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  • (-) Architecture (256)
  • Aristocratic Dwellings (4)
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  • Buildings (14)
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  • Document (1)
  • Folk Dwellings (20)
  • Gardens (9)
  • Gates (10)
  • General Terms (122)
  • Joints (9)
  • Lanterns (2)
  • Roofing Tiles (15)
  • Sculpture (1)
  • Shrines (8)
  • Structures (14)
  • Tea Houses (16)
  • Tools (4)

Displaying 1 - 100 of 256
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
naga-ita 長板

Lit. "a long board."


1 The board used as the base of the *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
naga-itabuki 長板葺

1 An early term for long boards used on roofs. Records dating from the 8th century first used the terms…

Architecture, General Terms
nagakikkō 長亀甲

An elongated hexagon or a decorative pattern consisting of a series of elongated hexagon shapes.

Architecture, Decorations
nagamarugawara 長丸瓦

Longer than standard semi-cylindrical roof tiles used as coping tiles *kasagawara…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
nagare 流

Lit. "flowing."

1 The flow of the roof line from the ridge *…

Architecture, General Terms
nagare-zukuri 流造 ✓

Also nagare hafu-zukuri 流破風造. A widely used style of main sanctuary *…

Architecture, Shrines
nagarehozo 流ほぞ ✓

A sloped tenon, which is cut into the end of a beam. The top of the tenon is flush with the top surface of the beam. The…

Architecture, Joints
nagashi 流し

1 A sink used for washing food before its preparation, for washing utensils after a meal, or for washing…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nagate 長手

The long side of a timber, or a timber placed in a lengthwise direction.

Architecture, General Terms
nagatoko 長床

A room at Kumano Jinja 熊野神社, in Fukushima Prefecture, which is similar to a worshipper's hall *…

Architecture, Shrines
nagaya 長屋

Longhouse, or row house. A house with a long ridge. Also indicates a house with a number of residences connected under a…

Architecture, General Terms
nagayamono 長屋物

The smallest of three standard sizes of roof tiles yanegawara 屋根瓦, used during the 17th-19th century. The…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
Nageiredō 投入堂 ✓

Also once known as Zaōdō 蔵王堂. The Nageiredō is a small building, constructed in the overhang style kake-zukuri 懸造,…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
nagekakebari 投掛梁 ✓

A transverse beam *hari 梁 made in two sections and coupled by a stub-tenon-…

Architecture, General Terms
nageshi 長押 ✓

Non-penetrating tie beams that are made to fit around pillars *hashira 柱 of…

Architecture, General Terms
nageshibiki 長押挽

A long rectangular beam cut along a diagonal cross-section and used as a non-penetrating tie *nageshi…

Architecture, General Terms
nagimayu 薙眉

Also called naginata mayu 薙刀眉 or 長刀眉. A type of carved molding *kurigata…

Architecture, Decorations
naginatazori 長刀反

A sudden strong, upward curve at the corner ends of eaves. Especially characteristic of the Zen style *…

Architecture, General Terms
naidō 内堂

Buddhist priests' living quarters. Higher-ranking priests had two rooms one behind the other. The inner room was called the…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
naiheki 内壁

1 An interior wall partition.

2 The inner surface of a wall.

Architecture, General Terms
naijimon 内侍門

Also read naishimon. Traditionally, the timbergate through which virgin attendants entered a shrine. Structurally,…

Architecture, Gates
naijin 内陣 ✓

The inner sanctum located in the main halls *kondō 金堂 or *…

Architecture, General Terms
naijinbashira 内陣柱 ✓

Also called moyabashira 母屋柱; irikawabashira入側柱. The pillars placed on the boundary between, or slightly…

Architecture, General Terms
naijō 内城

The innermost compound *kuruwa 郭 of a castle. Sometimes called *…

Architecture, Castles
naiku 内区 ✓

The inner section of the pendant *gatō 瓦当, attached to a semi-…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
Naikūgen torii 内宮源鳥居

Small entrance-gates at Yoshida Jinja 吉田神社 in Kyoto. They are located in front of two small shrines behind the octagonal…

Architecture, Shrines
nainaijin 内内陣

1 A miniature shrine within the sanctuary of a Shinto shrine.

2 The innermost…

Architecture, Shrines
naka-ita 中板

A board which is inserted between the host's mat *temaedatami 点前畳 and the…

Architecture, Tea Houses
naka-no-kuchi 中の口

1 A semi-formal entrance to Honmaru Goten 本丸御殿, the main palace in Edo-jō 江戸城. It was situated at the east…

Architecture, General Terms
Naka-no-Mibumon 中の壬生門

According to the Shokunihongi 続日本紀, a gate leading to the waiting area for all officials, chōshūden…

Architecture, Gates
naka-no-to 中の戸

1 A generic term for a door connecting two areas of a structure.


2 A door in the…

Architecture, General Terms
nakabachi-no-tsukubai 中鉢の蹲踞

A garden wash-basin set characterized by the use of gravel surrounding it. The gravel allows the water from hand washing to…

