Lit. "standing tree Buddha." A Buddhist image carved on a living tree or on wood that retains the form of the original tree…

Graver. A sharp, pointed steel tool used in metalwork and stone carving. Used for engraving, carving, and chiselling,…

Lit. "whose sleeves?" Painting theme depicting beautiful kimono 着物 draped across a wooden rack, ikō …

Old Persian man taikofu 太孤父 and young Persian boy taikoji 太孤児, two types of gigaku masks *…

Ch: Taigongwang. A Chinese scholar who was thought to be a paragon of humble virtue and learned accomplishment, and who…

Mandala of Taima. The most complete depiction of the *Kangyō hensō…

A small Buddhist image that is placed inside a larger one as an offering. In most cases, older images were placed inside…

Red ochre. A red pigment whose main component is ferric oxide (haematite), Fe203. Used in Japanese style painting *…

A major Hindu god called Indra or Sakra who has two major roles in Buddhist literature, one as king of the gods and lord of…

Fading. A lessening of the intensity of a color by exposure to sunlight or air. Chemically unstable dyes or pigments undergo…

"Running in retreat," a *bugaku 舞楽 dance and mask *…

A type of folding screen *byōbu 屏風 used in the Imperial Palace…

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

A collection of iconographical line drawings *hakubyō 白描 in handscroll form…

A *mandara 曼荼羅 based on the Dainichikyō 大日経 (Sk: …

A pictorial subject depicting the sport of falconry, birds trained to hunt cranes tsuru 鶴, pheasants kiji…

Also takaya bussho 高矢仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors active in Nara *…

A sailboat hokakebune 帆掛船 at full sail, loaded with rice bushels and treasures takara 宝, often bearing the…

Now a modern city on the Inland Sea (southwest of Osaka in Hyōgo Prefecture), most famous as the sea-coast setting for the…

Takatori 高取 ware. Made in Chikuzen 筑前 Province (modern Fukuoka Prefecture) of northern Kyūshū 九州, the Takatori kilns were…

A pictorial subject taken from "Takekawa" ("Bamboo River"), Chapter 44 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale of…

A long-sheet size of *hōsho 奉書 paper. Approximately 53 x 72 cm. The largest…

Pictures on kites. It is thought that kite flying became popular in Japan in the 18th century, and the early designs for…

Also written 託磨派 and 宅間派. One of the schools of *ebusshi 絵仏師, priest-painters…

A pictorial subject taken from "Tamakazura" ("The Jeweled Chaplet"), Chapter 22 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The…

An image that has more heads, eyes, or limbs than the human figure.

Also *Bishamonten 毘沙門天. Sk: Vaisravana. A fierce guardian deity believed to protect…

A yellowish-red pigment *ganryō 顔料 used in Oriental painting …

A painting where the original ink lines show through after light pigment is added. The 11th-century Senzui byōbu …

Tanba 丹波 ware. Also called tachikui-yaki 立杭焼. One of the Six Old Kilns, a general name for a type of sueki…

Lit. "Buddha at birth." A sculptural representation of the historical Buddha *Shaka 釈迦…

Ch: Danxia shaofo. A painting subject which captures the Chan 禅 (Jp: Zen) parable of the monk Danxia (Jp: Tanka 丹霞…

A single topknot. Hair tied on top of the head in a simple round topknot *hōkei…

Beating gold. Also called tanzō 緞造, uchimono 打物, tsuikin 鎚金 and kaji 鍛冶. A…

A tool used in woodblock printmaking *ukiyo-e 浮世絵. A piece of wood, a flat…

Lit. "red and green books." Also called edoribon ゑどり本 or 絵取本 (colored books) during the Edo period. Early Edo…

An abbreviation of tansaiga 淡彩画 (light-colored painting).
Lit. "lightly colored." Very often ink paintings…

"Collection of Young Trees of Painting"; one-volume biography of Japanese painters by Kano Ikkei 狩野一渓 (1599-1662). Compiled…

Small vertical poem cards, approximately 36 cm long x 6 cm wide that may be decorated with colored designs, sprinkled with…

Lit. "poem-slip" *tanzaku 短冊 format. A size of *…

Any long, rectangular-shaped object which is similar in size to a long, rectangular poem card called *…

A female form of *Kannon 観音 who appears as the mother of the Kannon section (Kannon'in…

A painting technique in which pale black ink *sumi 墨 or a color (…

Also called *hishigōshi 菱格子. A design motif of crossed…

A hanging scroll *kakemono 掛物 that is vertically oriented; in…

Also read tatewaki or written 立枠. A design motif made of vertical, tate 立, curvilinear lines which bulge…

1　An abbreviation of tatōgami, or tatamigami. Also known as…

Also written 龍田川 or 立田川. The lower reaches of a tributary of the Yamato 大和 River in Nara. Long famous for its maple leaves,…

A painting shop *eya 絵屋 or atelier founded by Sōtatsu 宗達 (?-1640?), who is thought…

Lit. "hand box." Introduced from China as a comb box before the Heian period, they were popular with court women through the…

Ch: Zheng Siyuan. A Chinese sage depicted riding a tiger and accompanied by a tiger cub who carries his books. The tiger…

Lit. "paintings of Teika's poems of the flowers and birds of the twelve months." According to his diary Meigetsuki …

