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JAANUS

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  • (-) Architecture (550)
  • Accessories (1)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (6)
  • Art History (4)
  • Buildings (29)
  • Castles (30)
  • Decorations (41)
  • Document (1)
  • Folk Dwellings (34)
  • Gardens (43)
  • Gates (18)
  • General Terms (215)
  • Joints (20)
  • Lanterns (8)
  • Measurement (2)
  • Painting (2)
  • Roofing Tiles (30)
  • Sculpture (3)
  • Shrines (17)
  • Storehouses (2)
  • Structures (29)
  • Tea Houses (51)
  • Tools (10)

Displaying 101 - 200 of 550
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
kan'unjoku 寒雲卓 ✓

A type of pitcher shelf *mizusashidana 水指棚. A version of…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kanabakari-zu 矩計図

Sectional details. Also kanabakari 矩計. A detailed drawing of the specific parts of a structure in a scale larger…

Architecture, General Terms
kanagu 金具

Also kanamono 金物 (metal thing). Metal fittings that are not only functional but often decorative. 
 …

Architecture, Decorations
kaname 要

A term used for the imaginary center point from which fan rafters *ōgidaruki…

Architecture, General Terms
kanawa tsugi 金輪継 ✓

An oblique, housed (dadoed), rabbeted, T-shaped, half-blind, tenoned scarf joint. Because both the tenon and mortise are…

Architecture, Joints
kanazuchi 金槌

A carpenter's hammer with an iron head. It differs from the steel double faced hammer *…

Architecture, Tools
kanban 看板 ✓

A signboard placed outside or affixed to the front of a commercial premises displaying the name of the shop yagō…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
kandachi 神館 A place for Shinto purification rites, as well as a place for priests to go into seclusion for a set amount of time.
Architecture, Shrines
kane-no-te 矩の手

An architecutural element which incorporates a right angle. For example, a corridor with a right angle bend is referred to…

Architecture, Tools
kaneguchi no nuki 鐘口貫

A penetrating beam *nuki 貫 that is inserted into the structure of a belfry *…

Architecture, General Terms
kanehō 矩方

A line running at a right angle to another line, or something that moves at a direction of 90 degrees relative to something…

Architecture, General Terms
kanejaku 曲尺 ✓

A carpenter's square. It has a long side, about 49 cm, and a short side about 24 cm, and looks like an L shaped ruler. Also…

Architecture, Tools
kanekōbai 矩勾配

The 45 degree pitch of the hypotenuse, the side opposite the right angle, of an isosceles right-angled triangle. A right…

Architecture, General Terms
Kangakuin 勧学院

Also omotemon 表門. The front gate of Shūgenji 宗源寺 a subsidiary temple of Hōryūji 法隆寺. It serves as a place for study…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
kangō shūraku 環濠集落

A settlement surrounded by a moat. The earliest enclosed settlement appeared about 2000 years ago and is associated with the…

Architecture, Castles
kanimendo gawara 蟹面戸瓦

Also kanimendo 蟹面戸. Lit. crab filler tile. A crab-shaped tile used to cover the gap created by the junction of two…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
kanjōdō 潅頂堂

Also called kanjōin 潅頂院. The hall used to conduct the ceremony to confer the basic precepts and mystic teachings of…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
Kankaimon 歓会門

The front gate of Shurijō 首里城 in Okinawa Prefecture. It was burned down during World War 2 and rebuilt in 1974. It is an…

Architecture, Gates
kanmuridana 冠棚 ✓

Also called kanmuridai 冠台 or kanmurishoku 冠卓.



