The Asuka period (538/552-645). So called because the capital of the new Yamato 大和 region was located in the Asuka district…

The capacity to be moved deeply, an aesthetic ideal associated with Heian period literature and aristocratic values. An…

Imperial court dance that is accompanied by Imperial court music, gagaku 雅楽, as performed from the late 8th century…

Narrative paintings, reliefs, or group sculptures of Buddhist stories (sutras or legends), which were made in great…

Lit. the hot water for tea. Also known as sadō 茶道 or chadō. The ritual art of preparing and drinking…

1　Also written 反. A step. The level part or tread of a flight of stairs. When made of wood, the tread is…

Lit. things from overseas.

1　Objects brought from abroad, including numerous art works. See *…

Lit. things from past generations. Art works or antiquities which have been treasured among people for long period of time.…

Less commonly, *Tokugawa jidai 徳川時代. The Edo period, the time in which…

Fujiwara period. A period of approximately two hundred years corresponding to the Middle Heian period (Heian chūki…

1　The arrangement of muntins, lattice (*fukiyose gōshi…

1　The triangular frame created by joining a pair of cruck-like members *…

Lit. Genroku culture. The middle Edo period *Edo jidai 江戸時代 chūki 中期…

Also kuregaku 呉楽. Now-lost ancient masked theatrical performances given at temples from the 7th to 9th century.…

Also read gomotsu. The emperor's property. The Imperial Collection of art objects, books, etc., which are either of…

Lit. abolish Buddha. It was government policy during the early Meiji period to repress Buddhism in favor of Shinto which was…

The Hakuhō period (645-710) referred to in recent scholarship as the Late Asuka period, Asuka jidai kōki 飛鳥時代後期.…

The Heian period (794-1185), during which Heiankyō 平安京 (later, Kyoto) became the political and cultural capital of Japan.…

Lit. east mountain culture. The culture of the middle Muromachi period *…

1　 Diamond- or lozenge-shaped lattice or muntins used on doors, transoms, and fences *…

1　Also pronounced hōshu. A sacred gem. Usually a ball or tear-drop shape object that is sacred to…

Shinto/Buddhist syncretism. In its early phase this is called shinbutsu shūgō 神仏習合. The term honji suijaku…

Lit. to keep flowers alive. Flower arrangements. Originated in Buddhist flower offerings kuge 供花 from the 6th…

The aesthetic ideal of the Edo merchant class during the late 18th and 19th centuries, combining material sensuality and…

Art of the Pure Land faith. Originating in the Nara period, Pure Land Buddhism is a more personal form of the faith than…

Lit. cord-mark period. The Jōmon period ran from ca. 10,000 BC-ca. 300 BC. The period takes its name from the decoration on…

The most popular form of theatre among townspeople in Japan since the early Edo period. The form has its origins in the…

The Kamakura period (1185-1332) is named for the city in modern Kanagawa Prefecture where Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-99…

Kan'ei culture. The culture of the Kan'ei era (1624-44) and by extension that of the whole early Edo period *…

A ceremony held every year to commemorate Buddha's *Shaka 釈迦 birthday, April 8th…

The culture of the Bunka 文化 (1804-18) and Bunsei 文政 eras (1818-30), and by extension, that of the late Edo period as a whole…

1　A pattern representing mist, often stylized into shapes like the ideographs 工 or 王. It is used as a…

The art of Exoteric Buddhism. Generic term referring to any Buddhist art except for Esoteric Buddhism *…

Also kakō kidori 加工木取; aradori 疎取; arakidori 疎木取.

1　The…

Lit. north mountain culture. The culture of the early Muromachi period *…

Lit. ancient periods. A period that includes the introduction of Buddhisim to Japan in 530/552, the Asuka period (552-646),…

Burial mound. Also called takatsuka 高塚 or tsuka 塚. These tombs were covered with a sizeable mound of…

The Kofun period (250 - 600). *Kofun 古墳 are the burial mounds or tumuli which…

Lit. native Japanese culture. The term is used for the culture which arose during the mid-Heian period (also known as *…

Lit. treasures of the nation. The appellation has existed since the Meiji period, but currently applies to artifacts which…

