Lit. "abbreviated illustration." A simple miniature copy of an earlier work of art, and, as such, a valuable source of…

An altar made of fine timber, generally with panelling, hame 羽目, and rich moldings at its top and bottom.…

Mt. Sumeru. Also called Myōkōsan 妙高山 or Kinzan 金山. A great mountain that, according to ancient Indian cosmology, towers…

Lit. "Mt. Sumeru type stone arrangement." A grouping of stones which expresses Mt. Sumeru *Shumisen…

A raised bead, nipple or seed motif that became a common part of the decoration on the pendant tiles *…

Also formerly osokuzu-no-e おそくずの絵, makura-e 枕絵, makura sōshi 枕草紙, or e-hon 会本; also…

1　A Shingon 真言 priest (1143-79), who was an anti-Taira 平 conspirator, and a tragic exile. The story of…

Texture or modeling strokes used by artists to depict the surfaces of trees, rocks and ground, which lend a sense of form…

Lit. "main stone." The stone at the center of a stone arrangement *ishigumi…

Lit. "Buddha coming forth from the mountains." A scene from the life of the historical Buddha (Sk: Sakyamuni, *…

A pictorial subject taken from the popular tale, Ōeyama Shuten dōji 大江山酒顛童子 (The Drunkard Boy of Mt. Ōe),…

Also hakkutsuhin 発掘品. Lit. "objects which came out of the earth." Excavated objects. *…

Also shuboku, akazumi 赤墨. Red ink. Black carbon ink *sumi 墨, mixed with cinnabar red…

One story of a building or a counter for the number of roofs on a pagoda *tō 塔. A…

Ch: Su Li Juebie. The farewell of Su Wu (Jp: So Bu 蘇武, ca. 140-60 BCE) and Li Ling (Jp: Ri Ryō 李陵, ?-72 BCE). A…

Ch: Su Dongpo (1036-1101). Lit. "retired scholar of the eastern slope." A Northern Song Chinese literatus who was a noted…

A large carving tool which is used to shave away large areas of a woodblock *hangi…

A small, rustic style tea ceremony structure up to 4 1/2 mats *yojōhan 四畳半,…

Also called kiwaki or kowaki 木端. A side or end view of a board or plank which reveals its thickness.

Rafters *taruki 垂木 laid on an eave sobanoki 傍軒, that juts out from a…

Also sōban 双盤. A cushion or footing stone with a concave upper part and a convex lower part placed between the…

A plain, single-petaled, stylized lotus pattern found on the pendant *gatō…

Plain, unembellished flower petals used especially to decorate the pendants *gatō…

Lit. "overall border." An outer framing fabric surrounding a painting or calligraphy. The sōberi is used in various…

Also written 僧坊. Buddhist priests', monks' or nuns' living quarters in the 7th-8th century. One of the seven buildings…

Ch: caochonghua. Paintings of insects and plants, where various kinds of insects including bees, butterflies, and…

Lit. "sleeve."

1　A generic term meaning any structural element that is on the side of a main…

Lit. "sleeve fence." A narrow fence which may serve to screen off some garden element or may be completely ornamental.…

Lit. "sleeve shape." A type of water basin *chōzubachi 手水鉢 in…

A *dozō 土蔵 type of storehouse flanking the main shop *…

Aside or wing wall.

1　A generic term for a narrow wall projecting from either an inside or outside…

The process by which the diameter of the ends of large rainbow beams *kōryō 虹梁…

Small wing-like balustrades placed at an open angle to the right and left of the bottom of the steps leading to the veranda…

Also sodegawara 袖瓦, *tonemarugawara 利根丸瓦, tonegawara…

A defensive square projection in a castle wall on one side of the castle entrance *…

Lit. "sleeve udatsu." Extensions of the gable parapet walls *udatsu 卯立…

A large hall at a Zen temple. It was divided into two parts. The front part, called the *…

Lit. "accompanying stones." Stones arranged near to the main stone *shuseki 主石 of a stone…

1　A small reinforcement post attached to the side of a larger post or pillar. If a reinforcement post is…

Calligraphy, painting, documents, letters and other items that accompany tea utensils, and are mounted as hanging scrolls *…

1　A splice, fish plate, splint or brace. Timber strips attached to principal pillars to stabilize or…

A type of six-sided lantern. The canopy is thin with half-circled bracken-shoot patterns *…

Also called yosezuka 寄束 or wakizuka 脇束. Small reinforcing struts attached to one or both sides of a beam…

The Soga school. A group of Japanese painters active from the 15th through the 18th century. Although later Soga artists…

A pictorial subject depicting scenes from Soga monogatari 曽我物語 (The Tale of The Soga), a seminal warrior…

Also termed sōgawa 総河, sometimes written 総側 or 総川, sōguruwa 総郭, 総曲輪. The enclosure that surrounds a town…

Also written 惣型. A method of metal casting which used a clay mould. The mould was made by carving the shape of the desired…

Chinese painting of the Song (Jp: Sō 宋) and Yuan (Jp: Gen 元) dynasties, particularly as collected in Japan. The majority of…

