Lit. first: Mt Fuji; second: hawks; third: eggplant. A tradition which holds that these objects, seen in order in the first…

Also called ichiboku chō 一木彫 or ichiboku chōsei 一木彫成. Antonym of *…

A variety of small, decidated mandala *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 centered on…

Lit. One-Syllable Golden Wheel. Also read Ichiji konrin and also known as Kinrin Butchō 金輪仏頂 (Golden-…

Also ichimaizuri 一枚摺. Lit. single-sheet print. A single *ukiyo-e 浮世絵…

Also ishidatami 石畳 or *ishidatamimon 石畳文, danshichi 団七…

Lit. one mon picture. A small-sized woodblock print, usually depicting a courtesan or actor, printed only in black…

A printing technique for producing graduated tones (shading) on woodblock prints *ukiyo-…

1　Two strips of fabric directly above and below a painting measuring the exact width of the painting,…

A pictorial subject depicting scenes from the Battle at Ichinotani, a decisive confrontation in the Genpei war Genpei…

Also written 違駄天. The Indian deity Skanda, son of Shiva and general of his army, who became a protector of the Dharma in…

Also ikarakuri. A method of casting metal statues by joining several sections. In the case of a large statue it was…

Iga 伊賀 ware. A stoneware ceramic made in Iga (now Maruhashira 丸柱 village), Mie Prefecture and in a few nearby villages. The…

A compositional method used to show successive events within a unified background, dōzu 同図, capturing the same…

Repairing a hole or crack in a metal object. There are two methods: 1) crack in a metal statue or vessel is…

Lit. to keep flowers alive. Flower arrangements. Originated in Buddhist flower offerings kuge 供花 from the 6th…

The aesthetic ideal of the Edo merchant class during the late 18th and 19th centuries, combining material sensuality and…

One horned hermit. A *noh mask *nōmen…

A triad of Buddhist statues arranged in front of a large nimbus *kōhai 光背, that…

An abbreviation of Ikkyū Zenji 一休禅師, the Zen 禅 priest Ikkyū (1394-1481) of the *…

Ch: Yushanzhu. Lit. Master of Mt. Yu (Jp: Ikuzan 郁山). A Chinese Chan (Jp: Zen 禅) monk from Hunan (Jp: Konan 湖南)…

Imari ware. A general term for porcelain from the Arita 有田 region of Saga Prefecture, but not including the Kakiemon 柿右衛門…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young man of noble birth. Very similar to *…

A school of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師, based in Kyoto, active from the late…

Also inzō 印相 also read insō, shu-in 手印, and mitsu-in 密印. Sk: mudra. A hand gesture…

A type of Buddhist print design made with a stamp. A seal, usually about 10 cm or smaller, is engraved with the image of a…

Ch: Yinzhong baxian. A painting subject based on the poem Yinzhong baxiange (Jp: Inchū hassenka…

A name found in seals applied to many works by Tawaraya Sōtatsu 俵屋宗達 (? - 1640?) and by members of his school, both in…

Also shizume ukibori 沈め浮彫. Hollow relief carving. An inscription or motif hollowed out of a surface using a burin…

A collection of seal impressions gathered into book form. Collections of Chinese seals from the Zhou and Qin dynasties are…

Lit. seal caddy. A tiered rectangular or circular container used originally for seals but later for medicines and other…

A seal stamp carved with characters or pictographs which serves as proof or certification when pressed on a vessel, utensil…

Ch: yuantihua. Lit. academy style painting. A type of Chinese painting associated with the Imperial Court…

A dog-chasing event at which warriors on horseback scored points by shooting padded arrows at a running dog. The subject was…

The number of completed woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, (including all…

Commonly known as Ippen Shōnin 一遍上人 or St. Ippen (1234-89). The founder of the Ji 時 sect. From Iyo 伊予 Province (modern Ehime…

Ch: yipin. Also ikkaku 逸格 (Ch: yige). Lit. the Untrammeled Class. A category or ranking of…

The lowest section of a dais *kamachiza 框座 for a Buddhist sculpture that is…

Lit. colored picture.

1　A metalwork term for the soldering of thin sheets of gold, silver, or other…

Lit. missing color. The blank areas on a colored woodblock print *ukiyo-e …

1　Paper dyed various colors using one of several techniques: sen'izome 繊維染 (raw fibers dyed before…

Also written 色隈. A shading *kumadori 隈取 technique which uses…

Also pronounced irozashi or written 色指し.

