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

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

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

One horned hermit. A *noh mask *nōmen…

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

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…

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

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

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

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

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…

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. 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-…

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…

Also sabi 錆. A paste made by mixing powdered burnt clay *tonoko 砥の粉…

Lit. "Buddhist colorist." An artist who applies colored pigment to the nimbus or pedestal of a Buddhist statue. A …

A painted statue, usually a Buddhist image. Saishikizō are colored over the entire surface of the figure;…

A *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen…

1　A pictorial subject taken from the auspicious *kabuki 歌舞伎…

Lit. "three great Buddhas." The three largest images in the history of Buddhist statuary in Japan. Originally the …

Three horizontal grooves in the neck of a Buddha *nyorai 如来 or bodhisattva *…

Lit. "three countries Buddha." Buddhist statues made from the fourth to the seventh centuries in Korea. At that time, Korea…

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 that was located in Kyoto's Sanjō 三条…

Three-storied pagodas, most of which are made of wood, but a small percentage are made of stone. See *…

Abbreviation of Sanju hajinraku 散手破陣楽. *Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

The thirty-two physical characteristics that symbolize the superhuman qualities of the Buddha. These originated in Indian…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a plebeian old man. Deep furrows line the…

A pestle with three prongs at each end, usually made of gilt bronze. The central grip is often encircled by demons' eyes…

A sword, with a blade at one end and a handle topped by three prongs shaped like a *sankosho…

Also sanmen hōshoku 三面宝飾, sanmen hōkan 三面宝冠. A Buddhist crown that consisted of three upstanding ornaments…

Also read san'e. Three different robes used by Buddhist priests. According to Indian Buddhist tradition, each monk…

1　A black lacquer crown with a row of three rounded peaks called koji 巾子. The crown was worn by…

Also sanzonzō 三尊像, sanzon 三尊. A set of three Buddhist deities appearing together. They form a triad…

1　Monkey. The monkey is represented in kyōgen 狂言 by a masked and costumed figure. The monkey mask…

Lit. "bilateral symmetry." An image whereby the right and left sides of an image are identical. With the practice of…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young prince who is blind from…

Lit. "mudra for bestowing fearlessness (Sk: abhaya or abhayadana or abhayaprada mudra)." A mudra…

Also written 甎仏 or 磚仏. Japanese buddhist images in relief on unglazed clay tiles sen せん which are square,…

1　An alternative term for *byakudan 白檀.

2…

Lit. "ideogram of the character sen 宣." A dais *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist…

Lit. "thousand Buddhas." Sometimes abbreviated to senbutsu 千仏. A large number of Buddhist images, usually the same…

Lit. "the exposition of the Dharma mudra." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印…

Lit. "stone river." A bugaku 舞楽 mask *bugakumen 舞楽面…

1　Abbreviation of Shakamuni 釈迦牟尼 or Shakamon 釈迦文 (Sk: Sakyamuni), meaning sage of the Sakyas. The name by…

Also shake. A style of topknot *hōkei 宝髻 in the shape of…

Also ushōjō 有声杖, chijō 智杖, and tokujō 徳杖. Sk: khakkhara. A pilgrim's staff or sistrum.…

Oblique glance. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a middle-aged…

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 located in Kyoto's…

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 located in Kyoto's…

1　Also shigami 獅噛 (biting lion), or hagami 歯噛 (biting teeth). A Noh mask *…

Also written 四厥, also kongōketsu 金剛厥. Lit. "four pickets." A set of four posts, put up at each corner of a…

The bulging sphere which is below the lotus petals *renben 蓮弁 in the narrow…

1　A generic term for a roof line that has a broken plane, the parts of which run in the same direction. A…

Also *miei 御影, *eizō 影像…

A wooden core, used inside a clay or lacquer statue, or when casting a metal statue. It served as a support or as an aid to…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a vengeful ghost, similar to *…

Lit. "body light." The light believed to be emitted from the body of Buddha. Expressed on Buddha and bodhisattva figures in…

Abbreviation of Shinnō hajinraku 秦王破陣楽 (Victorious Dance of King Shin), also known as Shinkō hajinraku 神功破陣楽. A *…

A bugaku dance and mask depicting a clown face. Classification (for terms see *…

Technique of applying gold foil to the surface of a statue or vessel. Most often found on Buddhist statues, especially *…

A rod used by a priest to discipline students practicing Zen 禅 meditation. Made of split bamboo covered with black lacquer,…

A style of Buddhist sculpture made during the period of Korean history when the Silla dynasty (Jp: Shiragi 新羅) defeated the…

Also kijizō 素地像. A wooden statue with a natural wood surface. Shirakizō may be a Buddhist or Shinto…

Chinese temple lion. Refers to the role and the mask representing a temple lion shishi 獅子. The oldest variety are…

1　Lit. "lion-mouth tile." An ornamental tile placed on each end of a main ridge, instead of the more common…

Also written 獅子児, called haeharai 蝿払. Gigaku masks *gigakumen…

Sk: simhasana. A base *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist image in…

Lit. "girl sticking out her tongue." A mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays and representing a young woman with her tongue…

Lit. "gem or precious stone base." The most common base for an image of *Fudō Myōō…

Wrinkled old man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a dignified,…

Also shiisō. Lit. "meditative posture." A position used in Buddhist images to symbolize thinking, where the fingers of the…

Also shichōkanzō 紙張貫像. A figure made from layers of glued paper. A number of paper Buddhist statues are preserved…

Also read setsu, also *ten 捻. An old word for modelling or molding often…

Also written 少仏師. The term first used in the early Heian period for Buddhist sculptors working in a team, subordinate to a…

A technique used to join the blocks in the center of a wooden sculpture made by the hollow joined block technique *…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a good-luck sea sprite, fond of…

Also read sokuji-in (Sk: bhusparsa-mudra). Also gōma-in 降魔印. Earth-touching mudra. A type of hand…

The form of a work of art made for contemplation from the front. This style is often found in Japanese Buddhist sculpture…

A square pedestal used in portraits of seated high-ranking Buddhist priests. It is usually a simple square dais supported by…

Lit. "deer's tail." A type of brush, originally made from a deer's tail attached to a handle. The shubi's practical…

A measure of height for a Buddhist statue based on shūjaku 周尺, a unit of measure used in Zhou dynasty China (1 …

A guild of Buddhist sculptors active in Nara (see *nanto busshi 南都仏師) in…

Also written 惣型. A method of metal casting which used a clay mould. The mould was made by carving the shape of the desired…

Special bodily characteristics of the Buddha which symbolize his superhuman nature. These include many aspects of Buddha's…

A hairstyle where the hair is divided into two bunches, and tied on top of the head. The hairstyle is found on Buddhist…

A dry lacquer statue. During the Nara period, the term soku was used in documents to refer to dry lacquer statuary…

An anklet. A decorative ring or rings *kansen 鐶釧 found on the ankles of…

*Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen…

A fishnet-like design used to adorn the base of a Buddhist sculpture. The character 藻 (also read mo) means duckweed…

An object of veneration or worship, usually a statue or painting.

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and the abstractly painted paper of cloth mask *…