A high gate that is often referred to as a two-storied gate, but in fact does not have two stories. Generally, it is an…

Also called koshikake daruki 腰掛垂木, ranji daruki 鸞翅垂木, or tenbō daruki 天望垂木.
A flying rafter *…

A type of Chinese paper *karakami 唐紙. Decorated paper imported to Japan…

Lapis lazuli. Vaidurya in Sanskrit. Originally it meant lapis lazuli or emerald, but from the Six Dynasties period, Chinese…

Lit. "lapis lazuli tile." A tile to which a blue glaze ruriyū 瑠璃釉 has been applied. The glaze is made from…

Also read "Roshanabutsu." The Rushana Buddha. Rushana is an abbreviation of Birushana 昆盧舎那 in turn a…

Lit. "abbreviated gooseneck joint." An elongated halving joint. The desired length of timber is cut in half lengthwise. The…

Ch: Lu Dongbin. Also called Lu Yan (Jp: Ryo Gan 呂巌) or Chunyangzi (Jp: Jun'yōshi 純陽子).
A popular Daoist hero,…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the suffering spirit of a woman…

A type of bamboo fence used at Ryōanji 龍安寺, a Zen temple in Kyoto. It is characterized by thick split bamboo that cross…

A double-edged utility saw. A widely used saw which has rip-saw teeth on one side of the blade and crosscut teeth on the…

Also *kannonbiraki tobira 観音開扉, double doors that open in one…

Also called yotsuashi torii 四脚鳥居, gongen torii 権現鳥居, or chigobashira torii 稚児柱鳥居. A Shinto shrine…

Lit. "mandala of the two realms," namely, the *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅…

Wedges used on the right and left sides to strengthen and to secure a penetrating tie beam inserted into a pillar.

Lit. "green-glazed roof tiles." A decorative green glaze is applied to the pendants *gatō…

Also ryōmegaki 両目垣. An interlocking bamboo fence. Bamboo, about 3 cm in diameter, are cut in half vertically and…

Also abbreviated to ryōnagare 両流. A style of main sanctuary *honden…

Also Raryōō 羅陵王, Ranryōō 蘭陵王 (King Lanling), and Ryūō 龍王 (Dragon King, see *…

1　The part of the kitchen where the finishing stages of food preparation took place and where meals were…

A type of gable roof *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造. Also called…

A gable roof *kirizuma-zukuri 切妻造, which has no gable…

Paper used for writing and painting; for documents, classical books, Buddhist sutras etc. Ryōshi used in Japan…

The decoration of paper used for calligraphy and painting *ryōshi 料紙. Paper…

A summer house, arbor, or pavilion that provided a cool resting place in a garden.

Also written 竜. Ch: long. A dragon.
1　Mythological animal and cosmological symbol of Chinese…

Lit. "dragon pond style." A type of garden featuring a sharply curving pond reminiscent of a dragon's serpentine body. Good…

Lit. "dragon palace style." An uncommon double-storied gate. The lower story has a flat arched entrance whereby the same…

Ch: longhutu. Painting of a dragon *ryū 龍 and tiger …

Lit. "dragon's gate cascade." One type of cascade *baku 瀑 found in Japanese…

Lit. "dragon vehicle." The round or oval section of a pagoda finial *sōrin…

Lit. "flowing water appreciation style garden."
A general term used to designate any garden focused around a stream.…

A design pattern which represents flowing water. One of the oldest designs in Japan, it appears as parallel 'S' lines…

Lit. "flowing water style of pond and stream."
A type of water feature in a garden that includes a curving water course.…

Lit. "willow leaf shelf."
A single decorative shelf constructed a little below the cabinets, tenbukuro 天袋,…

Also read ritsuzō. A Buddhist image which is standing, as opposed to seated (see *…

Lit. "inner horse exit." A defensive installation *umadashi 馬出 constructed to fortify the…

1　The inner moat of a castle that has two or more moats.

2　The moat dug on the…

A strike-through chisel. Normally, when constructing a pass-through mortise, the timber is carved away from both sides with…

A subordinate entry in houses possessing a formal guest entry *genkan 玄関, and…

Also written 内隈. Lit. "interior shading." A technique *kumadori 隈取 in non-…

Also written 内曇. Also called kumogami 雲紙. Abbreviation of uchigumorigami 打曇紙. A type of decorated paper,…

A technique used to hollow out the interior of a wooden statue. The hollow produced is also called uchiguri.…

Also read naikaku. Also called naijō 内城. An inner compound. Generally, it refers to the central…

Also pronounced uttegaeshi 打って返し, utasegaeshi 打たせ返し. Perfect symmetry on both sides of a center line…

An unbelted woman's outer garment worn over the *kosode 小袖 on formal occasions…

Lit. "pounded and inserted stone joinery." The most common stone work technique used to build a dry construction castle wall…

