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…

Lit. "Torii school." A family of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists which became a…

Also written 鳥子紙. Sometimes abbreviated to torinoko. An eggshell colored, handmade paper *…

A school of painting, active from the early 15th century until the late 19th, that specialized in courtly subjects painted…

Also written 当世冑. Contemporary helmet. A type of Japanese helmet based on southern barbarian *…

A type of Chinese paper imported and used in Japan for painting and calligraphy and as backing paper urazuke 裏付 for…

Lit. "life-size." A standard unit of measurement for Buddhist statues *hōryō…

Pictures of the archery competition held on the 33-bay-long (394 ft) veranda of Sanjūsangendō 三十三間堂 (Rengeōin 蓮華王院) in…

Decoration found on the head of a Buddhist sculpted figure. This includes hairstyles *…

Tenjin crossing to China. The Heian period courtier, poet, and scholar Sugawara Michizane 菅原道真 (845-903) was deified as the…

Prints originally designed in the first half of the 19th century by provincial artists and distributed by itinerant peddlers…

A cylindrical seat or round pedestal *daiza 台座 for a Buddhist image. Many images…

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

Also written 鍔. Sword guard. Tsuba protect the hand and balance the sword. In the Edo period when samurai…

Also written 津波井仏所. A guild of Buddhist sculptors *busshi 仏師 active in Nara *…

Lit. "giant ground spider." A demon in popular literature and art known for its battle with the early 11th-century warrior…

Also 通圓. A mask of an old man, used in the kyōgen 狂言 play Tsūen (The Tea Priest, Tsūen…

An *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 woodblock printing technique used in cases where…

A method of paper decoration *ryōshi sōshoku 料紙装飾. Two or more…

A general term for hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物 that make a…

Lit. "flowers at the crossing dyeing." A Muromachi period hybrid, decorative textile technique of combining tie-dyeing and…

A woodblock-printed fortune with pictures which was sold on street corners *tsuji …

An abbreviation of tsūryō kenpō 通両肩法. A style of wearing a Buddhist robe covering both shoulders. The robe…

A type of *mokkotsu 没骨 technique. Tsuketate does not…

Pictures depicting activities associated with the months of the year, representing one of the most important categories of…

Also written つくり絵. A painting process associated with the *yamato-e …

Dangling chin, a gimmick used on some bugaku masks *bugakumen…

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing the God of Thunder. Great…

Lit. "narrow road of ivy." Pictorial subject matter taken from Episode 9, *Azuma…

Enclosed inner mould. The *nakago 中型 was a term used in metal…

A shiny black colorant made by mixing thick carbon ink *sumi 墨 with rice paste…

Also written 続画. A set of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 prints with a continuous composition in…

Also written 内隈. Lit. "interior shading." A technique *kumadori 隈取 in non-…

Also written 内曇. Also called kumogami 雲紙. Abbreviation of uchigumorigami 打曇紙. A type of decorated paper,…

A technique used to hollow out the interior of a wooden statue. The hollow produced is also called uchiguri.…

An unbelted woman's outer garment worn over the *kosode 小袖 on formal occasions…

Lit. "fan painting." A painting either directly on a fan *uchiwa 団扇, or on a round format…

Also read dansen. A round or oval fan made of paper or silk pasted over a framework of thin strips of bamboo.…

Lit. "planting." A technique used to make wooden statues, where the hair and beard are made separately, and then attached to…

An abbreviation of Kongō sekishō zenshin uhō dōji 金剛赤精善神雨宝童子. A manifestation of the Buddha *…

A modern city in the southern part of Kyoto where the Byōdōin 平等院 (1052) is located. Historically, Uji was a resort for the…

A visual motif in the *yamato-e やまと絵 tradition, depicting the…

Lit. "Battles of the Uji 宇治 River." Two dramatic and decisive battles that took place near the Uji bridge, over the river,…

A small-sized preliminary sketch undertaken by an artist expressly at the request of a patron. These sketches may be…

Also written 有気絵. Woodblock prints or paintings *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 produced for an individual…

Also written 請花, 受華, 請華; sometimes pronounced ukehana. Flower-shaped support. A support in the shape of an open,…

Lit. "floating picture." Usually a woodblock print, in which the three-dimensionality of a scene is emphasized by using one…

Formerly known as hanshutsuzō 半出像. A relief, or a method used to carve a relief on a flat surface. Halfway…

A pictorial subject taken from "Ukifune" ("A Boat upon the Waters"), Chapter 51 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The…

Lit. "pictures of the floating world." Paintings and woodblock prints of genre themes developed from the mid-Edo to early…

Currents of Thought on Ukiyo-e, a series of biographies of *ukiyo-e …

Lit. "books of the floating world." Printed books containing illustrated prose stories which developed from the Kamigata…