Bracket complexes constructed beneath a veranda to give it support.

A penetrating beam used as the backing and bracing for the various layers of plaster in the thick walls of a storehouse *…

A purplish-red dye senryō 染料 color name, and the plant from which it is made. The su plant sappanwood…

Also written 摺揚障子. Also called *agesage shōji 上下障子.

Also read shūbutsu. A Buddhist image printed in ink on paper or cloth, and often placed inside a Buddhist statue (…

Rubbed metal foil. A decorative technique for textiles in which metal foil is impressed on a design first drawn in paste.…

Lit. "printed matter." High quality, privately sponsored woodblock prints mainly produced 1790's-1830's. Originally, the…

Lit. "omitting a printing." An *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 woodblock printmaking…

Written susa 寸莎. Also tsuta つた. A generic term for fibrous substances, including straw, hemp, or paper…

1　A wall with an entirely flat white surface.

2　A simple board wall.

Lit. "discarded stone." One of the seven trump stones *nanatsu-ishi…

Moats dug in open areas some distance from a castle, to hinder the advance of enemy forces.

A sacrificial compound constructed in front of a main compound. A camp used to launch an attacking force. When a force moves…

A type of molding *kurigata 繰形 incised on the lower edge of a…

Also sutedo. A bracket *tokyō 斗きょう that has the same…

The front gate at the center of the south end of the outer enclosure that surrounded the palace compound at Heijō-kyō 平城京…

Lit. "sparrow entrance, exit." A gap under the eave end tiles *nokisakigawara…

Lit. "sparrow dance." A widely-used term for a range of elements used to decorate the ridge of the roof in vernacular houses…

A pictorial subject taken from "Suzumushi" ("The Bell Cricket"), Chapter 38 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

Also written 研. Inkstone. A base made of stone or other material used for grinding *sumi…

A box designed to hold an inkstone *suzuri 硯 and other writing tools, such as an…