1　A shell, especially mother-of-pearl, inlay technique commonly used for lacquer ware *…

Ch: Luofuxian. The story and pictorial theme of an immortal on Mt. Luofu 羅浮山 (Jp: Rafusen) and the spirit…

Spiral shaped curls of hair, like snail-shells, on the head of a *nyorai…

Lit. "Amida with welcoming descent mudras." A figure of *Amida 阿弥陀 with hand…

Lit. "welcoming mudra." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印 in which the forefinger,…

Painted images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, such as *Shaka 釈迦, *…

Ch: Lanzan weiyu 懶瓚煨芋. A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) painting subject depicting the late 8th century Chinese Zen priest Lanzan…

Arhat. Ch: luohan, Sk: arhan. Abbreviation of arakan 阿羅漢, a translation of the Sk. term arhan…

An abbreviation of the term rakusei kanshiki 落成款識. Lit. "inscription cast into ancient bronze vessels at…

Paintings of scenes in and around Kyoto. Famous sites, festivals and activities within the capital rakuchū 洛中…

Also written 楽書. Graffiti or scribblings. The earliest examples in Japan are the scribblings in the margins or on the backs…

Raku 楽 ware. A light weight ceramic ware developed in Kyoto in the Momoyama period and particularly prized in the…

A net-like ornament strung with jewels or precious metals and hung from the canopy *…

Ch: lanyemiao. Lit. "orchid-leaf drawing." A style of ink-painting using fluid, modulated lines that resemble the…

The technique whereby bamboo strips are woven into shapes and coated with lacquer. Also called kagoji 籠地 (basket…

Ch: Lanting qushui. Lit. "meandering stream and orchid pavilion." A painting theme which refers to a gathering held…

Transliteration of Sanskrit raksasa, a term for demons in general, but which may also be divided into three classes…

Ch: Ling Zhaonu. Raised by her aged parents as a devout Buddhist, this semi-legendary daughter of Tang dynasty lay Buddhist…

A set of books from which the larger portion is missing; the odd volume or smaller portion (i.e., several pages) of a larger…

Ch: Lingyun Guanhua. The Tang dynasty Zen 禅 priest Lingyun Zhiqin (Jp: Reiun Shikin 霊雲志勤), a disciple of Weishan Lingyu (Jp…

A long piece of paper or board the same length as *zenshi 全紙 (approximately 135…

A piece of paper, three-quarters the size of *zenshi 全紙. When a…

Lit. "lotus petal."
1　A pendant *gatō 瓦当, found on semi-…

Also renge karakusa 蓮華唐草. Lit. "lotus pattern." A decorative floral and vine design motif that originated in China…

Also renza 蓮座. Lit. "Lotus base" (Sk: padmasana). A dais for a Buddhist image *…

Also *shumon 珠文. A design pattern that uses circles to represent pearls which…

The central section of a lotus flower pedestal *rengeza 蓮華座 on which a Buddhist image usually…

A manner of representing drapery folds in Buddhist sculpture. It consists of either 

1) a high…

Also tetsuyōsō 綴葉装 or retsuyōsō 列葉装.
A multisection book. A type of Japanese book-binding. The…

Ch: Li Bai (701-62). One of the two most famous poets of the early Tang dynasty along with Du Fu (Jp: *…

Ch: Li Guang sheshi. Lit. "Li Guang shooting a rock." The Han dynasty archer Li Guang (Jp: Ri Kō 李広) who, on a…

Hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 in a set of two or more. Each…

Ch: Lishi. A gigaku mask *gigakumen 伎楽面…

The Six Canons or Principles, thought to be essential for the appreciation of Chinese painting. They were set out in the…

Ch: Lin Hejing (967-1028). A noted poet, calligrapher and scholar of the Northern Song dynasty. Rin Nasei's real name was…

Ch: Lin Lingsu. A Daoist immortal in the service of the Northern Song Emperor Huizong (Jp: Kisō 徽宗, r. 1101-25). A staunch…

A type of halo *kōhai 光背 used on Buddhist images, forming a free-…

A technique used to copy *mosha 模写 a painting or work of calligraphy. The…

The royal ease position (Sk: Maharajalilasana). A seated position used for a Buddhist image with one knee (usually…

A school of painters and decorative artists, which began in 17th-century Kyoto and then spread to Kanazawa and Edo. The term…

Also known by the Chinese name: Linji. A Tang dynasty priest who founded a major school of chan (Jp: Zen 禅) Buddhism. Zen…

The Rishukyō jūhachi-e mandara was introduced from China to Japan by Ennin 円仁 (794-864) and Shūei 宗叡 (809-884…