Korean: Koguryo. One of the three states in the Three Kingdoms period, Sangoku jidai 三国時代 of Korean history. The era began…

Also Kōnin jidai 弘仁時代 or, more frequently in art history, Jōgan jidai 貞観時代. The Kōnin-Jōgan…

Also read koto. Also jidaiwatari 時代渡. Lit. Old importation. Foreign objects, including art works, books,…

Also written 香狭間, and abbreviated to *sama 狭間. Formerly called *…

Korean: Paekche. One of the states in the Three Kingdoms period (Jp: Sangoku jidai 三国時代) of early Korean history, and…

Lit. "famous thing." Term applied to items of tea ceremony *chanoyu 茶湯…

1　A surface of a Japanese architectural component that faces front.

2　Endpaper,…

The art of Esoteric Buddhism mikkyō 密教. Esoteric Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China in the 8th…

Lit. "courtliness." The ideal of refined sensibility and courtly elegance associated with aristocratic society, particularly…

Also Azuchi-momoyama jidai 安土桃山時代. Lit. "peach mountain period." The Momoyama period (1568-1615) during which Japan…

Lit. "to make a copy." A copy of an artwork. In the case of painting and calligraphy, it is specifically called *…

Also Ashikaga jidai 足利時代. The Muromachi period (1392-1568). The period derives its name from a district in Kyoto which…

Western painting brought by the Portuguese and Spanish who arrived in Japan in the 16th century, nanban bijutsu…

Lit. "Southern barbarian art." Considered to be the first manifestation of direct Western influence on Japanese culture,…

The Southern and Northern Court period (1336-92). It takes its name from two separate antagonistic Imperial courts supported…

The Nara period (645-794). In 645 a coup to restore Imperial authority was carried out by Prince Naka no Ōe 中大兄 (later,…

Era name. The practice of naming eras originated in China when the first era name, Jian wu (Jp: Kengen 建元), was given to the…

Also jibutsu 持仏 and uchibotoke 内仏. A Buddhist image which is kept at close proximity for personal daily…

The date of production of a work of art. Nenki are often accompanied by the signature of the artist shomei…

A type of dramatic performance originating in the 14th century *Muromachi jidai…

Lit. "fabric paving." Pavement formed by square or rectangular stones laid so that a little space is allowed around each.…

1　Charming, or delightful. An approach to the aesthetic indicating a carefree appreciation of objects and…

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

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

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

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

Also sari, busshari 仏舎利. Sk: sarira, dhatu 駄都. The bones of the Buddha. After the death of Buddha…

1　A generic term for a roof line that has a broken plane, the parts of which run in the same direction. A…

Grades of formality in the method of preparing tea temae 点前. The terms originate in the three styles of…

Shinto art. The art used in the worship of Shinto deities *kami 神. The term does…

Enamel, cloisonne or champleve. A decorative technique where areas of enamel are separated by metal dykes or wires. Usually…

Lit. "list of objects acquired and brought back." Lists and other records of Buddhist objects brought back to Japan from…

Also written 将来品. Buddhist implements, statues shōraibutsu 請来仏, or writings brought back to Japan by…

Also hakkutsuhin 発掘品. Lit. "objects which came out of the earth." Excavated objects. *…

Also wake わけ. An aesthetic ideal of the Edo period merchant class in the Kamigata 上方 (Osaka-Kyoto) region implying…

Lit. "trace manifestation." The equivalent for *kami 神 (god), in the pairing of…

The Suiko period. A now rarely-used name for the Asuka period *Asuka jidai…

Lit. "aesthetic liking." Most simply love for elegant things, particularly poetry waka 和歌 and the objects of the…

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…

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

An 18th and 19th century Edo 江戸 merchant class ideal implying sophisticated knowledge, discernment, and culture. Eventually…

1　Also shiagenuri 仕上げ塗. The final layer applied to a decorative painting sōshoku kōji…

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

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

The Yayoi period (ca. 400 BCE to 250 CE). The period is marked by the establishment of rice cultivation and an agrarian…

The Yoshino period. A seldom-used, rather old-fashioned term for the Southern and Northern Courts period *…

Lit. "profound mystery." A multivalent and influential medieval aesthetic ideal expressing darkness, depth, mystery,…

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