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JAANUS

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  • (-) Sculpture (60)
  • Architecture (2)
  • Art History (59)
  • Decorations (1)
  • Iconography (1)

Displaying 1 - 60 of 60
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
mabisashi 眉庇

A visor that projected from the front of a soidier's helmet *kabuto 冑. First…

Art History, Sculpture
maedachi 前立

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

Art History, Sculpture
maedate 前立

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

Art History, Sculpture
magaibutsu 磨崖仏

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…

Art History, Sculpture
magojirō 孫次郎

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

Art History, Sculpture
maijō 舞尉

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

Art History, Sculpture
manbi 万媚

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

Art History, Sculpture
manmōsō 縵網相

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

Art History, Sculpture
marubori 丸彫

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

Art History, Sculpture
marubuki 丸吹

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

Art History, Sculpture
masugami 十寸髪

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

Art History, Sculpture
megata 雌型

A type of mould used in metal casting and ceramics. Megata refers to a hollow mould into which molten metal,…

Art History, Sculpture
mibu kōhai 壬生光背

A type of halo *kōhai 光背 found on Buddhist images. A square…

Art History, Sculpture
mida-no-jōin 弥陀定印

Also mida jōin. Lit. "Amida's meditation mudra." Mida is an abbreviation of *…

Art History, Sculpture
miei 御影

Also *eizō 影像 or *shin-ei…

Art History, Sculpture
mikazuki 三日月

Lit. "crescent: three moons." Noh masks *nōmen 能面 representing a…

Art History, Sculpture
mikenkō 眉間光

Lit. "forehead light." A curl of white hair on the forehead of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It is said to emit a bright light…

Art History, Sculpture
mikkyō hōgu 密教法具

Utensils used during ritual incantation and prayer in Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. Introduced to Japan in the…

Art History, Sculpture
misogi kaji 御衣木加持

An incantation in esoteric Buddhism to purify and sanctify *misogi 御衣木, the wood used for…

Art History, Sculpture
misogi 御衣木 A piece of wood out of which a Buddhist statue is carved. Wood that has been struck by lightning is often used, as it is… Art History, Sculpture
mokakeza 裳懸座

Lit. "hanging skirt base." A pedestal *daiza 台座 which is covered by the skirt of…

Art History, Sculpture
mokoku 模刻

Also mosaku 模作, mosha 模写, mokosaku 模古作. Works of art such as statues which are copies of…

Art History, Sculpture
mokuchō 木彫

Wooden sculpture. While wooden sculptures are relatively rare in India and China, wood has traditionally been the chief…

Art History, Sculpture
mokushin kanshitsu 木心乾漆

Also mokushin kanshitsuzou 木心乾漆像, mokushin kanshitsu-zukuri 木心乾漆造. Lit. "wood-core dry lacquer." A method…

Art History, Sculpture
munagō 胸甲

Also pronounced kyōkō. A protective breast-plate found on Buddhist guardian deities *…

Art History, Sculpture
myōga akujō 茗荷悪尉

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a fierce, old man. The shape of…

Art History, Sculpture
tachikibutsu 立木仏

Lit. "standing tree Buddha." A Buddhist image carved on a living tree or on wood that retains the form of the original tree…

Art History, Sculpture
tagane 鏨

Graver. A sharp, pointed steel tool used in metalwork and stone carving. Used for engraving, carving, and chiselling,…

Art History, Sculpture
taiko 太孤

Old Persian man taikofu 太孤父 and young Persian boy taikoji 太孤児, two types of gigaku masks *…

Art History, Sculpture
tainaibutsu 胎内仏

A small Buddhist image that is placed inside a larger one as an offering. In most cases, older images were placed inside…

Art History, Sculpture
taishōtoku 退走禿

"Running in retreat," a *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

Art History, Sculpture
takama bussho 高間仏所

Also takaya bussho 高矢仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors active in Nara *…

Art History, Sculpture
tamen kōhi 多面広臂

An image that has more heads, eyes, or limbs than the human figure.

