Also, pronounced shōbyōga (although rarely). Paintings on large surfaces of architectural structures. The term…

Lit. "paintings on screens 'shō 障' and walls 'heki 壁.'" Partition or interior wall painting, although…

Also daichō 台帳, daihon 台本. In the Kyoto-Osaka area kamigata 上方, it is often called *…

An Edo period novel which imitated the style of *kabuki 歌舞伎 stage books *…

Lit. "paintings on screens *shōji 障子." Shōji-e is a term…

Ch: Zhuge Liang (181-234). Also known as Kongming (Jp: Kōmei 孔明). A counsellor to the Chinese Han emperor Liu Bei (Jp: Ryū…

Small-scale, close-up painting of landscapes. The scenes generally depict misty fields and rivers or lakes and may also…

Ch: Zhongkui. A god in the Chinese Daoist pantheon known as the Demon-queller, often depicted in sculpture and painting. A…

Illustrations of people of various occupations in their workshops, which became popular in the Momoyama and early Edo…

Also tsuyazuri つや摺 (lustre printing), and sometimes written 上面摺. Lit. "printing from the front." A printing…

Also written 勝南院座, 小南院座, 小波座. One of the painting studios or guilds, za 座 of the *…

Also shosaijiku 書斎軸 or saijiku 斉軸. Associated with *shigajiku …

Ch: Xiaoxiang bajing. Lit. "Eight views of the Xiao and the Xiang." The eight designated scenes of the area around…

Ch: Shangshan sihao. A pictorial subject depicting four elderly sages who fled from the turbulent society of the…

Ch: Zhu Maichen. A Chinese Han dynasty woodcutter so enamored with learning that he read as he carried bundles of firewood…

Ch: Zhou Maoshu (1017-73). A well-known Confucian scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, depicted in a tradition of imaginary…

Vermilion. An intense orange-red pigment *ganryō 顔料 made of…

Ten Categories of Collected Antiquities, a late Edo period illustrated catalog of old art objects edited by the…

Ch: Zhougong Dan. The virtuous Duke of Zhou 周公 (Ch: Zhougong; Jp: Shūkō), the son of King Wen 文王 (Ch: Wen Wang; Jp: Bun Ō)…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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

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

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…

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

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…

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

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

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

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…

Also written 外隈. Lit. "exterior shading."

1　A shading *…

Lit. "princess whose beauty shines through her clothing." The popular name for the concubine of Emperor Ingyō 允恭 (412-…

A pictorial subject matter based on "Suetsumuhana" ("Safflower"), Chapter 6 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

Paintings directly executed on sliding doors made of cryptomeria wood *sugido 杉戸 which…

Also suhama 州浜. A shape made up of three rings. Used in garden design and landscape paintings. An imitation of a…

Ch: shuimohua. Also, in Japan, bokuga 墨画 or more colloquially sumi-e 墨絵. Lit. "water-ink painting…

Also read sugiharagami and abbreviated to suihara or sui. Handmade Japanese paper *…

Lit. "water-dropper." A small container used to hold the water which is added to the inkstone *suzuri…

The hero of the *kabuki 歌舞伎 play of the same name and the subject of woodblock…

Also called aisuki 相透. A carving tool used in woodblock printmaking *ukiyo-e…

A same size copy of an original painting made by placing a thin piece of paper or silk over the original and tracing the…

A pictorial subject based on "Suma," Chapter 12 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji), which tells…

Ink. Ink was made from lampblack, soot susu 煤 produced by the incomplete combustion of aged pine wood (the product…

A river that flows through the eastern part of Tokyo, down to Tokyo Bay. It became a famous place, meisho 名所 due to…

1　A general technical term for painting in black ink *sumi 墨, meaning without…

Also written 墨隈. A shading *kumadori 隈取 technique using black…

A paper decoration design *ryōshi sōshoku 料紙装飾 similar to a marble…

A school of painting that specialized in the *yamato-e やまと絵…

Prints of sumō 相撲 wrestlers entering the ring, locked in combat or strolling along busy streets. Together with…

A type of foil *kirihaku 切箔, usually gold or silver, cut so finely that…

Lit. "gold dust printing." A technique used for woodblock printmaking *ukiyo-e…

A purplish-red dye senryō 染料 color name, and the plant from which it is made. The su plant sappanwood…

Lit. "printed matter." High quality, privately sponsored woodblock prints mainly produced 1790's-1830's. Originally, the…

Lit. "omitting a printing." An *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 woodblock printmaking…

A pictorial subject taken from "Suzumushi" ("The Bell Cricket"), Chapter 38 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

Also written 研. Inkstone. A base made of stone or other material used for grinding *sumi…

A box designed to hold an inkstone *suzuri 硯 and other writing tools, such as an…