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  • Architecture (63)
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  • Art History (55)
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  • Document (2)
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  • Gardens (7)
  • Gates (3)
  • General Terms (25)
  • Iconography (7)
  • Joints (5)
  • Lanterns (1)
  • Painting (17)
  • Roofing Tiles (1)
  • Sculpture (25)
  • Shrines (1)
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  • Structures (4)
  • Tools (2)

Displaying 1 - 100 of 116
Title Contains Image(s) Description Keywords
wachigaigawara 輪違瓦 ✓

Also tsumegawara 爪瓦. A row of narrow tile pieces cut crosswise from semi-cylindrical tiles *…

Architecture, Roofing Tiles
wajō 倭城

A Japanese castle. Refers to 25 castles constructed in various regions of Korea by the Japanese forces during the Bunroku-…

Architecture, Castles
wakaba 若葉 ✓

1 An abstract decorative pattern of extended curved lines based on the form of a leaf. The pattern is…

Architecture, Decorations
wakamiya shinzō 若宮神像

Lit. "Shinto image of a young prince." A generic term covering both images of a divine son of the main enshrined Shinto…

Art History, Iconography
Wakamurasaki 若紫 ✓

Lit. "young lavender." A pictorial subject based on "Wakamurasaki" ("Lavender"), Chapter 5 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語…

Art History, Painting, Document
Wakana 若菜 ✓

A pictorial subject taken from "Wakana" ("New Herbs"), which is divided into two parts, making up Chapters 34 and 35 of …

Art History, Painting, Document
wakaonna 若女

Young girl. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young woman. The mature…

Art History, Sculpture
wakaotoko 若男

Young man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a young commoner with…

Art History, Sculpture
wakiagari 脇上 ✓

The wakiagari allowed visitors to enter or leave the residence from a waiting palanquin kago 駕篭 without…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakidana 脇棚 ✓

Shelves forming part of an arrangement in the space next to the decorative alcove *…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakido 脇戸 ✓

A small door, usually beside the main door of a structure. Sometimes there is one on each side of the main door.

Architecture, General Terms
wakiganna 脇鉋

A plane used to smooth the sides of a groove, particularly in a doorsill or lintel, after the base plane, *…

Architecture, Tools
wakigegyo 脇懸魚

Lit. "side gable pendant." Also *kudarigegyo 降懸魚, *…

Architecture, Decorations
wakihonjin 脇本陣

A secondary *honjin 本陣, authorized by the Tokugawa 徳川 government for the…

Architecture, Folk Dwellings
wakijin 脇陣

Side sanctuary. Areas beside the main hall *hondō 本堂 of a Buddhist…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
wakikoguchi 脇虎口

A side entrance to a castle. A small, inconspicuous entrance located on the side of a castle, in contrast with the main gate…

Architecture, Castles
wakikokabe 脇小壁

A long, narrow, vertical wall constructed between two or more pillars, or on each side of an entrance or a window.

Architecture, General Terms
wakimon 脇門

Also read *ekimon 掖門. A side gate or a small gate on one or both sides of a…

Architecture, Gates
wakishōji 脇障子

Wooden screens placed at the back ends of side verandas *en 縁. They…

Architecture, General Terms
wakizura 脇面

The left and right sides of a purlin *keta 桁.

Architecture, General Terms
waku 枠

A frame constructed around the perimeter of a window or doorway; the opening into which sliding panels and other structural…

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
wakugi 和釘

Also called nihon kugi 日本釘. A square nail used during and after the Kofun period. The nail was made of hand-wrought…

Architecture, General Terms
wakuhijiki 枠肘木

Two bracket arms *hijiki 肘木 positioned at right angle to one…

Architecture, General Terms
wakyō 和鏡

Japanese style mirrors. Wakyō were developed as part of toilet sets in the Heian period. Previously large and…

Art History, Crafts
wamono 和物

Lit. "Japanese things." A term used in *chanoyu 茶湯 in…

Art History, Crafts
wanagi hozo 輪薙ほぞ

A tenon referred to as channeled or as fingered. It is used on king posts *shinzuka…

Architecture, Joints
wanagikomi 輪薙込

Wanagikomi is an angle joint, also called an open mortise and tenon joint, a slip slot or finger mortise. It…

Architecture, Joints
wansen 腕釧

A wristlet. A decorative ring *kansen 鐶釧 found on the wrists of…

Art History, Sculpture
warabidegata 蕨手形

Short for warabidegata suihotsu 蕨手形垂髪. Strands of hair *suihotsu…

Art History, Sculpture
warabidemon 蕨手文 ✓

Also warabimon 蕨文. A design pattern which represents the bracken fern in spring when it gives out curling shoots.…

Art History, Painting
warabite 蕨手 ✓

Also warabide. A style of ornamentation which features a curved design based on curling bracken shoots. It is found…

Architecture, Decorations
warafude 藁筆

Stiff brushes made of beaten straw. Warafude were popular with the *Kano-ha…

Art History, Painting
waraijō 笑尉

Lit. "laughing old man." A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing a…

Art History, Sculpture
waranawa 藁縄

1 Rope made by twisting together strands of straw. In clay statuary, the central wooden core *…

Art History, General Terms, Architecture, Sculpture
waraza 藁座 ✓

1 Also called enza, maruza 円座, or ukeza kanamono 受座金物. The metal or…

Architecture, General Terms
waridakebari 割竹張

To cover or enclose with split bamboo. For example, found on the doors of a simple garden gate teimon 庭門 with a…

Architecture, General Terms
wariguri-ishi 割栗石

Also called wariguri 割栗, kuri-ishi 栗石 or guri ぐり (lit. "stones crushed like chestnuts"). Rock…

