, gohō tenkan 五宝天冠. A…

Lit. Five Wisdom *nyorai 如来 (Sk: Tathagatas); this refers to the Five Buddhas…

Also called shinmendō 真面堂. A very small open building 1 x 1 bay (2.49 m) with a large central pillar to which are…

Also sometimes called godaison 五大尊. Lit. five great *myōō 明王. Myōō…

A hall dedicated to the five guardian kings, also called the five renowned deities *Godai…

Lit. five great bodhisattvas of strength. Also godairikiku 五大力吼 (five roars of great strength) or godairikison…

The technique of scattering drops of shell white *gofun 胡粉 onto a finished…

1　A white pigment *ganryō 顔料, used in Japan from the Muromachi…

The white pigment used for the white face powder of figures in a woodblock print *ukiyo-…

Lit. five elements of stones. A name for the five types of functional and decorative stones *…

Lit. theory of five elements. A basic principle of Chinese geomancy and cosmology adapted in Japanese garden design. The…

Ch: wubai luohan. Five hundred arhats *rakan 羅漢, a Buddhist art subject…

Maid of (the country of) Wu 呉. The only female mask in the *gigaku 伎楽 repertory…

A five-storied pagoda usually 3 x 3 bays square with the central bays used as entrances. The corner bays most often contain…

Lit. a five cornered measuring box. A method used to determine the proportions of a bracket arm *…

Lit. combining volumes. Long, complicated revenge stories which required two, three, or up to ten booklets, that were sewn…

Any gate five bays wide of which the three center ones are usually entrances. Often, there is only one opening for passage…

A five-bay gate. A five-bay, three-opening gate is called *goken-sanko 五間三戸…

Also written 御光. Aureole. The light emitted from the Buddha. Often expressed as a halo *…

Lit. Man of (the country of) Wu 呉, a gigaku mask *gigakumen 伎楽面,…

Also read gokōshiyui Amida. Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 Meditating for Five Kalpas, a kalpa…

A short club with five prongs at each end, usually made of gilt bronze. The central grip is encircled by demons' eyes …

Bright, strong color applied in layers to a painting, Buddhist image or architectural structure. The technique involves…

The space created by the coffers or ribs *gōbuchi 格縁 of a coffered or latticed…

Small buildings at Buddhist temples of Shingon 真言 and Tendai 天台 sects, used especially for Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō…

Also gomazuki ごまずき. A woodblock print *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 technique whereby a…

Also *kariden 仮殿, karidono; utsushidono 移殿. A temporary…

Also called ishinoma-zukuri 石の間造, *yatsumune-zukuri 八棟造, and…

Lit. row of five stones. One arrangement of stepping stones *tobi-ishi 飛石. It…

Type of a chamfers cut on a square timber or square post with a ratio of 1/20 is called gorinmen along each corner…

Lit. five-ring pagoda. Also gorin 五輪, gorin sekitō 五輪石塔, hōkaitō 法界塔, gorin tōba 五輪塔婆,…

Lit. rolling stones. Small round stones about 10 cm in diameter used for the drainage areas around the stooping basin *…

Lit. five seasonal festivals. A popular pictorial theme in Edo period art. The five Chinese-inspired festivals are: …

An *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 subject depicting ladies and noblemen in formal attire, which…

Imperial carts. Ox carriages used by the emperor and empress, or aristocrats. Gosho 御所, meaning the Imperial Palace…

Also called gosho oni-ita 御所鬼板 or goshomune oni-ita 御所棟鬼板. Lit. the ridge of an imperial palace. The main…

Ch: Wuzu. The Chinese priest Kōnin 弘忍 (Ch: Hongren, 601-75). The fifth patriarch of the Zen (Ch: Chan) sect. Representations…

A coffered ceiling. A ceiling with ribs framing recessed panels.