Architecture, Tea Houses
nakabashira 中柱

1 Also *daimebashira 台目柱. A small pillar which stands at…

Architecture, Tea Houses, Folk Dwellings
nakado 中戸 ✓

A pair of sliding doors *hikichigai 引違, separating the front…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nakadoi 中樋 ✓

A rain gutter placed at the bottom point where two roofs meet. Similar to *narabidō 双堂…

Architecture, General Terms
nakadoma machiya 中土間町家

An urban vernacular residence *machiya 町家, characterised by a…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nakadoma 中土間

An inner earth-floored area found in *nakadoma machiya…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nakagamachi 中框

Also called nakazan 中桟. A middle rail. A horizontal rail or rails inserted into stiles tategamachi 竪框 and…

Architecture, General Terms
nakahōdate 中方立

A vertical, finishing strip of wood placed between the threshold *shikii 敷居 and…

Architecture, General Terms
nakai 中居

1 A private service-oriented room in the mansions of aristocrats, warriors, retired emperors, abbots and…

Architecture, General Terms, Folk Dwellings
nakaita-no-seki 中板席

A tea ceremony room or house that contains a board *naka-ita 中板, set between the host's mat…

Architecture, Tea Houses
nakajō 中城

Also *ni-no-maru 二の丸, ni-no-kuruwa 二の郭, naka-no-maru 中の丸.…

Architecture, Castles
nakako 中子 ✓

Also called sakuko 柵子, kakusaku 角柵, marutazaku 丸太柵. The stakes used to support the fencing set in…

Architecture, General Terms
nakakugi 中釘

Also *hanakugi 花釘, tokonakakugi 床中釘 (see *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
nakakuguri 中潜

Lit. "middle wicket." Also pronounced uchisomi. It is sometimes called kuguri 潜. A type of middle…

Architecture, Tea Houses
nakaniwa 中庭

1 A place for hanging clothes in vernacular dwellings of the Kantō 関東 region.


2 …

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nakanuri 中塗り ✓

Also called chūgomi 中込, nakazuke or chūzuke 中付. A middle layer of plaster applied between the…

Architecture, General Terms
nakaore 中折

An architectural element that is bent or has a concave mid-point. A diagonal brace, for example, if less than 90 cm wide,…

Architecture, General Terms
nakashikii 中敷居

Also read chūjikii. Lit. "middle sill." A sill on a shelf that divides a closet into two parts, lower and upper.…

Architecture, General Terms
nakasukido 中透戸

Also called nakashōji 中障子, yoshiwara shōji 吉原障子, takeshōji 竹障子, nakanukido 中抜戸 and …

Architecture, General Terms
nakatatezan 中竪桟

Also written 中縦桟. A vertical stile placed at the mid-point of a paneled door. A centrally placed horizontal stile is called…

Architecture, General Terms
nakatsubo 中坪

Also written 中壷. The inner court between shop and living quarters in a merchant's house in the Edo period.

Architecture, General Terms
nakayama torii 中山鳥居

Also called banshi torii 伴氏鳥居. A stone entrance-gate to a Shinto shrine *torii…

Architecture, Shrines
nakazonae 中備 ✓

Also written 中具. Secondary or intermediate supports placed in the interstices between the bracket complexes *…

Architecture, General Terms
nakazuka 中束 ✓

A generic term for struts *tsuka 束 that are set at the mid-point between two…

Architecture, General Terms
namakogata 海鼠形

A decorative shape said to resemble a sea slug, namako 海鼠. The shape is often used for the material handles of…

Architecture, Decorations
namakokabe 海鼠壁 ✓

Also written 生子壁. A traditional finish for *dozō-zukuri 土蔵造 and *…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
namigata renji 波型連子

Also namirenji 波連子, yumirenji 弓連子, tatewaki renji 立涌連子. A type of latticework renji…

Architecture, General Terms
namionigawara 波鬼瓦 ✓

An ogre tile with a wave pattern descending from its base to form legs ashimoto 足元, that divide over the gable of…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
nanako 魚々子 ✓

Also written 魚子, 斜子. Lit. "fish-roe."
1 A pattern of small dots thought to resemble fish-roe, and…

Art History, Architecture, Gardens, Crafts
nanakogaki 魚子垣

Also urokogaki 鱗垣, gonomegaki 互の目垣. A fence made from semi-circular pieces of bamboo or metal. Bamboo…

Architecture, Gardens
nanatsu-ishi 七つ石

Seven trump stones in the *roji 露地 or tea garden. They are the hand-washing stone…

Architecture, Tea Houses
Nanbōroku 南方録

Book of Sen no Rikyū's 千利休 (1522-91) tea ceremony secrets which consists of seven volumes entitled: "Memoranda Oboegaki…

Architecture, Tea Houses, Document
nandaimon 南大門 ✓

The great south gate at Tōdaiji 東大寺 in Nara. The term is also used for the main south gate at other temples.

