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 Taoist 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 *…

Also referred to as zasei 坐勢 (Sk: asana). A seated position for a Buddhist image. Ancient Indian ascetics used…

Lit. "seated appreciation style garden." A modern term designating gardens meant to be seen or "appreciated" from a fixed…

A collector's seal, kanzō-in 鑑蔵印, which was impressed on Song and Yuan dynasties paintings *…

Also Kongō Zaō Bosatsu 金剛蔵王菩薩. The deity of Kinpusen 金峰山 in Nara, one of the most important deities of the Japanese…

Lit. "Eight parlor views"; a parody of eight views *hakkei 八景, in which…

The *zashiki 座敷 is a guest room; its name deriving from that of the mat…

A generic term for a room covered with straw mats *tatami 畳. In the Heian…

A two-story fireproof structure of the storehouse type *dozō 土蔵 that…

Lit. "stone for seated meditation." A large, flat-topped stone which is used for, or thought to be appropriate for…

A Buddhist image which is seated, as opposed to standing *ryūzō 立像. The…

Gourd-shaped shumon 朱文 style seal introduced into Japan from China during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Today there…

Lit. "paintings of Zen 禅 meetings." Paintings that depict a philosophical dialogue between a Zen priest and a layman,…

Lit. "Zen 禅 temple style gardens." A modern term designating the various types of gardens associated with Zen sect temples…

A school of Buddhist sculptors *bussho 仏所, who often used the character 'Zen' 善…

Also called *sōdō 僧堂; sometimes *masodō…

Commonly known as Zendō Daishi 善導大師 (Ch: Shandao Dashi, 613-81) or Great Master Zendō . The third patriarch of Pure…

Type of lantern found in the garden of Zendōji 善導寺, Kyoto. Six semi-spherical swellings surround the base and have been…

Lit. "Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) painting." A modern and somewhat ambiguous term often used to indicate painting and calligraphy that…

Ch: Chanyueyang Luohan. A type of ink painting of arhats or *rakan 羅漢…

Also abbreviated to zengohagi 前後矧. A method of making a wooden statue where the statue is carved in two separate…

An early type of folding screen *byōbu 屏風, in which panels are individually made…

Lit. "coin shape water basin." A type of round water basins *chōzubachi 手水鉢…

Lit. "meditation mudra." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印, formed by placing the palms…

Lit. "paintings of Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) occasions." Illustrations of acts (including dialogues) which led to enlightenment. The…

Lit. "early style dry landscape." The Heian period arrangement of stones in areas with neither a pond nor stream. The 11th-…

Images of the *Amida 阿弥陀 trinity made in the style of the Amida trinity at Zenkōji 善光寺 in…

An especially impressive front gate or entry. Examples are *hirakaramon…

Also known as Zenmyō nyoshin 善妙女神. A deity that protects the Kegon 華厳 sect of Buddhism. According to the legend, a…

Lit. "Dragon King Zennyo." The subject of a painting by one of the disciples of *Kūkai 空海…

Old name kizahashi 階 means steps (see *hashi 階). The front steps…

Lit. "full-size paper." Paper having the same size as that produced in the factory. The size varied according to each period…

Sometimes an alternative *Zendō 禅堂.

1　A room for…

The general term used for any art related to the practice of Zen 禅 Buddhism in Japan. Zen flourished in Japan in the…

Lit. "images of patriarchs of Zen 禅 sects." Paintings of Zen patriarchs. Although all schools of Buddhism create images of…

A style of architecture imported from China during the Song dynasty. It includes the architectural elements that came with…

Also called Karayō kōran 唐様高欄. A railing or balustrade *kōran 高欄 with…

Also called Karayō tokyō 唐様斗きょう. A Zen style bracket complex. The bracket arms *…

Lit. "front garden." A general term referring to the garden in front of a building. In contrast to the main garden which is…

Lit. "tongue." A thin ornamental molding *kurigata 繰形, carved on the bottom…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing a young angel, goddess or enlightened woman.…

Also Tōdaiji Zōbussho 東大寺造仏所. A workshop which made statues for Tōdaiji 東大寺 in Nara. In 748, the government set up a…

Also read zōhana. A beam projection or nosing *kibana 木鼻, molded or…

Government-run workshops making Buddhist statues during the Nara period. Post-9th-century independent and temple-run…

Sk: Virudhaka. A fierce-looking guardian deity *funnusō 忿怒相, believed to…

Inlay. It is also written 象眼 (elephant eye). A decoration technique in which the surface of such materials as metal, pottery…

Also called hōkizuri 掃摺 or zōkindome 雑巾留. A long thin finishing board, similar to a base board, that is…

A portrait of a lay person in formal secular dress. This contrasts with the more numerous portraits of Buddhist priests…

Offertory mask. Cloth or paper masks used in *bugaku 舞楽 in the pieces *…

Also nōnyūhin 納入品, tainai nōnyūhin 胎内納入品, tainai nōnyūbutsu 胎内納入物. Objects found in the…

Also witten 造作.
All non-permanent parts of a Japanese building in contrast to those parts that are permanent and…

A patron. A person who requests the building of a Buddhist temple or work of art.

Also zōzōki daiki 造像題記, zōzōmei 造象銘. A record that keeps track of the completion and repair dates of a…

A rough sketch of a building plan including, floor plans, elevations, the placement of doors and windows, etc.

Middle gates *chūmon 中門 with statues of Zuijin 随神, shrine guards…

A name given to a sandalwood statue of Shaka Nyorai 釈迦如来 (in the same style as the figure in Seiryōji 清涼寺, Kyoto). See *…

Lit. head light. A nimbus or halo that encircles the head of an image of a Buddhist deity. In the case of sculpture it is…

A yellow pigment *ganryō 顔料, made from the bark of the deciduous…

1　A miniature shrine in which Buddhist images or rolls of sutras kyō 経 are kept. Reliquary…

1　Also written 図子, 途子. A crossroads or intersection of two roads. See *…

Miniature shrine shelf. A cabinet shrine *zushi 厨子, used to store the writing…

Iconographic sketches of Buddhist images done in simple ink drawing (see *hakubyō…

Selected Iconography, a late Heian compendium on Buddhist iconography. Also called Jikkanshō 十巻抄 (…