1 A light shelf of unusual…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
kanmurigawara 冠瓦

Roof tiles stacked up on the ridge of a temple or castle roof. Also called *…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
kanna 鉋

A plane, used to shave away the surface of timber to get a smooth finish. In Japan, where most buildings in pre-Meiji…

Architecture, Tools
kannonbiraki tobira 観音開扉 ✓

1 A pair of swing doors *tobira 扉 designed to meet at the…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
kannondō 観音堂 ✓

A Buddhist temple hall dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy *Kannon 観音. Fukushima…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
kannuki 閂 ✓

A gate bar. A heavy piece of timber or iron used to affix a plank door to its structure. The kannuki is slipped…

Architecture, General Terms
kansha 官社

1 Shrines which in the Nara and Heian periods received special government supported status. These shrines…

Architecture, General Terms
kanshinjiyō 観心寺様

A composite style that includes a mixture of architectural elements from the daibutsu style *…

Architecture, General Terms
kanshūjigata tōrō 勧修寺形灯籠

A lantern style based on lanterns found in the Heian period Kanshūji or Kajūji 勧修寺 garden in Kyoto. It is low with a large,…

Architecture, Lanterns
kansuryō 監寺寮

One of the administration offices within the priests' living quarters *kuri 庫裡,…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
kara yakuimon 唐薬医門

A richly decorated gate with bracket complexes *tokyō 斗きょう, placed on top…

Architecture, Gates
karabori 空堀 ✓

A dry moat, usually with a V-shaped cross-section called *yagenbori 薬研堀. The…

Architecture, Castles
karadake 唐竹

Lit. Chinese bamboo. A common type of slender, long-jointed bamboo madake 真竹. It is often used to construct bamboo…

Architecture, Gardens
karado 唐戸

Either double plank doors *itakarado 板唐戸 in a single opening or paneled…

Architecture, General Terms
karadomen 唐戸面 ✓

A molding found on the corners of pillars, sills, etc, often used on paneled doors such as *…

Architecture, General Terms
karagaki 唐垣

Lit. Chinese fence. Also written 韓垣 meaning a Korean fence.



1 A generic name for an ancient…

Architecture, General Terms
karahafu gegyo 唐破風懸魚

A type of bargeboard pendant *gegyo 懸魚 found on a Chinese style…

Architecture, Decorations
karahafu 唐破風 ✓

An undulating bargeboard. The shape of a karahafu flows downward from the top center with convex-curves on each…

Architecture, General Terms
karahafu torii 唐破風不鳥居 ✓

A unique Shinto gate *torii 鳥居 in Kyoto, called Itsukushima…

Architecture, Shrines
karaishiki 唐居敷 ✓

Also pronounced karaijiki. An abbreviationof kara-ishishiki 唐石敷.



1 A thick…

Architecture, General Terms
karakami shōji 唐紙障子

Also called *karakami 唐紙. A term used in the late 19th century for opaque…

Architecture, General Terms
karakasadate 傘建て

A structural system found in small-scale, Edo period thatched farmhouses in the area of Shiga Prefecture north of Lake Biwa…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
karaki 唐木

Also pronounced tōboku; also meiboku 銘木. Timber from the tropics including red sandalwood (rosewood…

Architecture, General Terms
karakusagawara 唐草瓦

Lit. arabesque roof tile. Also *hanahiragawara 端平瓦.


1…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
karametemon 搦手門

Also karameteguchi 搦手口. Term used for the rear gate of a castle from the medieval period onward. Term used in…

Architecture, Castles
karamon 唐門 ✓

Also read karakado. A generic term for a gate with undulating bargeboards *…

Architecture, Gates
karasu tobi 烏鳶

Also written 烏飛び.