Architecture, General Terms
warihada 割肌

The surface of a member that was split vertically by pounding in a wedge *kusabi…

Architecture, Joints
warihagi 割矧

A sculpture technique used to carve a large hollow space *uchiguri…

Art History, Sculpture
warihaiden 割拝殿 ✓

Lit. "divided worship hall." A long structure under a single roof divided in the center by a passageway *…

Architecture, Shrines
warikebiki 割毛引

Lit. "splitting gauge." The splitting gauge is used to mark thin pieces of wood along the grain so that it can be broken…

Architecture, Tools
warikubi 割首

A wood statue technique used to join the head and body at the neck. The head and body of a Buddha statue are carved from a…

Art History, Sculpture
warikusabi 割楔

1 An extremely strong joint that uses a blind wedge-split tenon warikusabi hozo 割楔ほぞ to join two…

Architecture, Joints
warima 割間

The interval between the vertical slats *tateko 竪子 and horizontal…

Architecture, Gardens
washi 和紙

Handmade Japanese paper made from long natural fibers. Most commonly used fibers include mulberry kōzo 楮 (see *…

Art History, Painting
washibana akujō 鷲鼻悪尉

Eagle-nosed fierce old man. A Noh mask *nōmen 能面, representing a…

Art History, Sculpture
wata-ita 綿板

Also called *ireko-ita 入子板. A board that connects the rails and crosspieces…

Architecture, General Terms
watabana 綿花

Also written 綿鼻. A molding *kurigata 繰形 in the shape of a silk-…

Architecture, Decorations
watari yagura 渡櫓 ✓

1 A connecting gallery or tower inside a square compound *masugata…

Architecture, Castles
watariago 渡腮

Also called *agokaki 腮欠, agokake 腮掛. A cogged right-angled joint…

Architecture, Joints
wayō 和様

1 Lit. "Japanese style architecture." The architectural techniques and styles introduced from China during…

Architecture, General Terms, Art History
wayō hijiki 和様肘木 ✓

A bracket arm *hijiki 肘木 that is characterized by curved surfaces on the…

Architecture, General Terms
wayō kōran 和様高欄 ✓

A railing in the wayō style *wayō 和様. The horizontal…

Architecture, General Terms
zahō 坐法

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

Art History, Sculpture
zaimoku 材木 Timber prepared for construction. Architecture, General Terms
zakanshiki teien 座観式庭園

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

Architecture, Gardens
zakkeshitsu-in 雑華室印

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

Art History, Painting
Zaō Gongen 蔵王権現

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…

Art History, Iconography
Zashiki hakkei 座敷八景

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

Art History, Painting
zashiki kazari 座敷飾

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

Architecture, General Terms
zashiki 座敷 ✓

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

Architecture, Aristocratic Dwellings
zashikigura 座敷蔵

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

Architecture, Storehouses
zazen-ishi 座禅石

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

Architecture, Gardens
zazō 坐像

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

Art History, Sculpture
zen'a-in 善阿印

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

Art History, Painting
Zen'e zu 禅会図

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

Art History, Painting
Zen'inshiki no niwa 禅院式の庭

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

Architecture, Gardens
Zen-pa 善派

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

Art History, Sculpture
Zendō 禅堂 ✓

Also called *sōdō 僧堂; sometimes *masodō…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
Zendō 善導

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

Art History, Iconography
Zendōjigata tōrō 善導寺形灯籠

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

Architecture, Lanterns
Zenga 禅画

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

Art History, Painting
Zengetsuyō rakan 禅月様羅漢

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

Art History, Iconography
zengo hagi-awase 前後矧合

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

Art History, Sculpture
zenigata byōbu 銭形屏風

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

Art History, Painting
zenigata mizubachi 銭形水鉢

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

Architecture, Gardens
zenjō-in 禅定印

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

Art History, Sculpture
zenki-zu 禅機図

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

Art History, Painting
zenkishiki karesansui 前期式枯山水

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

Architecture, Gardens
Zenkōji shiki Amida sanzon 善光寺式阿弥陀三尊

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

Art History, Sculpture
zenmon 前門

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

Architecture, Gates
Zenmyōshin 善妙神

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…

Art History, Iconography
Zennyo Ryūō 善女竜王

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

Art History, Iconography
zenpai 前拝

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

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
zenshi 全紙

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

Art History, Painting
Zenshitsu 禅室

Sometimes an alternative *Zendō 禅堂.

1 A room for…

Architecture, Buildings, Structures
Zenshū bijutsu 禅宗美術

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

Art History, General Terms
Zenshū soshizō 禅宗祖師像

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

Art History, Painting
zenshūyō 禅宗様

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

Architecture, General Terms
Zenshūyō kōran 禅宗様高欄 ✓

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

Architecture, General Terms
Zenshūyō tokyō 禅宗様斗きょう ✓

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

Architecture, General Terms
zentei 前庭

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

Architecture, Gardens
zetsu 舌 ✓

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

Architecture, General Terms
zō-onna 増女

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

Art History, Sculpture
Zō Tōdaiji Zōbussho 造東大寺造仏所

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…

Art History, Sculpture
zōbana 象鼻 ✓

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

Architecture, Decorations
zōbussho 造仏所

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

Art History, Sculpture
Zōchōten 増長天

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

Art History, Iconography
zōgan 象嵌

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

Art History, Crafts
zōkinzuri 雑巾摺 ✓

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

Architecture, General Terms

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JAANUS is the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology compiled by Dr. Mary Neighbour Parent.

Originally built by the Atsumi International Scholarship Foundation, it is now hosted and maintained by the Media Center for Art History at Columbia University