Architecture, Gates
nando 納戸

1 A store room in which clothes and valuables could be kept in the houses of the civil, ecclesiastical and…

Architecture, General Terms
nanken-nanko 何間 何戸

Lit. "How many bays? How many entrances?" Questions posed in order to ascertain the number of bays *…

Architecture, Gates
nanto shichidaiji 南都七大寺

Lit. "southern capital seven great temples." A generic expression in use by the 8th century referring to the seven great…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
naoraiden 直会殿

Also read noraidono, gesaiden 解斎殿. A shrine building to which priests retire after performing the Shinto…

Architecture, Shrines
narabidō 双堂 ✓

Also read sōdō. Twin buildings in the grounds of a Japanese temple that are of equal length, but not necessarily of…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
narabigura 双倉 ✓

Also read sōsō. Lit. "twin storehouses." Two storehouses of the same size placed so that the space between was the…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
narihira sodegaki 業平袖垣

Lit. "Narihira sleeve fence." A common type of rustic see-though sleeve fence, sukashi sodegaki 透袖垣. The frame,…

Architecture, Gardens
narukodo 鳴子戸

A gate used between the outer and inner gardens *roji 露地 leading to a teahouse *…

Architecture, Tea Houses
Narukomon 鳴子門 ✓

A simple gate located in the northeast corner ofthe inner moat uchi-no-hori 内の濠 of the inner citadel Honmaru 本丸 (…

Architecture, Gates
natsume 棗 ✓

A tea caddy for storing weak green powdered tea. Also called *usuchaki…

Architecture, Tea Houses
natsushōji 夏障子 ✓

Also sudare shōji 簾障子. Sliding screens *shōji 障子, that are…

Architecture, General Terms
nawabari 縄張 ✓

Castle plan; general term for the layout of a castle and its component structures. Lit. "stretched rope," the term is said…

Architecture, Castles
nawakakenuki 縄掛貫

Also called nawakakesan or nawakakezan 縄掛桟, also pronounced nawakakezan. Lit. "rope-hanging beam…

Architecture, General Terms
nayotake 弱竹

Also called medake 女竹; ganchiku 含竹, shinobedake しのべ竹 or naedake 苗竹. Thin bamboo…

Architecture, General Terms
ne-ishi 根石

Lit. "root stone."

1 Also soko-ishi 底石 (base stone), chizen-ishi 地全石, dodai-…

Architecture, General Terms
nebukawa-ishi 根府川石

Lit. "Nebukawa stone." A type of andesite found near Nebukawa 根府川 Village near Odawara 小田原 in modern Kanagawa Prefecture.…

Architecture, Gardens
neda 根太 ✓

A floor joist. A horizontal structural member made of cypress, cedar or pine, laid on a sleeper *…

Architecture, General Terms
neda tenjō 根太天井 ✓

A ceiling made over the first floor of a two story building. The ceiling has joists above it which form the structural base…

Architecture, General Terms
nedauke 根太受

Horizontal supports which receive floor joists. Also called *ōbiki 大引.

Architecture, General Terms
nedoko 寝床

Also *nema 寝間, *nando 納戸, *heya…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
negoya 根小屋

The *jōkamachi 城下町, or town below the castle in the late medieval…

Architecture, Castles
nehijiki 根肘木 ✓

Also called *manekihijiki 招肘木. A small bracket arm, a…

Architecture, General Terms
nejigumi 捻組

Lit. "twisted construction." A bevelled, wooden, angled joint, sogi mokuzō shiguchi 殺木造仕口, commonly used to connect…

Architecture, Joints
nejiro 根城

Also read nejō. Lit. "root castle." The base of military operations. When several castles comprise a unit, …

Architecture, Castles
nekase 根械

Lit. "root fetters." Also called umekasenuki 埋械貫, nekasenuki 根械貫, negaraminuki 根がらみ貫. Large flat…

Architecture, General Terms
nekoashi 猫足

Lit. "cat's leg." A type of short, curved leg found on low desks or tables. The base of the leg curls inward. Variations are…

Architecture, Decorations
nekoma shōji 猫間障子

Also *magoshōji 孫障子. A small sliding panel set within a standard…

Architecture, General Terms
nekousu 猫臼

Also nekoza 猫座; nekogi 猫木. A short piece of wood projecting from the upper part of a pillar or from the…

Architecture, General Terms
nema 寝間

A room for sleeping in vernacular houses *minka 民家 of the Edo period.…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
nemaki 根巻

Also nezutsumi 根包. A wrap made of spaced wooden slats bound together with rope or metal strips, ornamented metal…

Architecture, General Terms
nemaki-kanamono 根巻金物 ✓

A gold-plated metal decoration *kazarikanagu 飾金具 carved with…

Architecture, Decorations
nenbutsudō 念仏堂 ✓

A hall within the precinct of a Buddhist temple used for the purpose of training Buddhist monks to meditate on and recite…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
neribei 練塀 ✓

A mud fence (a type of earthen wall *dobei 土塀) constructed with…

Architecture, General Terms
netsugi 根継 The process used to repair the bottom part of pillars and the rotten parts of other structural members of a building by… Architecture, General Terms
nezumibashiri 鼠走 ✓

Also nezubashiri, tokami 椙. Also called jiku-ukemagusa 軸受まぐさ. A horizontal timber with a…

Architecture, General Terms
nezumigaeshi 鼠返

A flat wooden device placed between the top of a post and under the timber flooring of a log storehouse *…

Architecture, General Terms

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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