A mallet that is usually made of oak or holly. It is used in cases where a metal hammer such as the *…

1　The process of working on timber to create the desired structural element. See *…

Wooden slats, placed 2 cm apart, which are attached horizontally to main posts *hashira…

Old sketch maps of proprietary estates and temple precincts. The earliest examples are the maps preserved in the *…

A long thick horizontal board placed at the apex of a roof as a cover to protect the uppermost ridge. The board is used…

1　The small strip of red pine that is inserted between the end of the firebox and the rear wall, or between…

A general term for armor, yoroi 鎧（*ōyoroi 大鎧) and helmets *…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a girl in the first blush of womanhood. The…

Ch: Huang Shangu (1045-1105). One of the best-known calligraphers and poets of the Northern Song dynasty, depicted in…

Ch: Huang Chuping. Taoist immortal figure and magician of the Jin dynasty known for his ability to transform a herd of sheep…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a fierce, old man. Koakujō's features…

A shallow, narrow groove cut into a pillar, flooring board or other structural element to allow for a secure junction with…

Incline, slope, or pitch. Applied especially to the incline of the roof, yane kōbai 屋根勾配, in traditional Japanese…

A pictorial subject taken from "The Rose Plum" Kōbai (red plum blossoms), Chapter 43 of Genji monogatari …

Lit. small format. A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print that is a quarter…

Also kōtsubari or kō-otsubari 甲乙梁. A smaller beam used in conjunction with a large one, ōbari 大梁…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a demon from hell who dances a fierce dance. A…

A dark grey-brown color. Dye extracted from the bark of the plum tree, momokawa 楊梅皮 is used with an iron mordant to…

Lit. Great Master Kōbō. The posthumous name of *Kūkai 空海 (774-835), the founder…

A studio or place of work for artists and craftsmen. Also refers to artists or craftsmen who group together to produce work…

A small-sized sheet of *hōsho 奉書 paper that is approximately 33 x 47 cm. After…

Lit. a fist nosing.

1　A shaped beam tip *kibana 木鼻,…

The small, opaque, paper-framed sliding doors found on cupboards above or below shelving adjacent to the alcove *…

A pictorial subject based on "Butterflies" Kochō, Chapter 24 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Ch: hudiezhuang. Lit. butterfly book. A type of book-binding, which, according to some, is the same as *…

Lit. ancient periods. A period that includes the introduction of Buddhisim to Japan in 530/552, the Asuka period (552-646),…

A kind of bronze used in North China and Japan. It was known in Japan by the Muromachi period, with variants including …

1　Lecture hall in a Buddhist temple. In the Nara and Heian periods, it was one of the principal buildings…

Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 with children as their subject. No adults are…

Also called komarugawara 小丸瓦. Eave-end, semi-cylindrical tiles *…

Lit. Kōetsuji fence. Also kōetsugaki 光悦垣. A type of open, woven bamboo fence *…

Burial mound. Also called takatsuka 高塚 or tsuka 塚. These tombs were covered with a sizeable mound of…

The Kofun period (250 - 600). *Kofun 古墳 are the burial mounds or tumuli which…

Also called *narabigura 双倉 or twin storehouses. A large…

Lit. Remarks on Old Paintings, a 51 chapter, mid-19th century, painters' biography compiled by Asaoka Okisada 朝岡興禎 (1800-56…

An inclined plane. Any plane that descends downward on either side of a ridge *mune…

A nail used to secure the molds used in metal casting. When a metal statue was cast using the lost-wax method, a model of…

Lit. lying tiger stone. A type of trump stone *yaku-ishi 役石 placed at…

Also called horikogatana 彫小刀. A knife used to carve a woodblock *hangi…

Ancient castle ruins in Western Japan. Rows of stones arranged on mountain slopes in Kyūshū 九州 and Western Japan, including…

Incense containers. Also called kōbako 香箱. Small, lidded containers usually made of lacquer or ceramic, and…

Lady Kogō. A late 12th-century beauty described in Heike monogatari 平家物語 (The Tale of The Heike; see…

Lit. tiger mouth. A castle entrance. An early modern term likening the castle gateway to the tooth and fang of a tiger,…

Steps made of thick, heavy, square, or rectangular timbers cut with their ends exposed. One step is called dangi 段木…

Also koguchi kanamono 小口金物. A metal fitting placed over the crosscut end of a timber. The fitting on the ends of…

Also read kiguchi; also ōdanmen 横断面. A timber cut at a right angle across the grain, or the crosscut end…

A right-angled dovetail joint used to connect the corners of sills and footings. Its significant feature is that the end of…

One of the seven trump stones *nanatsu-ishi 七つ石 used in a *…

A bearing block that is set on a pillar *hashira 柱 or bracket arm *…

A finely latticed and coffered ceiling. If each coffer has a mesh of small latticework that is the same as the larger…

The grids of small lattice that fill the coffers of a coffered ceiling *gōtenjō…

Halo found on Buddhist images, representing light said to be emitted by the Buddha *gokō…

A roof built over the steps leading up to a temple building. A step canopy.