1　Also irogaki 色書き or irowake…

Also izarai. A finishing stage in the making of cast metal statues. When a cast statue was removed from its mold,…

Illustrations, decorative motifs, or other work of art connected with Ise monogatari 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise…

A square chair with armrests and a back in the form of a Shinto gateway *torii…

Also written 甃文. Also arare 霰 or *ichimatatsu 市松. A…

A method of metal casting where the form of the desired object was carved into a sandstone mold, and molten metal was poured…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The slightly sunken…

Also mokutaku zuri e 木拓摺絵. A print with a totally black inked background and outlines of forms left white, giving a…

Lit. woodblocking shading. A technique used to produce graduated tones on a woodblock print *…

Lit. paintings on wooden boards. A painting on a wall or door of a temple or shrine. Examples include the paintings on the…

Lit. board nimbus. A halo *kōhai 光背 on a Buddhist statue, carved…

Lit. one and a half *chakushu ちゃく手. Approximately 36.3 cm. A…

Lit. one chō 丁. One folded page of a printed book during the Edo period. Because only one side of a sheet was…

Lit. single casting. A term used in metal casting when the entire form of a statue was cast at once, and not in separate…

Also ichiji sanrai 一字三礼, ittō sanpai 一刀三拝. Lit. to worship three times with every stroke. A practice…

Also known as nara ningyō 奈良人形 or narabori 奈良彫. Small wooden sculptures made using a simple, rough-…

Also iwamono 岩物. A paint *enogu 絵具 made from pulverized…

Abbreviated to *gunjō 群青. A dark blue pigment *…

A green pigment *ganryō 顔料 made of malachite. Often abbreviated to *…

A base for Buddhist images *daiza 台座, made of rock. It is also referred to as…

Also called iza 倚坐, suisokuza 垂足坐, and chōjiza 丁字坐. An image that is seated on a stool or…

Purported founder of the *kabuki 歌舞伎 theatre and subject of 17th…

Also called Hashiriyu Gongen 走湯権現. A deity associated with a hot spring which wells up on Izusan 伊豆山, a hill of 166…

Also Tsutsu izutsu 筒井筒. Lit. a well curb. A painting subject associated with Episode 24 of Ise monogatari…

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…

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

Also omaedachi 御前立. Lit. "standing in front." A Buddhist sculpture, positioned on the altar in front of the shrine…

Abbreviation of maedatemono 前立物. Also tatemono 立物. An upstanding decoration found on the front of a…

Also written 摩崖仏. Ch: moyafo. Also known as magai sekibutsu 磨崖石仏 or 摩崖石仏. A Buddhist image carved into the…

Round chip box. Also called wagemono 綰物 (bent round object) or himono 檜物 (cypress object). A…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman. The gracefully curved mouth…

Dancing old man. A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old god or…

Lit. "sprinkled picture." A technique which originated in the Heian period for lacquer ware decoration in which designs are…

A pictorial subject based on "The Cypress Pillar" Makibashira, Chapter 31 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (…

Ch: Magu. Two female Taoist immortals. The first is said to have lived in the Han dynasty and was sister of the immortal…

A low folding screen about 50 cm high, and usually with two panels, *nikyoku byōbu…

Also called keshibon 芥子本, keshigatabon 芥子形本, and hinamamehon 雛豆本. A miniature book. The…

Lit. "chopping board format." An extremely large size of wood-block *ukiyo-e…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman in her first bloom. Very similar…

Also written 曼陀羅 or 曼拏羅. Mandala. A diagram that depicts Buddhist deities according to certain geometric formats and…

Edo period sketches usually done impromptu or in fun, often of unusual or humorous subjects. In modern times manga…

Also read maniaishi, maniai 間似合. A rough paper of poor quality attached to sliding partitions *…

Also written 卍文. A decorative pattern symbolizing good fortune, popularly known as the swastika motif. It is thought to have…

Ch: manhuahui. Lit. "gathering amid myriad flowers." A Chinese painting subject showing the peony procession of…

Also shusokushi manmōsō 手足指縵網相. A web-like membrane between the fingers and toes found on sculpted Buddhist…

The name used for the images of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ in the guise of *Kannon…

Transliteration of Sanskrit Marici, the name of a Buddhist goddess representing an amalgamation of several Hindu antecedents…

A statue completely carved in the round, as opposed to relief *ukibori 浮彫. A…

Also *itchū 一鋳. A metal casting technique where the statue is cast in one…

A circular, decorative design used either as a single unit or repeated to create patterns for textiles and family crests. A…

Sometimes referred to as Kyō-ha 京派 or the Kyoto school. A painting school in Kyoto which was popular during the…

Also written 政. An abbreviation of masagami 柾紙, also written 政紙. A smooth grain, lightweight, off-white paper…

Traditional Japanese paper *washi 和紙 made from hemp, asa…

Mashiko ware. A modern pottery type made in Mashiko 益子 village, Tochigi prefecture. The Mashiko kiln was started around 1853…

Also written 増髪. Long, tangled hair. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面…

The protective deity of the Jōgyō zanmaidō 常行三味堂 of Enryakuji 延暦寺 on Mt. Hiei 比叡 in Kyoto. He is usually portrayed…