Art History, Sculpture
tamen tahi 多面多臂

Also *tamen kōhi 多面広臂. A Buddhist image with more heads, eyes, or limbs than…

Architecture, Sculpture
tankei 単髻

A single topknot. Hair tied on top of the head in a simple round topknot *hōkei…

Art History, Sculpture
tekkō 手甲

Also tekō, yubitsugai 指番. A protective piece of leather or metal used to protect the back of a soldier's…

Art History, Sculpture
ten 捻

Also *shō 摂. Clay statue. An old term used in the Nara period to…

Art History, Sculpture
tenbōrin-in 転法輪印

Lit. "mudra for turning the Dharma-wheel." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印…

Art History, Sculpture
tenchigan 天地眼

Also tenchigen. A facial expression found on *Fudō Myōō 不動明王, where the right…

Art History, Sculpture
tendō 天童

Lit. "heavenly youth," also warabemai 童舞 (dancing child). A dance mask representing a young boy with parted hair…

Art History, Sculpture
tengai 天蓋

1 Also sangai 傘蓋, hōgai 宝蓋, kagai 華蓋, kengai 懸蓋. Sk: chatra…

Architecture, Decorations, Art History, Sculpture
tenjin 天神

Lit. "heaven people."

1 The heavenly gods as opposed to the gods of earth, chigi 地祇.
…

Art History, Iconography, Sculpture
tenkandai 天冠台

Also hōkandai 宝冠台. A decorative band around the head found on *bosatsu…

Art History, Sculpture
tenne 天衣

Also tenne 纏衣. A long, narrow strip of ornamental cloth, found on images of *…

Art History, Sculpture
tetsubutsu 鉄仏

A Buddhist statue made of cast iron. Cast iron statues were not as common in Japan as bronze (see *…

Art History, Sculpture
togō 東江

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the *…

Art History, Sculpture
tokin 鍍金

Gilding. A decorative technique used in metalwork, where an object was coated with a thin layer of gold. In Japan, this…

Art History, Sculpture
tokkosho 独鈷杵

A pestle with a single sharp blade at each end, found as an attribute *jimotsu…

Art History, Sculpture
tokusajō 木賊尉

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old, plebeian man used only…

Art History, Sculpture
tonoko 砥の粉

Powdered burnt clay or pulverized whetstone. Used for polishing swords and coloring wood. Tonoko was mixed with…

Art History, Sculpture
Tori yōshiki 止利様式

A style of sculpture represented by the work of the 7th-century sculptor known as Tori busshi 止利仏師. Tori was believed to be…

Art History, Sculpture
tōshin 等身

Lit. "life-size." A standard unit of measurement for Buddhist statues *hōryō…

Art History, Sculpture
tōshoku 頭飾

Decoration found on the head of a Buddhist sculpted figure. This includes hairstyles *…

Art History, Sculpture
tōza 榻座

A cylindrical seat or round pedestal *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist image. Many images…

Art History, Sculpture
tsubai bussho 椿井仏所

Also written 津波井仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師 active in Nara *…

Art History, Sculpture
tsūen 通円

Also 通圓. A mask of an old man, used in the kyōgen 狂言 play Tsūen (The Tea Priest, Tsūen…

Art History, Sculpture
tsūken 通肩

An abbreviation of tsūryō kenpō 通両肩法. A style of wearing a Buddhist robe covering both shoulders. The robe…

Art History, Sculpture
tsuriago 吊顎

Dangling chin, a gimmick used on some bugaku masks *bugakumen…

Art History, Sculpture
tsurimanako 釣眼

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the God of Thunder. Great…

Art History, Sculpture
tsutsumi nakago 包み中型

Enclosed inner mould. The *nakago 中型 was a term used in metal…

Art History, Sculpture

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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