1 A set of fire fighting equipment installed on the roof ridge of an urban…

Architecture, General Terms, Folk Dwellings
karasudomari 烏止まり ✓

Lit. crow's perch. A widely used term for a range of elements used to decorate the ridge of the roof in vernacular houses *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
karasugami 烏紙 Lit. crow paper. Very black paper used under straw mats *tatami 畳.
Architecture, General Terms
karasuodori 烏踊り

Lit. crow dance. A widely used term for a range of elements used to decorate the ridge of the roof in thatched vernacular…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
karayō-no-niwa 唐様の庭

Lit. Chinese style garden. A general and problematic term used to distinguish gardens with an exotic continental flavor from…

Architecture, Gardens
kareike 枯池

Lit. dry pond. A symbolic pond made with rocks, pebbles, and white sand instead of water. Along with the more common dry…

Architecture, Gardens
karenagare 枯流 ✓

Lit. dry stream. A common garden element construction in dry landscape *karesansui…

Architecture, Gardens
karesansui gogan 枯山水護岸

Lit. dry landscape revetment. The technique of arranging stones to suggest the bank gogan 護岸 of a dry pond or…

Architecture, Gardens
karesansui 枯山水 ✓

Lit. dry landscape. A common type of garden which suggests mountains and water using only stones, sand or gravel and,…

Architecture, Gardens
karetaki 枯滝

Lit. dry waterfall. A common technique in dry landscape *karesansui …

Architecture, Gardens
kariden 仮殿 Also karidono. A temporary shrine building to which a deity is transferred while the main sanctuary *… Architecture, Shrines
karigasumi 雁霞 ✓

A pattern used for muntins *kumiko 組子. It is thought to resemble…

Architecture, Decorations
karikomi 刈込

Lit. pruning. The term refers to the clipped hedge or clipped plants common in Japanese gardens. Karikomi is…

Architecture, Gardens
karimata gegyo 雁股懸魚 ✓

Lit. double-headed-arrow gable pendant. A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚 with a tip…

Architecture, Decorations
kasa-ishi 笠石 Coping stones. A finish on the tops of fences and stone walls to protect them from weathering. Also used on the tops of the… Architecture, General Terms
kasa-ita 笠板

1 A crowning board. Similar to the lid placed at the top of storage boxes for rain shutters *…

Architecture, General Terms
kasa 笠

Lit.umbrella. The part of a stone lantern ishidōrō 石灯籠 that acts as an umbrella over the fire box *…

Architecture, Lanterns
kasagawara 笠瓦

Coping tiles. Tiles used to cover the top of a fence or wall to prevent weathering. The fences may be made of wood, bamboo…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
kasagi 笠木

Also written 葢木 or 衡木; also *kabuki 冠木.



1…

Architecture, Shrines
kasan 仮山

Lit. artificial mountain. Also read kazan, or kasansui 仮山水. A general term referring to an artificial…

Architecture, Gardens
kasane izutsu 重井筒 A pattern formed by interweaving the strokes ofthe character 井 'i ' meaning 'well'.
Architecture, Decorations
kasane-umadashi 重馬出

Multiple barriers *umadashi 馬出, erected or naturally occurring…

Architecture, Castles
kasane 重ね

1 The area where members such as siding boards shitami-ita 下見板 (see *…

Architecture, Decorations
kasanezaka 重坂

Also read kasanarizaka. A type of warrior run *mushabashiri…

Architecture, Castles
kasatōba 笠塔婆 ✓

Also called kasasotōba 笠卒都婆. A memorial or grave stone. The most common has a square shaft *…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
kashigidono 炊殿

Also mikashigidono 御炊殿



1 The special kitchen at Shinto shrines where rice to be…

Architecture, Shrines
kashii-zukuri 香椎造

A style of building used for the sanctuary *honden 本殿, at a…

Architecture, Shrines
kashima torii 鹿島鳥居 ✓

Shinmei type pillars *shinmei torii 神明鳥居,…

Architecture, Shrines
kashiranageshi 頭長押

A horizontal, non-penetrating head beam nailed along the outside and inside of the top face of pillars. If the nails show,…

Architecture, General Terms
kashiranuki 頭貫 ✓

Horizontal head penetrating tie beams that are connected to the tops of pillars to make them secure. These tie beams may be…

