Also written 寂.
1　An idea of beauty particularly important in the tea ceremony and haiku 俳句…

Also sabi 錆. A paste made by mixing powdered burnt clay *tonoko 砥の粉…

When woodblocks are being carved to reproduce pages of handwritten characters, sometimes the point of a small knife will be…

Also called kōetsubon 光悦本 or suminokurabon 角倉本, although some scholars consider each of these names to…

A pictorial subject of an area in the western part of Kyoto city, famous for autumn grasses and singing insects. Besides…

Also written 佐波理. An alloy of copper containing less than ten percent tin, lead and zinc and of a pale yellowish color. It…

Paintings based on Saigyō monogatari 西行物語 (The Tale of Saigyō), a fictionalization of the poet-priest…

The name for a group of *ukiyo zōshi 浮世草子 (books of the floating world;…

Ch: suihan sanyou. Lit. "three friends of wintery seasons." A painting theme featuring pine matsu 松, plum…

Also Yoshiwara saiken 吉原細見. Annually published guide to the new *Yoshiwara…

Miniature paintings in a detailed style best suited for fans or albums. Two other terms, mitsuga 密画 and saiga…

Lit. "festival pictures." Paintings that originated in folk beliefs and Shinto rituals shinji 神事, mostly related to…

Lit. "Buddhist colorist." An artist who applies colored pigment to the nimbus or pedestal of a Buddhist statue. A …

The application of color to various architectural elements. In the case of paintings, this normally involves the use of…

A painted statue, usually a Buddhist image. Saishikizō are colored over the entire surface of the figure;…

A *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *bugakumen…

Also simply saitan 歳旦. A woodblock print commissioned by a poet, or a man of versatile tastes, to give to his…

A pictorial subject based on "Sakaki" ("The Sacred Tree"), Chapter 10 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

The three types of distances desired for mountains in Chinese ink painting as defined by the famous Academy landscapist of…

Sanage 猿投 kilns. A group of old kilns in an area stretching from the western area of modern Nagoya 名古屋 city to the northern…

1　A pictorial subject taken from the auspicious *kabuki 歌舞伎…

Lit. "Chatter of a Mountain Dweller." A two-volume treatise on painting theory by the late Edo artist and Confucian…

Lit. "three great Buddhas." The three largest images in the history of Buddhist statuary in Japan. Originally the …

Three horizontal grooves in the neck of a Buddha *nyorai 如来 or bodhisattva *…

Lit. "three countries Buddha." Buddhist statues made from the fourth to the seventh centuries in Korea. At that time, Korea…

A Buddhist sculpture workshop *bussho 仏所 that was located in Kyoto's Sanjō 三条…

Abbreviation of Sanju hajinraku 散手破陣楽. *Bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

Also read Sanjūbanjin. Various sets of thirty *kami 神 who…

The thirty-two physical characteristics that symbolize the superhuman qualities of the Buddha. These originated in Indian…

Lit. "thirty-six immortal poets." Imaginary portraits of the 36 outstanding poets from the 7th to 10th centuries selected by…

Abbreviation of Kannon sanjūsanshin 観音三十三身. The 33 forms in which, according to the *…

Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods (Sk: Trayastrimsa deva). Also referred to as Tōriten とう利天, with tori thought to be…

Large-scale hanging scroll paintings of the landscapes of shrines and temples which include images of pilgrims worshipping…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a plebeian old man. Deep furrows line the…

A pestle with three prongs at each end, usually made of gilt bronze. The central grip is often encircled by demons' eyes…

A sword, with a blade at one end and a handle topped by three prongs shaped like a *sankosho…

Ch: Sanjiao. A painting subject of the three patriarchs, Confucius (Jp: *Kōshi…

Also read Samaya-e. The second of the nine *mandara 曼荼羅 comprising…

Also read Samaya mandara. A form of *mandara 曼荼羅 (mandala)…

Also sanmen hōshoku 三面宝飾, sanmen hōkan 三面宝冠. A Buddhist crown that consisted of three upstanding ornaments…

Also read san'e. Three different robes used by Buddhist priests. According to Indian Buddhist tradition, each monk…

Also Hie Sannō mandara 日吉山王曼荼羅. A class of Shinto devotional paintings having to do with Hie Sannōsha 日吉山王社 (…

Lit. "crossing the Sano." A historic river crossing often a subject of ancient poetry. The place recorded as Sano 狭野 in Kii…

Also read sanpei niman. A homely woman's face characterized by three flat or low parts sanpei 三平: the…

Ch: Sanping kaixiong. Lit. "Sanpei baring his chest." Also Sanpei Sekkyō 三平石鞏 (Ch: Sanping Shigong) and Sekkyō…

Ch: sanpin. Lit. "three classes." Three classes of Chinese calligraphy and painting. In ascending order, the…

Ch: sansuantu. A painting subject of three san 三, Northern Song Chinese sages tasting wine san 酸…

Ch: sanshengtu. A type of painting of Taoist and Buddhist figures dōshaku jinbutsuga 道釈人物画, which features…

Lit. "the oracles of the three shrines." These popular hanging scrolls, sold at Ise Jingū 伊勢神宮 were the focus of devotion *…

Ch: shanshuihua. Lit. "mountain and water painting." Far Eastern painting of an idealized nature. Although…

1　A black lacquer crown with a row of three rounded peaks called koji 巾子. The crown was worn by…

Lit. "three thousand Buddhas." One thousand Buddhas are believed to appear in the worlds of the past, present and future…

Also sanzonzō 三尊像, sanzon 三尊. A set of three Buddhist deities appearing together. They form a triad…

1　Monkey. The monkey is represented in kyōgen 狂言 by a masked and costumed figure. The monkey mask…

Lit. "inserted pictures." The term applies to any illustrations in books, magazines, and newspapers.

