| Title | Contains Image(s) | Description | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|
| arashikō ganna 荒仕工鉋 | A type of smoothing plane. The arashikō ganna is the first smoothing plane used on a piece of timber, planking… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| aratame-in 改印 | Also *kiwame-in 極印. The printed censor seals that appear on an *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| aratsuchi 荒土 | Lit. rough clay. Clay mixed with other materials (known as *susa すさ),… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| araumi-no-shōji 荒海障子 | Sliding screens *fusuma 襖, on which various images are painted including a… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ari 蟻 | Lit. dovetail shape. Also arigata 蟻形. The generic term for any part of a joint in a dovetail shape. The earliest… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| aridome 蟻留 | ✓ | A type of right angle, mitered, housed, and dovetail joint used mainly on flat timber as, for example, in the upper… |
Architecture, Joints |
| Aridōshi 蟻通 | A shrine in Izumi 和泉 Province, Osaka. Best known from a tale about the famous poet Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 (ca. 868-945), who… |
Art History, Painting | |
| arigata aigakihozo 蟻形相欠ほぞ | Also arigata aihozo 蟻形相ほぞ. Dovetail halving. A type of half-lap dovetail joint *… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| arigoshi 蟻腰 | The name of one section of a tea scoop. It is the deep indentation at the back part of a bamboo tea scoop *… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| arihozo 蟻ほぞ | ✓ | Lit. dovetail tenon. Also *arikake 蟻掛. A tenon shaped like a dove's tail with… |
Architecture, Joints |
| arikabe 蟻壁 | 1 A narrow horizontal strip of wall between a long, light, binding beam *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| arikake 蟻掛 | 1 A dovetail joint with the dovetail tenon cut at the butt end about half the depth of one beam. It then is… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| arikubi 蟻首 | Lit. dovetail neck.
|
Architecture, Joints | |
| ariotoshi 蟻落 | Also called *arikake 蟻掛. |
Architecture, Joints | |
| aritsugi 蟻継 | ✓ | A dovetail joint used to attach the ends of two boards. The tenon *hozo ほぞ or… |
Architecture, Joints |
| arizuri 蟻吊 | Also written 蟻釣. A type of angled wood joint. A dovetail tenon *arihozo… |
Architecture, Joints | |
| asa-no-ha byōshibon 麻の葉表紙本 | A type of *ehon 絵本, a woodblock-printed picture book. Small books of… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asa-no-ha 麻の葉 | ✓ | A repeating six-sided geometric design that resembles the leaves of the hemp plant, asa 麻. The design has six… |
Art History, Painting |
| Asagao 朝顔 | A pictorial subject based on "The Morning Glory" Asagao, Chapter 20 of Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The Tale… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asagaokugi 朝顔釘 | ✓ | Lit. morning glory nail. A two-pronged nail bent into a right angle for the purpose of hanging a flower vase. The nail… |
Architecture, Tea Houses |
| asagi-iro 浅葱色 | A color-name used in dyeing. A light blue color with a hint of green, made by adding yellow to a pale indigo dye *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| asakurajō 朝倉尉 | A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old man. The broad bone structure, direct… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| asao 麻紵 | Also written 麻緒, 麻苧, asahimo 麻紐, asa-ito 麻糸. Cord or thread made from hemp, asa 麻, and Chinese… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ashi 足 | Lit. leg or foot. Also 脚, read ashi or kyaku. |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashiage 足揚 | 1 A structure erected in the central open space, miyaa みやあ, of a settlement in Okinawa Prefecture… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| ashiagekura 足揚倉 | Also simply called *ashiage 足揚. A type of thatched storehouse set upon a… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashiba 足場 | Scaffold or scaffolding. A temporary, elevated structure used to support workmen, tools, etc. when erecting a building.… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashide 葦手 | Lit. reed-hand script. A decorative, pictorialized style of calligraphy, de 手, developed during the 9th century in… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Ashigarayama 足柄山 | A mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture associated with legends of *Yamauba 山姥 and *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ashigatame 足固 | Also written 脚固, 足堅. Strong, horizontal ties which strengthen the posts beneath the floor of a timber building by… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashihozo 足ほぞ | Lit. foot-tenon. A rectangular piece of wood that projects from the sole of a standing wooden statue and fits into a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ashimoto 足元 | 1 A general term for all structural members from the foundation *dodai… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ashimotogaki 足下垣 | Lit. footstep fence. A generic term for a fence made alongside a path. It is similar to the *… | Architecture, Gardens | |