1　The simplest type of coffered…

Painters who were given a salary in the service of the shogunate or daimyō 大名. Although the Imperial Court and…

Lit. five leaves. A decorative pattern carved into the shape of five petals, and used on a gable pendant *…

Lit. mudra of the Vanquisher of the Three Worlds (SK: trailokyavijaya mudra). A mudra or hand gesture *…

Also Shōzanze Myōō 勝三世明王. Lit. *myōō 明王 who subjugates the three worlds…

The internal organs of the body as defined in Chinese medicine kanpō 漢方. A model of the internal organs, made of…

Also called Butō 武塔, Gion Tenjin 祇園天神, or simply Tennō 天王. The deity of Yasaka Jinja 八坂神社 in Gion 祇園, Kyoto, also called…

White pigment *ganryō 顔料 including shell lime *…

Applying an undercoat to paper to be used for painting. The undercoat consists of a thin solution of animal glue *…

Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 with Red Skin. An image of Amida depicted in red, or less commonly…

A light-colored, opaque pigment *ganryō 顔料 made by mixing white pigment such as…

Lit. pictures of herds of horses. One of several horse themes popular in 16th- and 17th-century screen painting. Unlike…

Also Kanro Gundari 甘露軍荼利 (Sk: Amrtakundalin); also known as Kirikiri Myōō 吉里吉里明王. One of the five great myōō *…

Also written 君持 or 軍遅. Sanskrit kundika. A vase with two spouts, found as an attribute *…

Also *iwa-gunjō 岩群青. A blue pigment made from pulverized azurite, randōkō…

Also written 呉利, and pronounced gori or gurin. A design of stylized bracken-leaf shapes forming repeated…

Lit. Shelves to display armor. They are placed next to an alcove *tokonoma…

Ch: Judiyizhi. A 9th-century Chinese Zen monk famous for his one-finger isshi Zen. According to the Wumenguan…

A name often used for *Shōkannon 聖観音, it refers to the simple (non-esoteric) form of…

An opaque, dark grey pigment *ganryō 顔料 made by mixing black carbon ink *…

Lit. inverted perspective. A visual technique sometimes employed in Chinese and Japanese painting. While the Western…

The reverse arrangement of the fire-box or hearth in a tea ceremony room, or when the guest's mat *…

Also sakabasu 逆蓮, kaikaren 開花蓮, *yuiwata 結綿. A shape that…

Also read gomotsu. The emperor's property. The Imperial Collection of art objects, books, etc., which are either of…

A set of double cabinets with four sliding door panels attached to the ceiling next to the decorative alcove *…

Also written 仰覆蓮華. A type of lotus flower design pattern *rengemon 蓮華文. The…

A smile found on Buddhist images, where both ends of the mouth curve upward into the shape of a crescent moon. This smile is…

A type of smooth, lipless, semi-cylindrical cover tile that tapers from its broader front end to a narrower back end.…

Tuff or tufa. Popularly called shōkōseki 松香石. A porous stone composed of volcanic ash or from the material loosened…

Lit. crystal eyes. Eyes made of crystal which were inserted into the head of a wooden buddhist statue in order to produce a…

An arrangement of sculpted lotus petals *renben 蓮弁 on a lotus pedestal *…

Ch: yuqiao wenda. A pictorial theme of a philosophical dialogue between a fisherman and a woodcutter. The origin of…

1　Small buildings or huts where village representatives used to stay en route to or upon return from a…

Lit. traveling image. 

1　Buddhist images shown in the position of walking, often used in…

A plank door filled with widely set, horizontal laths, kozan 小桟.

Also abarawari あばら割. Lit. "sparsely proportioned." The same meaning as ma-mabara 間疎 (sparse or scanty).…

1　Posts or pillars of the same or smaller diameter than the main pillars of a building.

2…

Translucent sliding screens *shōji 障子, opaque screens *…

A visor that projected from the front of a soidier's helmet *kabuto 冑. First…

A pictorial subject taken from "Maboroshi" ("The Wizard"), Chapter 41 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Painters born during the period extending from the Nanbokuchō through the Muromachi periods, when major social changes took…

Lit. "waiting stone." One of the seven trump stones *nanatsu-ishi 七つ石 in…

Also pronounced chō.

1　The raised paths that divided and defined sunken paddies in ancient…

Also machiaishitsu 待合室.

1　A waiting and resting shelter. Typically a rustic structure…

A general term for the Kano school *Kano-ha 狩野派, or for Kano-…

Also pronounced chōnami.

1　Streetscape in an urban area. The linear space defined by the…

1　Also written 町屋. One of the two main categories of vernacular house *minka…

Window. Many other characters for window used have been used since the 6th century. For example: 窗 and 牒, 向 and 間戸 or 間門.…