Also rōgata chūzō 蝋型鋳造, rōgata imono 蝋型鋳物. A method of metal casting known as the lost-wax…

Ch: Nongyuxian. Lit. "Immortal Rōgyoku 弄玉 (Ch: Nongyu)." According to legend, a court lady of the Spring and Autumn Annals…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the aged, yet beautiful face of…

Ch: Louge shanshui. A type of painted landscape composed by combining a multi-story tower or viewing pavilion with…

The Six Immortal Poets. A pictorial theme depicting six outstanding poets of the 9th century. Designated by Ki no Tsurayuki…

Also rokumaiori byōbu 六枚折屏風. A folding screen with six panels, measuring approximately 1.5 m high and 3.7 m wide.…

The six distances in Chinese landscape painting. Read riku-en. First mentioned by Han Zhuo (Jp: Kan Setsu 韓拙,…

A group of six forms of *Kannon 観音, each of which is responsible for saving…

Also occasionally read rikudō-e. Lit. "six paths."
Paintings of the six paths rokudō 六道 of existence…

Lit. "six character name." The six Chinese characters used to write "Namu Amida Butsu 南無阿弥陀仏." An homage to the…

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所, active from the 11th-14th century and…

Also *iwa-rokushō 岩緑青. A green pigment *…

The sixth Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) patriarch, Huineng (Jp: Enō 慧能, 638-713), also considered the 33rd patriarch in descent from the…

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…

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

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

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

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

A pictorial subject taken from Arrowhead, the play from the *kabuki…

A pictorial subject taken from "Yadorigi" ("The Ivy"), Chapter 49 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a small Chinese fox. Its thin-lipped, slightly…

Lit. "burned brush." A wooden stick with a burned tip. Like charcoal used in western style painting, yakifude is…

A medicine jar, found on the palm of the left hand in figures of *Yakushi 薬師, the…

A type of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print which shows one or several actors in a stage pose or…

Lit. "picture books illustrating actors." Books that bound together actor prints, but also included theater and stage scenes…

Printed books criticizing actors' skills. Theater reviews were not published in booklet form until 1656 with Yakusha-no-…

Keka 悔過 is a term used in Buddhism meaning repentance of one's sins, and refers to the chanting of prayers to…

The name of the Buddha associated with healing. Sino-Japanese rendering of Sanskrit Bhaisajyaguru, meaning "Medicine Master…

Ch: Yaoshan Li'ao. A Zen 禅 painting subject depicting the philosophical debate between the Tang dynasty hermit-priest…

Ch: Yaoshan she chenzhongchen; lit. "Yakusan's Shooting of the Great King of the Big Deers." A Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan)…

Lit. "mountain indigo." Perennial plant 30-40 cm high, Mercurialis leiocarpa Sieb. et zuc., used to make a blue dye…

Also read Yamagoshi no Amida; Amida yamagoe (yamagoshi) raigō 阿弥陀山越来迎. Lit. "Amida…

Also written 楊梅樹. A brown vegetable dye senryō 染料 obtained from the evergreen tree Myrica rubra,…

Also written 大和絵 and 倭絵. A widely used description term which has carried various nuances in different periods, but…

The most commonly used style of mounting hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 in…

Also musubitoji 結び綴じ, lit. "knot-binding." The simplest style of book-binding, and usually a type of pouch-binding…

Also read Yamanba. Oni-onna 鬼女 (demonic woman) or yama-onna 山女 (mountain woman) are used occasionally.…

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

Emaciated man. Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a ghost suffering in hell. Lean…

Also yakusha 薬叉 (Sk: yaksa), a class of semi-divine beings usually considered to be of a benevolent and…

Also written 夜叉付子. A brown vegetable dye senryō 染料 made from the alder tree (Alnus firma), which…

A pictorial subject depicting scenes from the Battle at Yashima, an important engagement in the Genpei Battles Genpei…

1　Lit. "eight bridges." A type of low bridge built over a shallow pond or marsh using wooden planks without…

The Yayoi period (ca. 400 BCE to 250 CE). The period is marked by the establishment of rice cultivation and an agrarian…

Western-influenced paintings and prints produced in Japan before the Meiji period, including *…

Western-style painting produced during the Meiji period. Yōga employed the use of western materials such as oil…

Lit. "wish-granting mudra (Sk: varada mudra)"; also segan-in 施願印. A mudra or hand gesture *…

A blank, unpainted space. It is considered one of the identifying characteristics of both Chinese and Japanese painting.…

Also bakemono-e 化物絵 and yūrei-e 幽霊絵. *Ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints that depict…

Ch: Yang Guifei (719-56). The famous Chinese beauty and concubine of Emperor Xuanzong (Jp: *…