Ch: dijiantu. The genre of paintings of advice and admonition *kankai-zu…

Ch: dingtou shuweimiao. Lit. "nail head-rattail drawing." A brush stroke technique used to create the clothing of…

Also tekō, yubitsugai 指番. A protective piece of leather or metal used to protect the back of a soldier's…

Also *shō 摂. Clay statue. An old term used in the Nara period to…

An Indian god (Sk: deva) or goddess (Sk: devi) of non-Buddhist origin. When referring to such deities, the character "bu…

A pictorial subject based on "Tenarai" ("At Writing Practice"), Chapter 53 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale…

Lit. "mudra for turning the Dharma-wheel." A mudra or hand gesture *in 印…

The upper part of a piece of paper is referred to as the "heaven" or ten 天, and the lower part as the "earth"or…

Also tenchigen. A facial expression found on *Fudō Myōō 不動明王, where the right…

Lit. "heavenly youth," also warabemai 童舞 (dancing child). A dance mask representing a young boy with parted hair…

1　Also sangai 傘蓋, hōgai 宝蓋, kagai 華蓋, kengai 懸蓋. Sk: chatra…

Lit. "celestial dog." A bird-like goblin frequently encountered in Japanese folk-beliefs, literature and their pictorial…

Also written 天具帖, 天宮上, 天久常. Fine Japanese paper made from high quality fibers (see *…

Lit. "heaven people."

1　The heavenly gods as opposed to the gods of earth, chigi 地祇.
…

Paintings on a ceiling. The coffered ceilings *gōtenjō 格天井 of…

Also hōkandai 宝冠台. A decorative band around the head found on *bosatsu…

Also tenkei jinbutsu 点景人物. Small-sized human figures and animals added as secondary elements to a landscape…

Chinese Tianmu tea bowls. Black-glazed stoneware bowls, with a conical shape, small foot and thin walls, divided into types…

A stand for a *tenmoku jawan 天目茶碗. Tenmoku 天目 stands were imported from China…

A black glaze used on straight-sided conical teabowls known as tenmoku ware *tenmoku…

Also tenne 纏衣. A long, narrow strip of ornamental cloth, found on images of *…

The Tenpyō period (710-794) begins with the transfer of the capital from Fujiwara 藤原 to Nara (Heijō-kyō 平城京) in 710, and…

Ch: tiexianmiao. Lit. "iron-wire line drawing." A technique used to render the thin, even lines commonly seen in…

A Buddhist statue made of cast iron. Cast iron statues were not as common in Japan as bronze (see *…

Ch: Tao Yuanming (365-427). The Jin dynasty poet and quintessential Chinese scholar-recluse. A virtual prototype for the…

Ch: Du Fu (712-770). A Chinese poet, considered to be one of China's greatest. An innovator of both poetic style and subject…

A caricature picture *giga 戯画 which was popular in the…

A manifestation of *Bishamonten 毘沙門天 said to have appeared in the Central Asian…

Ch: Dongfang Shuo (ca. 154-93 BCE). A Chinese Daoist immortal of the Western Jin associated with the peaches of immortality…

Tea contest. Competitive parties featuring taste and classification of tea developed by Heian period aristocrats and wildly…

Ch: taoyuantu. Paintings depicting the Chinese story Peach Blossom Spring (Ch: Taohuayuanji, Jp…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the *…

Tōhaku's Explanation of Painting, comments of the Momoyama period painter Hasegawa Tōhaku 長谷川等伯 (1539-1610) on well…

Also read Dōhō kosei. Lit. "Dongfeng's tiger voice." A Zen 禅 dialogue in which a tiger is a metaphor for spiritual…

Ch: Tuhui baojian. Precious Mirror of Painting, a late Yuan dynasty history of Chinese painting by Xia…

Also sometimes read Zue sōi. Ch: Tuhui zongyi. Principles of Painting. Chinese painting manual…

Lit. "Eastern Sea [coast] Road, fifty-three stations of the Tōkaidō 東海道," which is the road and rest places that linked…

Gilding. A decorative technique used in metalwork, where an object was coated with a thin layer of gold. In Japan, this…

A pestle with a single sharp blade at each end, found as an attribute *jimotsu…

Tokoname 常滑 ware. A rugged, reddish brown stoneware produced from the 11th century in and around the town of Tokoname in…

Lit. "everlasting summer." A pictorial subject taken from "Tokonatsu" ("Wild Carnations"), Chapter 26 of Genji…

The Tokugawa period. A rarely used term for the Edo period *Edo jidai…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old, plebeian man used only…

Ch: Deshan. The Chinese priest Deshan Xuanjian (Jp: Tokuzan Senkan 徳山宣鑑, 780-865) who helped preserve Chan 禅 (Jp: Zen) after…

1　Also tomoe 巴. A pattern of one or more curled tadpole shapes inside a circle. The pattern is…

Powdered burnt clay or pulverized whetstone. Used for polishing swords and coloring wood. Tonoko was mixed with…

Also kusashiō 草雌黄, abbreviated to *shiō 雌黄. Gamboge.…

A style of sculpture represented by the work of the 7th-century sculptor known as Tori busshi 止利仏師. Tori was believed to be…