An arrangement of three staggered shelves in the upper half of the recess *tokowaki…

Lit. "jewel, prayer, pagoda."
Also called gohō hatchū 五峯八柱, lit. "five peaks, eight pillars." A circular…

Sk: Vimalakirti (pure reputation); Ch: Weimo. Indian Buddhist layman (Ch: jushi, Jp: koji 居士) famous for…

Lit. "the unique shinmei style." A style of Shinto Shrine architecture characterized by the main sanctuaries *…

A type of gable pendant *gegyo 懸魚, decorated with a sculpture resembling a floss…

1　Also *watabana 綿花, *…

Also gyakurengashira 逆蓮頭. A type of carved decoration found on the tops of newel posts *…

*ukiyo-e 浮世絵 beauty prints *bijinga 美人画…

An Edo period "Who's Who" of prostitutes in the pleasure districts. The yūjo hyōbanki was one of two major…

The house of a procurer in the pleasure districts *yūkaku 遊廓 of Edo period…

Floors that have different levels. For example, the floor of the alcove *tokonoma…

The distance from the top surface of a floor to the ground below. The term can also refer to the height of a building's…

Also written 遊郭. The pleasure district of the early modern Japanese city. The earliest developed example is said to have…

The space made by the joists *neda 根太, between the flooring of a second story and…

Short struts placed on base stones beneath a floor to support the sleepers *ōbiki…

Organic pigment. An insoluble paint material *ganryō 顔料 made from animal…

A cul-de-sac compound. A long and narrow castle compound with only one gateway entrance which turns into a blind alley.…

Lit. "a snow stop." 
1　A curved handle-like piece attached to the broad concave parts of a pantile…

An unusual type of lantern. Like the *oribe dōrō 織部灯籠, its form is…

Also called *agesage shōji 上下障子 (up and down shōji). Lit. "snow…

A pictorial subject taken from "The Floating Bridge of Dreams" Yume no ukihashi, Chapter 54 of Genji monogatari…

Lit. "Hall of Dreams." A large octagonal hall *hakkakudō 八角堂, in the…

Also called namiranma 波欄間 (wave-patterned slats), takewaki ranma 立涌欄間 (vertical billow-patterned slats in…

Lit. "Crescent Moon;" loaded or pulled bow (shaped) moon. A pictorial subject in *ukiyo-e…

A type of carved molding found on the lower edges of rainbow beams *kōryō …

Lit. "drifting bow." A pictorial subject depicting an incident at the Battle at Yashima *…

Lit. "bow and arrow branches." The arrangement of a tree trunk and branches in which one branch grows up from the trunk then…

A low class of prostitutes during the Genna 元和 and Kan'ei 寛永 eras (1615-44). Typically, after meeting customers by washing…

Also *saijō 斎場. A place to perform purification rituals and to worship the…

Also called yutōseki, katakuchi-ishi 片口石, yuage-ishi 湯揚げ石, and oke-ishi 桶石. Lit. "warm…

Lit. "depictions of amusements." A major category of genre painting *fūzokuga…

Separated tail rafters supported by fulcrums which in turn support long purlins at their mid point and at each end. They are…

Traditional design motifs, used either in single units or repeated to create patterns, based on designs from Heian courtly…

Also written 雨打造. A style of architecture that employs pent roof. A common 13th-19th century expression for *…

Also yū 釉 or uwagusuri. Glaze. In the heat of firing, clay particles vitrify to form a glass matter…

A generic term for glazed roof or wall tiles.

Yūzen style dyeing. A form of paste-resist dyeing with beautiful colors and pictorial designs named after the Kyoto…

The History and Benefits of the Yūzū Nenbutsu engi. A handscroll theme recounting the early history of the Yūzū…

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Also called *sōdō 僧堂; sometimes *masodō…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

Sometimes an alternative *Zendō 禅堂.

1　A room for…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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…

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

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

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

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

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

A portrait of a lay person in formal secular dress. This contrasts with the more numerous portraits of Buddhist priests…

Offertory mask. Cloth or paper masks used in *bugaku 舞楽 in the pieces *…

Also nōnyūhin 納入品, tainai nōnyūhin 胎内納入品, tainai nōnyūbutsu 胎内納入物. Objects found in the…

Also witten 造作.
All non-permanent parts of a Japanese building in contrast to those parts that are permanent and…

A patron. A person who requests the building of a Buddhist temple or work of art.

Also zōzōki daiki 造像題記, zōzōmei 造象銘. A record that keeps track of the completion and repair dates of a…

A rough sketch of a building plan including, floor plans, elevations, the placement of doors and windows, etc.

Middle gates *chūmon 中門 with statues of Zuijin 随神, shrine guards…

A name given to a sandalwood statue of Shaka Nyorai 釈迦如来 (in the same style as the figure in Seiryōji 清涼寺, Kyoto). See *…

Lit. head light. A nimbus or halo that encircles the head of an image of a Buddhist deity. In the case of sculpture it is…

A suffix meaning style or type frequently used in Japanese architectural history.

A yellow pigment *ganryō 顔料, made from the bark of the deciduous…

1　A miniature shrine in which Buddhist images or rolls of sutras kyō 経 are kept. Reliquary…

1　Also written 図子, 途子. A crossroads or intersection of two roads. See *…

Miniature shrine shelf. A cabinet shrine *zushi 厨子, used to store the writing…