A narrative painting or a relief of a story, called Avadana in Sanskrit which relates stories of Buddha's disciples and…

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

Lit. Shank's Mare. A ribald classic by Jippensha Ikku 十返舎一九 (1765-1831) tracing the adventures of the two bumpkins Yajirobē…

Ch: Pang Jushi. Lit. The Layman Pang. Regarded as an incarnation of Vimalakirti (Jp: *…

Also suibyō 瓶. A flower vase, found as an attribute *jimotsu 持物…

Repainting or supplementary brushwork. To add to, attempt to finish, or correct a painting or calligraphy by adding brush…

An accordion style book-binding *orihon 折本. So called because it is used for…

1　Also pronounced hōshu. A sacred gem. Usually a ball or tear-drop shape object that is sacred to…

A type of nimbus *zukō 頭光, or halo, found on a Buddhist image in the shape…

Also hōshumon. A design of spherical jewels with slightly pointed tops, frequently with flames rising from the…

Lit. *Amida 阿弥陀 with a Jeweled Crown. A typical representation of Buddha *…

Also tenkan 天冠. A crown on a Buddhist sculpture. Usually made in wood or bronze openwork *…

A statue of Buddha wearing a crown ornamented with precious stones. This tradition originated in India, first with crowned…

Also hōkei 寶髻. The hair of a sculpted figure tied up on top of the head in a topknot. Found on bodhisattva *…

Drawings or paintings, zu 図 depicting the doctrine and stories of the Lotus Sutra Hokekyō 法華経,…

Lit. Dharma-realm meditation mudra. Hokkai 法界 is the Dharma-realm, (Sk: dharmadhatu), and jōin is an…

Lit. Lotus Mandala. Also Hokekyō mandara 法華経曼荼羅 (mandala depiction of the Lotus Sutra), Hokekyō hōtō mandara…

Lit. Hōkoku festival. The special celebration on the seventh anniversary of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 豊臣秀吉 (1536-98) death, held…

Ch: beizonghua. The northern school of Chinese painting as opposed to the Southern school of painting *…

A variety of mandala dedicated to specific deities *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅…

Sk: ratnapeta. Lit. a box for treasures. The treasures referred to are sutras. As a *…

Authoritative Summary of the Rules of Japanese Painting by Tosa Mitsuoki 土佐光起 (1617-91). As part of Mitsuoki's attempt to…

History of Painting in Japan, a late 17th century compendium of artists' biographies and the history of painting in Japan.…

Commonly known as Hōnen Shōnin 法然上人 or St. Hōnen (1133-1212), founder of the Pure Land, Jōdo 浄土 sect in…

Shinto/Buddhist syncretism. In its early phase this is called shinbutsu shūgō 神仏習合. The term honji suijaku…

The original Buddhist identity of a Shinto deity *kami 神. Sometime before the…

Lit. Illustrations of original lives. The original lives; honjō 本生 or honshō, or former lives of the…

Also written 飜刻本. A facsimile or reprint (often in modern typeface) of a manuscript or old book. A reprint of an already…

A manner of representing drapery folds in Buddhist sculpture, in which high rounded curves regularly alternate with low…

The principal image (or group of images) of worship at a Buddhist temple or a single building within the temple complex. The…

A type of mounting *hyōsō 表装 for a hanging scroll *…

1　A phoenix. A mythical Chinese bird, thought to have been introduced to Japan in the Asuka period. The…

Also read hora. Also written 宝螺. Also sometimes called ra 螺. Sk: dharmasankha. A conch shell used as a…

1　Lit. Mt. Penglai. Ch: Penglaishan. The most famous of the three Elysian mountain-isles believed to lie…

Lit. night attack on the Horikawa Palace. A pictorial subject depicting one of the many events in the life of tragic hero…

A method of color application in *yamato-e やまと絵, whereby the…

A specific type of mandala *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅, based on the Daihō…

Measurements of a Buddhist statue and attachments. They include:

sōkō 総高: full height including the…

Also sujikō 筋光, nukigokō 貫後光, and kasagokō 傘御光. A radial nimbus. A type of the…

Lit. star mandara. A variety of dedicated mandala *Butsugen mandara…

An abbreviation of hōshogami 奉書紙, hōsho paper. A type of *washi…

Also *aka-e 赤絵. A woodblock print colored only with shades of red. The color was…

Lit. narrow format. A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print. The term hosoban is…

1　Also read hossōge, an abbreviation of hōsōgemon 宝相華文. Lit. precious flower. Hōsōge…

Also hassai 髪際. Lit. Hairline. The point where the hair meets the forehead on a sculpted figure. The hairline is…

Lit. Six Patriarchs of the Hossō sect. In Japan: Shin'ei 神叡 (d. 737), Genbō 玄昉 (d. 746), Zenshu 善珠 (723-97), Gyōga 行賀(729-…

Also 白払. A kind of brush, used to drive away insects during meditation. The hossu originated in ancient India, and…

A pictorial subject taken from "Fireflies" Hotaru, Chapter 25 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Ch: Budai. A semi-legendary, itinerant 10th-century Buddhist monk who became a popular subject in Chinese and Japanese ink…

The act of passing a Buddhist statue from the hands of the artist to the temple that commissioned the piece. Because the…

Also hōfukuzō 法服像. Lit. portrait in religious (i.e. Buddhist) appearance. A portrait of a person who has taken…

Lit. A hundred tales. Traditional and contemporary ghost stories as told, written, and illustrated in the Edo period. Early…

Lit. Single poems by 100 poets. A collection of waka 和歌 compiled by Fujiwara no Teika 藤原定家 (also known as Sadaie,…

Mounting. Also termed *hyōsō 表装. Hyōgu refers to the mounting of a…

The covers of a bound book *sasshibon 冊子本, or an accordion book *…

To mount a work of art in a hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物, handscroll *…