Also read sassubon. A bound book as opposed to a handscroll *kansubon…

A picture drawn for the purpose of inducing a sudden insight or "enlightenment". A caricature often *…

Satsuma 薩摩 ware. A general name for pottery and porcelain made in Satsuma and Ōsumi 大隅 in Shimazu 島津 fief (modern Kagoshima…

A pictorial subject based on "Sawarabi" ("Early Ferns"), Chapter 48 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

A picture which is incomprehensible when viewed with the naked eye but which appears in normal proportions when viewed…

Lit. "bilateral symmetry." An image whereby the right and left sides of an image are identical. With the practice of…

Ch: Xiyuanyaji. Lit. "Elegant Gathering in the Western Garden." A pictorial subject depicting an imaginary literati party at…

1　Also pronounced seikaiha. A wave design made of the arches of concentric circles superimposed…

One of Three Jōdo Mandalas *Jōdo sanmandara 浄土三曼荼羅. A type of *…

Ch: Xihu. Lit. "west lake." Of the several Chinese lakes known as West Lake, the most famous is the West Lake at Hangzhou 杭州…

Ch: Xiwangmu Dongwangfu. Ancient Chinese female and male deities associated with immortality and popular Daoism. Originally…

Ch: Zhenghuangniu. Lit. "Zheng (Jp: Sei 政) of the Yellow Ox." The popular name for a Chinese Northern Song Zen 禅 (…

Also read Kiyotaki Gongen. A protective deity associated with the Chinese temple Qinglongsi (Jp: Seiryūji 青竜寺) in Chang'an (…

Abbreviation of Seiryōjishiki Shaka nyorai-zō 清涼寺式釈迦如来像, also known as *…

Ch: qinglu shanshui. Lit. "blue-and-green landscape." A style of Chinese landscape painting heavily colored with…

Lit. "obtained strength." Also Daiseishi 大勢至 (Sk: Mahasthamaprapta), or he who has obtained great strength. Also …

Also read shoshuku; also shukuyō 宿曜. Meaning constellation, this term refers in Buddhist iconography…

Lit. "the youth Seitaka." One of two chief attendants of *Fudō Myōō 不動明王 (the…

Lit. "Discussion of Western Painting," Shiba Kōkan's 司馬江漢 (1747-1818) slim theoretical work in praise of Western naturalism…

An impromptu painting done upon request at a meeting with a guest or patron. It is recorded that Kano Kagenobu 狩野景信(fl. ca.…

Ch: Chibi. Lit. "Red Cliff." A painting subject of a peak in Hubei 湖北 Province featured in the prose-poem The Red Cliff…

Also yūō 雄黄. Orpiment, king's yellow. A lustrous yellow pigment *ganryō…

Ch: jixue kanshu. Lit. "reading by the light of piled snow." A Chinese painting subject depicting the dedication…

A pictorial subject based on "Sekiya" ("The Gatehouse"), Chapter 16 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young prince who is blind from…

Lit. "mudra for bestowing fearlessness (Sk: abhaya or abhayadana or abhayaprada mudra)." A mudra…

A pictorial subject in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 taken from Senbonzakura (One…

Also written 甎仏 or 磚仏. Japanese buddhist images in relief on unglazed clay tiles sen せん which are square,…

1　An alternative term for *byakudan 白檀.

2…

Ch: qianjiang shanshui. A type of Chinese landscape painting using light red coloring for rocks and trees. The…

Lit. "Warring States period." The period began with the outbreak of the Ōnin Wars (Ōnin no ran 応仁の乱, 1467-77) and…

Votive papers. Small slips of paper on which pilgrims to temples and shrines wrote their names and addresses and which were…

Lit. "ideogram of the character sen 宣." A dais *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist…

Sk: Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokitesvara. Thousand-armed Kannon or *Kannon 観音 with…

Screens decorated with fan paintings. There are two basic types of senmen byōbu: fan painting taken from used or…

Also ōgi-e 扇絵. Paintings or calligraphy on paper fans. In Japan, two basic types of fans have been used since the…

A flutter book. A variation of an accordion book *orihon 折本 in which a single…

Ch: Chuanzi Jiashan. A painting subject of the meeting between the Chinese ＣChan 禅 (Jp: Zen) priests Chuanzi (Jp: …

Lit. "thousand Buddhas." Sometimes abbreviated to senbutsu 千仏. A large number of Buddhist images, usually the same…

Lit. "the Buddha *Amida 阿弥陀 preaching a sermon seppō…

Lit. "the exposition of the Dharma mudra." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印…

Ch: Shisheng wenji. Also shashin monge 捨身聞偈 (Ch: Sheshen wenji). Lit. "giving up the body to hear…

Lit. "stone river." A bugaku 舞楽 mask *bugakumen 舞楽面…