Also written 曾木板 or 枌板; also called hegi-ita へぎ板. A thinly cut wooden shingle, 3 mm thick, and usually 30 cm x…

A basic bevelled scarf. A timber with a slanted cut, usually at an approximately 30 degree angle. To form a joint, a scarf…

Also called suberihatsugi 滑刃継; hauchitsugi 羽打継. A scarf joint. A simple butt joint made stronger by…

Special bodily characteristics of the Buddha which symbolize his superhuman nature. These include many aspects of Buddha's…

One of the most popular Shinto deities, who is shown in the form of a Buddhist monk and who protects warriors and the…

Lit. "Sōhen fence." A simple type of open fence named after tea master Yamada Sōhen 山田宗へん (1627-1708). Thin bamboo slats are…

Term used in the Nara and Heian periods for a red color obtained using madder akane 茜 dye.

A system of rank or title given by the imperial court to men and women in a Buddhist order who were also eminent scholars.…

Ch: caoyi chushui; also sōibyō 曹衣描. Lit. "wet-clothing drawing." A style of figure painting in which…

Also written 惣社. Also pronounced sōsha or subeyashiro. A shrine that contains many deities, which may…

A hairstyle where the hair is divided into two bunches, and tied on top of the head. The hairstyle is found on Buddhist…

A ditch surrounding a property, usually dug between a road and private land.

Lit. "bottom-cleaning chisel." A chisel designed to clean out the wooden shavings which have accumulated in the base of the…

A dry lacquer statue. During the Nara period, the term soku was used in documents to refer to dry lacquer statuary…

An ink painting brush stroke that uses the body of the bristles rather than tip to create a thick line. Generally, in…

Also called sunakake 砂かけ, sunasukui 砂掬い, and ezue え杖. Also written 束杖. A thin wooden board…

An anklet. A decorative ring or rings *kansen 鐶釧 found on the ankles of…

Also called wakiku 脇区. The borders on the ends of the pendants *gatō…

Also read somakaku. Timber that is made square by hewing and shaving with a hatchet *…

The moment when tree felling begins to obtain the wood to be used for a statue.

*Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen…

Blue-and-white ware. A white pottery with indigo patterns. On the surface of white pottery, mainly porcelain, designs are…

A fishnet-like design used to adorn the base of a Buddhist sculpture. The character 藻 (also read mo) means duckweed…

1　The main entrance gate for many Zen temples. They are large, single-storied, 8-legged or 4-legged gates…

Also read sōna. A signature in cursive script. During the Nara period, signatures were written in formal square…

Also written 備. Also called kumimono 組物 or *tokyō 斗きょう. A set of…

Lit. "mandala in the form used for worship." Devotional paintings (usually on large hanging scrolls) showing the deities of…

An upper floor extending over the entire area of the ground floor of a building.

A variety of *besson mandara 別尊曼荼羅 that evolved from the cult centered…

An object of veneration or worship, usually a statue or painting.

Also pronounced sorihashi. Lit. "curved bridge." A general term for an arched bridge. Soribashi include…

A plane used for moulding curved, wooden architectural elements such as gable boards or projecting rafters. The sole of the…

Also called terihafu 照破風. A generic term for bargeboards *hafu 破風 with…

A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and the abstractly painted paper of cloth mask *…

Lit. "pagoda finial." The vertical shaft which protrudes from the top of a pagoda. The sōrin, whether made of…

Also called soriwatarō 反渡廊, taikobashienrōka 太鼓橋縁廊下. Roofed, open-sided corridors with a convex…

A roof with a concave curve that extends from the base of the ridge *munagi 棟木…

A set of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints published in a series with a common title *…

Lit. "foundation stone." A base stone which receives the dead load of a pillar. The upper side of the base stone was made…

Paintings (or sometimes printed illustrations) e 絵, that usually illustrate narrative tales, waka 和歌…

Ch: Zhuangzi (369?-286? BCE). A famous Taoist philosopher, born in Meng 孟, Henan 河南 province. His real name was Zhou and his…

Important Buddhist teachers, high priests, and founders of Buddhist sects; often worshipped by followers. Statues and…

A hall dedicated to the founder of a temple, especially at Zen 禅 temples.

The diaries of Kamiya Sōtan 神谷宗湛 (1551-1635), a wealthy merchant and tea ceremony master in Fukuoka Prefecture. Written…

A tea ceremony legend that probably dates from the first half of the 17th century. An old fox, the story goes, lived in the…

Also called sōtei zashiki 宗貞座敷. A 3-mat tea ceremony room *chashitsu…

A generic name for a pagoda (Sk: stupa) which has several roofs. Invariably they have an odd number of roofs. Most…

Also called Sakuradamon 桜田門. An entrance gate constructed 1664 at Edo-jō 江戸城 in Tokyo that preserves its…

The outer moat of a castle that has two or more moats. Generally, the inner slope, nearer the castle, is steep while the…

Lit. "outer fence." A generic name for any fence that encloses a tea ceremony house and garden *…

Also termed sōtō tenshu 層塔天守. A multi-storied castle tower. A technically advanced tower employing the same careful…

A lantern built for gardens in the form of a multi-storied stone pagoda with a flame holder. A famous example may be found…