| ashimotogawara 足元瓦 | Also called *hire 鰭 or *hiregawara… |
Architecture, Roofing Tiles | |
| ashiwake 葦分け | Lit. split reed. A style of round-stone paving *tama-ishijiki 玉石敷 of the… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Ashuku 阿閦 | Ashuku, also Ashiku. Immovable One (Sk: Aksobhya). The name of a Buddha today generally associated with Esoteric Buddhism… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Ashura 阿修羅 | Sk: Asura. Also abbreviated to shura 修羅. Among the Indo-Iranians, the term Asura Ashura in Avestan,… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Asuka jidai 飛鳥時代 | The Asuka period (538/552-645). So called because the capital of the new Yamato 大和 region was located in the Asuka district… |
Art History, General Terms | |
| atari 当り | 1 The part of an architectural element in which one member meets another. Different from a joint in that it… |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| atenashi bokashi 当てなしぼかし | Lit. indeterminate shading. A type of *fuki bokashi 拭きぼかし, a… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ato-in 後印 | Lit. later seal. An artist's seal placed posthumously on a painting or calligraphy, sometimes by a well-meaning person… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atorakkan 後落款 | Lit. a later signature. A forged signature put on an unsigned painting or work of calligraphy in order to increase its… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atozuri 後摺 | Also read nochizuri. Woodblock prints *ukiyo-e 浮世絵, produced… |
Art History, Painting | |
| atsuhirabashira 厚平柱 | A type of rectangular pillar employed in the construction of a gate at a castle or dwelling. This pillar, front to back, is… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| atsuyō 厚様 | Also written 厚葉. A thick type of paper called *ganpishi 雁皮紙. Because both… |
Art History, Painting | |
| ausaka 合坂 | Also read aisaka. A type of warrior run *mushabashiri 武者走, where… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| awa-ishi 阿波石 | Lit. sea-foam stone. A type of blue stone *ao-ishi 青石, produced in modern… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| awaotoko 阿波男 | A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 of the basic emaciated *… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| aware あわれ | The capacity to be moved deeply, an aesthetic ideal associated with Heian period literature and aristocratic values. An… |
Art History, General Terms | |
| awasejōgi 合せ定規 | A wooden measuring gauge *jōgi 定規, generally, 6-7 cm wide, 35-45 cm long, and 0.9… |
Architecture, Tools | |
| awataguchiyaki 粟田口焼 | Awataguchi 粟田口 kiln. Also called awatayaki 粟田焼. A ceramic ware that was made in Awataguchi, at the foot of… |
Art History, Crafts | |
| awate-e あわて絵 | Multi-colored woodblock prints *nishiki-e 錦絵, depicting the… |
Art History, Painting | |
| aya 綾 | A figured or diagonally-woven twill fabric. |
Art History, Crafts | |
| ayakashi 怪士 | Also written 霊神, 網像, 危. Noh masks *nōmen 能面, representing a wraith or a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| Ayakiri 綾切 | Also written 阿夜岐理 and called Aikirijo 愛嗜女. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and a… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| ayasuji 綾筋 | ✓ | Also pronounced shimesuji 〆筋. The parallel chevron lines on the front or sides of a lion-mouth roof tile *… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| azegi 校木 | ✓ | Also pronounced azeki. Chamfered logs used to build walls for storehouses *… |
Architecture, General Terms |
| azehikinoko 畔挽鋸 | Lit. ridge cutting saw; from aze 畔 meaning a ridge between rice fields. An intermediate cutting saw. The … |
Architecture, Tools | |
| azekura 校倉 | ✓ | A storage facility constructed of logs *azegi 校木, cut in appropriate lengths to… |
Architecture, Storehouses |
| azuchi-umadashi 的山馬出 | Also written 安土馬出. A type of defensive gateway barrier *umadashi 馬出,… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| Azuma kudari 東下り | ✓ | Lit. going down to the East. In the pre-Edo periods, traveling from the capital city of Kyoto toward the Eastern provinces… |
Art History, Painting |
| azuma nishiki-e 東錦絵 | Also written 吾妻錦絵, *nishiki-e 錦絵, azuma-e 東絵, *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Azumaya 東屋 | ✓ | Lit. Eastern cottage. A pictorial subject based on "The Eastern Cottage" Azumaya, Chapter 50 of Genji… |
Art History, Painting |
| Azusayumi 梓弓 | Lit. azusa bow. The azusa 梓 tree is a kind of birch. The phrase serves as a pillow-word, makurakotoba… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Ba Shikō 馬師皇 | Ch: Ma Shihuang. An ancient, legendary practitioner of Daoist arts and horse doctor during the rule of Emperor Huang (Ch:… |
Art History, Painting | |
| bai 唄 | ✓ | A circular nail head cover *kugikakushi 釘隠, placed over a nail to attach a… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| Bai Fuku 梅福 | Ch: Mei Fu. Chinese immortal shown in painting as riding a luan (Jp: ran 鸞), a mythical bird similar to a… |