Architecture, General Terms
kasuga torii 春日鳥居 ✓

A shinmei type of shrine gate *shinmeitorii 神明鳥居. The two…

Architecture, Shrines
kasuga-zukuri 春日造

A style of shrine architecture employed in main sanctuaries *honden …

Architecture, Shrines
kasugai 鎹 ✓

A cleat. A strip of metal or wood driven into two members to hold them together securely. A metal cleat that is bent at each…

Architecture, General Terms
kasumi 霞 ✓

1 A pattern representing mist, often stylized into shapes like the ideographs 工 or 王. It is used as a…

Architecture, General Terms, Art History, Painting
kasumidoko 霞床

Also kasumidoko-no-seki 霞床の席. An alcove *tokonoma 床の間, with…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kata-ita 形板

Also written 型板. A template. Boards cut with designs that can be traced onto members that require moldings. For example, the…

Architecture, General Terms
kata 肩

1 Lit. shoulder. The shoulder of a tea ceremony tea caddy or tea jar *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
katabiki shōji 片引障子 ✓

Also katahiki shōji. A single, horizontally sliding translucent screen *shōji…

Architecture, General Terms
katabikido 片引戸

Lit. one-way pull door. A single leaf sliding door that is pulled left and right to open and close. There are two sliding…

Architecture, General Terms
katabiraki 片開

Lit. single swinging door. A rotating door katabirakido 片開戸, or window katabirakimado 片開窓, that…

Architecture, General Terms
katamen-zukuri 片面造

A construction method that uses half brackets on top of the corners in the inner worship sanctuary *…

Architecture, General Terms
katanagare 片流

Also *nagare 流. The slope, in one direction, of one side of a…

Architecture, General Terms
katanagareyō 片流様

An oblong island created in a garden pond. Although it is a fabrication, its appearance seems genuine due to the natural…

Architecture, Gardens
katanaka 片中

A common abbreviation for katanakazumi 片中隅. The point that indicates 1/4 of the entire length of a structural…

Architecture, General Terms
katanakake 刀掛 ✓

A single or double rack usually found at the outside left of a tea house entrance to hold the swords of warriors. Part of…

Architecture, Tea Houses
katanakake-ishi 刀掛石

Lit. sword rack stone. The trump stone *yaku-ishi 役石 set in…

Architecture, Tea Houses
kataorido 片折戸

A folding door that is hinged to a single gate post. When the leaf attached to the gate post is pulled closed, the folding…

Architecture, General Terms
katō 火灯

Also written 花頭, 華頭, 架灯. A shape used for windows in Zen style architecture *zenshūyō…

Architecture, Decorations
katō kyokusen 火灯曲線

A specific arrangement of curved lines found on top of an arched window called *…

Architecture, Decorations
katōgaki 火灯垣

Lit. flame fence. A type of fence with an ogee-arched entrance. See *katō 火灯…

Architecture, Gardens
katōguchi 火灯口

Also written 花頭口, 火頭口, 華頭口. Also called *sadōguchi 茶道口 or *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
katōmado 火灯窓 ✓

Also written 花頭窓. A synonym for genjimado 源氏窓. The name is derived from the window in the room called Genji-no-ma…

Architecture, General Terms
katsuogi 堅魚木 ✓

Also written 鰹木, 勝男木, 葛緒木. Also called kasoegi 斗木. Wooden billets placed atop and at right angle to a roof ridge,…

Architecture, Shrines
katsura 葛

The building material, such as rough or dressed stone, that forms the horizontal edge of a podium *…

Architecture, General Terms
katsura-ishi 葛石

Also pronounced kazura-ishi; also written 桂石.



1 Curbstones or edging stones, also…

Architecture, General Terms
katsuragaki 桂垣 

The bamboo fence that surrounds the Katsura Rikyū 桂離宮 in Kyoto. The fence it is widely imitated today. At given intervals…

Architecture, Gardens

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JAANUS is the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology compiled by Dr. Mary Neighbour Parent.

Originally built by the Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation, it is now hosted and maintained by the Media Center for Art History at Columbia University