Also tanehon 種本. An author's manuscript which has been made into a mock-up of a printed book. The manuscript is…

Lit. carp ascending a waterfall. The Chinese legend of a carp that became a dragon after swimming up a waterfall at the…

1　The top narrow outer surface of a board cut lengthwise through the center or heartwood jushin 樹心…

Lit. Pictures of historical figures, a category of Chinese figure subjects, Kangakei jinbutsuga 漢画系人物画 including…

Originally a Hindi term ghra-pati meaning a householder, trader, or farmer. In China the term came to be applied…

Ch: gushi shanshui. Paintings depicting episodes of quasi-historical accounts, koji 故事 where literary or…

Also kō-no-jigumi 香の字組, kō-no-zugumi 香の図組. A design pattern created by the arrangement of the muntins…

Also read Koshima mandara. A pair of Mandala of the Two Realms *Ryōkai…

1　Also called Kōjinsama 荒神様; Kōjinsan 荒神さん.

2　A god that…

Also written 木後; 鐺. Also called hafujiri 破風尻. The bottom end of a bargeboard *…

Lit. child castle. A branch castle. The main castle is called oyajiro 親城 (parent castle).

A rough small-scale sketch for a painting. Early visualizations of an idea, kojita-e are the first step in…

Also called kōjijō 小牛尉, sometimes pronounced kōshijō. A type of noh mask *…

1　A long, narrow, horizontal wall above the upper non-penetrating tie beams, uchinori nageshi 内法長押…

1　Also called ryūgūmon 竜宮門. A unique type of mausoleum gate *…

Bound resist. An early type of resist dying for textiles, along with wax resist rōkechi 臈纈, and carved wooden-block…

Ch: Huxi sanxiao. An allegory in which three Eastern Jin 東晋 literati realize by accident that spiritual purity…

Also kyōgenbashira 狂言柱. The pillar located at the junction of the rear seats for stage assistants atoza 後座…

The place on a noh stage *nōbutai 能舞台 where the kōken…

Also kokera 柿; koba-ita 木羽板. Also read kaki-ita 柿板.

1　The small chips…

A roof covering made with a layer of thin wooden shingles made of cypress. The shingles are about 0.3 cm-0.5 cm thick, 9 cm-…

Also kojin kiza 胡人跪坐. A kneeling position for a Buddhist image. The figure sits with both knees fully bent, and a…

Lit. deep color. A color name used since the Heian period to refer to a shade of dark purple, or occasionally dark red. A…

Lit. paring down. The *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 woodblock carving process which reduces…

Also pronounced kokibozo. Any tenon that gradually narrows toward its outer end.

Lit. late style dry landscape. A type of dry garden *karesansui 枯山水…

Lit. humorous books. A witty and humorous type of novel of the late 18th and 19th century. The early kokkeibon were…

Ch: gaogu yousi miao. A brush technique used to create the clothing of figures in ink painting. The brush strokes…

Lit. small scattered paving stones. A type of round-stone paving *tama-ishijiki…

Lit. native Japanese culture. The term is used for the culture which arose during the mid-Heian period (also known as *…

Treatise on Native Painting. A short 18th century essay on painting by Confucian scholar and education reformer Hirazawa…

Lit. treasures of the nation. The appellation has existed since the Meiji period, but currently applies to artifacts which…

Korean: Koguryo. One of the three states in the Three Kingdoms period, Sangoku jidai 三国時代 of Korean history. The era began…

Also kokuso 木屎. A paste that was made by adding wood powder, or plant fibres like hemp, to a mixture of flour and…

Sometimes read Kokuzō. Space/Sky Repository (Sk: Akasagarbha, Khagarbha); also called Kokūyō 虚空孕 and in Japan often…

Also kōkyakubu 光脚部, *ukebana 受花. A part of the nimbus…

A Buddhist image seated on a throne or pedestal having pendant legs that are crossed at the ankles to form an "X". Similar…

Small pictorial cartouches in poem-card *tanzaku 短冊 shapes or…

A small tea ceremony room, from two to four and a half mats in size, which best encompasses the characteristics of the…

A noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the aged, yet beautiful face of the hundred-…

A six-sided lantern type found at Fudarakuji 補陀洛寺 in Kyoto.

Also written 木舞. In the Shōsōin Monjo 正倉院文書 it appears as 古麻比 komai and in other old documents as 古万比. The…

Lit. Korean dog. A pair of lion-like guardian figures placed at each side of a shrine or temple entrance; believed to ward…

Lit. reverse side lath. The lath placed between the roof sheathing and the rafters *…

An ancient unit of length which was imported from the Korean kingdom of Koguryo (Jp: Kōkuri 高句麗), equivalent to…

A generic term for bearing blocks that are smaller than the largest type placed on top of a pillar *…

1　A low fence of latticework *kōshi 格子, construction, used to…