Art History, Painting | |
| baiban 倍判 | Lit. double format. A size of *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 print used for full-color woodblock… |
Art History, Painting | |
| baijō 梅杖 | Lit. plum post. A wooden post used to support the heavy but structurally weak branches of old plum trees. |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| baikenmon 梅軒門 | Lit. plum eaves gate. Also written 梅見門. A type of gate used in tea gardens *roji… |
Architecture, Tea Houses | |
| baizai 媒剤 | Also kōchakuzai 膠着剤. Binder, vehicle. A liquid mixed with a pigment *ganryō… |
Art History, Painting | |
| bakō-in 馬口印 | Lit. horse-mouth mudra. A mudra or hand gesture *in 印, formed by placing both palms… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| baku 縛 | Lit. bind (Sk: bandha). A mudra or hand gesture *in 印, formed by clasping both… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| baku 瀑 | A cascade. A type of garden waterfall in which the water falls at a 90 degree angle. One common type of baku is the… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| bakuhana 獏鼻 | ✓ | Lit. tapir nose. Also called bakugashira 獏頭. A type of nosing *kibana… |
Architecture, Decorations |
| bakuryō 曝涼 | Lit. airing. Also called mushiboshi 虫干. The practice of inspecting and airing valuables that have been in storage… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| ban 盤 | A heavy wooden plank placed above the ceiling of the first story of a two-storied pagoda *… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| banbei 蕃塀 | ✓ | Also pronounced hanbei. A single, free-standing, short timber fence placed as a guard in front of the north, east,… |
Architecture, Shrines |
| banchi ばん池 | Also called hanchi 畔池 written with the character ばん池, to indicate a 'halved pond.' Lit. levee pond. A type of… |
Architecture, Gardens | |
| banjiro 番城 | Short for zaiban shijō 在番支城. A branch castle *shijō 支城, with… |
Architecture, Castles | |
| banshin 番神 | Also kyakushin 客神, ishin 夷神. Also written 蛮神 banshin. Gods that were thought to have originated… |
Architecture, Shrines | |
| banzuke 番付 | A system used to label each structural members of a building before construction, while being dismantled for repair, or… |
Architecture, General Terms | |
| Baramon 波羅門 | ✓ | A gigaku mask *gigakumen 伎楽面, representing a Brahmin (the highest… |
Art History, Sculpture |
| baren 馬連 | Also written 馬棟 or 波連. The most important tool used in the process of woodblock printmaking. A baren is made up of… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Basusen 婆薮仙 | Also read Basūsen. Basu, the Immortal, sennin 仙人. An Indian sage, whose Sanskrit name, Vasu, may… |
Art History, Iconography | |
| Batō 抜頭 | Also written 髪頭, 鉢頭, 撥頭. A dance piece in *bugaku 舞楽 and the mask of a terse,… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| Batō Kannon 馬頭観音 | Sk: Hayagriva. Also called Batō Myōō 馬頭明王. The Horse-headed *Kannon 観音 in an angry, … |
Art History, Iconography | |
| battari shōgi ばったり床几 | Alternative term for a shop-front shutter and folding table *agemise … |
Architecture, Folk Dwellings | |
| bengara 弁柄 | Also written ベンガラ, 紅柄, or 紅殻. Sometimes pronounced benigara. Red earth pigment. A bright, purplish-red pigment *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Bengyokushū 弁玉集 | Discriminating Jade from Stone Collection, a late 17th-century miscellany on art which ranges from the discussion of tea… |
Art History, Painting, Document | |
| beni-e 紅絵 | A black-line hand-colored woodblock print *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 that began to be… |
Art History, Painting | |
| beni 紅 | A red dye, senryō 染料, and pigment *ganryō 顔料, made from the safflower… |
Art History, Painting | |
| benigirai 紅嫌い | Also murasaki-e 紫絵; beni-nuki 紅抜き. Woodblock prints which completely omit bright vermilion *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| benizuri-e 紅摺絵 | Primitive polychrome woodblock prints in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵. Appeared after *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| Benkei 弁慶 | Musashibō Benkei 武蔵坊弁慶, a semi-legendary warrior-monk of the 12th century, who was associated with Minamoto no *… |
Art History, Painting | |
| benpatsu 弁髪 | Also 辮髪. A long rope of hair hanging down the left side of the face and the left shoulder of a sculpted figure.… |
Art History, Sculpture | |
| bentendō 弁天堂 | Also called benzaitendō 弁才天堂. A small structure that houses an image of Benten 弁天 (Sk: Sarasvati, *… |
Architecture, Buildings, Structures | |
| Benzaiten 弁才天 | ✓ | Also written 瓣財天. Sk: Sarasvati. A Buddhist goddess of music, learning, eloquence, wealth, longevity, and protection from… |
Art History, Iconography |
| berorin-ai ベロリン藍 | Also bero-ai ベロ藍. Prussian blue or Berlin blue. A synthetic blue paint made from ferric ferrocyanide, imported to… |
Art History, Painting | |
| beshimi akujō べし見悪尉 | Also called akujō beshimi 悪尉べし見, depending upon the school of Noh mask *nōmen… |
Art History, Sculpture |
Displaying 101 - 200 of 5302