Pillars *hashira 柱 with an inward incline. Uchikorobi…

Rafters *taruki 垂木 that extend from the flying rafter support *…

Lit. "inner square box." A type of walled compound *masugata 桝形…

1　The inside measurement between the inner sides of two posts or pillars *…

A penetrating tie beam *nuki 貫 placed directly on top of a door or…

Also called uchinorimono 内法物. The wooden materials used for the framework of a sliding screen *…

Inner tea garden. The part of the double tea garden nijū roji 二重露地, between the middle gate *…

A type of loophole *sama 狭間. An opening in a wall for soldiers to…

Lit. "fan painting." A painting either directly on a fan *uchiwa 団扇, or on a round format…

Also read dansen. A round or oval fan made of paper or silk pasted over a framework of thin strips of bamboo.…

Also written 卯建, 宇立, うだつ; all read udachi, odatsu, or odachi.

1　A term…

1　A wide post at the interface between the earth-floored space *doma…

1　A rudimentary thatched dwelling hut or ancillary structure with a gable roof *…

1　A relatively short horizontal timber that functions like a brace. It is attached to and extends outward…

Also called *kidomon 木戸門. A simple gate with two main posts…

Lit. "planting." A technique used to make wooden statues, where the hair and beard are made separately, and then attached to…

An open site, generally in Okinawa, devoid of any kind of structure, from where the gods are worshipped. Most sites are…

Lit. "nightingale floor." Floor boards which rub together when walked on to produce a pleasant and delicate sound. This type…

Lit. "bush warbler fence." A common type of rustic sleeve fence *sodegaki…

An abbreviation of Kongō sekishō zenshin uhō dōji 金剛赤精善神雨宝童子. A manifestation of the Buddha *…

A modern city in the southern part of Kyoto where the Byōdōin 平等院 (1052) is located. Historically, Uji was a resort for the…

A visual motif in the *yamato-e やまと絵 tradition, depicting the…

Lit. "Battles of the Uji 宇治 River." Two dramatic and decisive battles that took place near the Uji bridge, over the river,…

A small-sized preliminary sketch undertaken by an artist expressly at the request of a patron. These sketches may be…

Also written 有気絵. Woodblock prints or paintings *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 produced for an individual…

Also written 請花, 受華, 請華; sometimes pronounced ukehana. Flower-shaped support. A support in the shape of an open,…

Also *chūdai 中台. Middle base.

A generic term for all supporting or receiving structural members. For example, a timber that receives an eave cornice is…

The indentation in the middle of the base *kiso 基礎 of a lantern…

Lit. "floating picture." Usually a woodblock print, in which the three-dimensionality of a scene is emphasized by using one…

Formerly known as hanshutsuzō 半出像. A relief, or a method used to carve a relief on a flat surface. Halfway…

A pictorial subject taken from "Ukifune" ("A Boat upon the Waters"), Chapter 51 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The…

Lit. "pictures of the floating world." Paintings and woodblock prints of genre themes developed from the mid-Edo to early…

Currents of Thought on Ukiyo-e, a series of biographies of *ukiyo-e …

Lit. "books of the floating world." Printed books containing illustrated prose stories which developed from the Kamigata…

Marigold, saffron yellow. A bright yellow dye taken from the root stalk of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa).…

A main castle gate *koguchi 虎口 with a small barrier or compound…

A castle entrance barrier. A small barrier or compound, built in front of a castle gate *…

Paintings of horses on pairs of folding screen *byōbu 屏風. Beginning in the Heian…

A standing screen *tsuitate shōji 衝立障子 decorated with horses that was…

A stable. Also written 厩. Also maya 馬屋 or 厩, keiya けいや, and kyūsha 厩舎. Applied to both a…

Also keima-zu 繋馬図. Paintings of horses tethered in a stable. Although the subject is found in a 13th-century…

A gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚 with an irregular hexagonal shape. The…

A pictorial subject based on "Umegae" ("A Branch of Plum"), Chapter 32 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

Also read umeki. A wooden dowel or plug used to fill a hole in a piece of timber. If a knot or some other flaw…

To fill in any remaining open spaces with sand, gravel, soil, or other such substances, after the foundation and all…

Lit. "sea stone." A generic name for stones found in the ocean or along the seashore. Because sea stones contain salt, and…

A type of lantern. These six-sided lanterns are the same as the kasuga type, but they were carved by a stonemason…

Also written 暈繝. Also *ungen zaishiki 繧繝彩色, lit. "rainbow coloring." A…

Also written 暈繝彩色. A method of coloring used in painting as well as for decorative motifs in crafts and architecture. Also…

A decorated cloth binding used for the border of a straw mat *tatami 畳…

1　Chinese: yunqiwen.
An ancient Chinese decorative design formed from C and S shapes. It is…