Glossary

Attribute
An item associated with a deity, which serves to identify him and to symbolize some aspect of his power.
Busshi
Master Sculptor (a title).
Bugaku
A masked court dance with orchestra, performed from the early Heian through the Muromachi periods. The orchestra is loud and includes drums, reeds, and strings.
Chigaidana
An alcove in a Shoin interior, containing staggered shelves, where precious objects could be displayed.
Chodaigamae
Decorated doors in a Shoin interior, originally leading to a bedchamber but no longer functional in the mature Shoin style.
Fusuma
A sliding screen made of paper over a wood frame, often decorated with painting, and used as a room divider.
Gable
A peaked vertical roof-end.
Gagaku
Music similar to Bugaku, but performed without an accompanying dance.
Geisha
Literally, "accomplished person." A traditional female entertainer who provides music, song, dance, and conversation at dinner parties.
Gigaku
During the Asuka and Nara periods, a pageant with masks which was performed during temple inaugurations. It derives from the ancient Chinese state of Wu.
Gyodo
A temple ritual involving masked impersonation of Buddhas, Boddhisatvas, Devas, etc. Performed from late Heian times onward.
Haniwa
Hollow earthenware statues erected upon or around a Kofun. They are thought to be "spirit houses," ranging in type from simple upright cylinders to elaborate models of warriors, buildings, and horses.
Hipped roof
A roof whose ends slope out and down from the peak (picture).
Hojo
The Abbot's Residence of a Buddhist temple.
Kabuki
A form of popular theatre with musical accompaniment and stylized voice and gesture. Make-up, costumes, and sets are very elaborate. First performed by women in early Edo, now performed only by men, who also play the women's parts.
Kodo
The Lecture Hall of a Buddhist temple, where sutras are read.
Kofun
A stone-chamber burial. Typically the chamber itself is below ground level. It would be filled in with rubble, and a stone-covered mound would then be erected above the chamber.
Kondo (or, Hondo)
The Main Hall of a Buddhist temple, which typically houses the main statue of the temple. The Kondo is usually the largest and most important building in the temple complex.
Kyogen
A comic interlude with masks, separating the acts of a Noh drama.
Maiko
An apprentice Geisha. Maiko wear brightly-colored costumes and a "youthful" hairstyle.
Mandala
A symbolic diagram of the cosmos, having religious significance in Esoteric Buddhism.
Mudra
A position of the hands. Each mudra has a specific meaning such as "meditation," "teaching," etc.
Noh
A masked dance-drama presenting stories from legend and history. Beginning in the 14c - 15c, Noh is still performed today.
Oni
Lecherous horned devils of ferocious mien and low intelligence. Their folklore derives originally from China.
Shoin
Literally, "writing room." A style of Japanese interior architecture used in tearooms, private studies, and reception rooms. Shoin style consists of four elements arranged in a fixed order around a low raised dais (jodan no ma): (1) tsukeshoin on the left wall, (2) tokonoma on the wall behind the dais, (3) chigaidana to the right of the tokonoma, and (4) chodaigamae on the right wall.
Shoji
A paper window consisting of translucent squares of paper laid between the spaces of a thin wooden lattice.
Tokonoma
A large alcove in a Shoin interior, where painting, calligraphy, or a flower arrangement could be displayed.
Tsuina
Ethnic masked dances impersonating Oni and other folkloric creatures. Performed from Kamakura times onward.
Tsukeshoin
A window with a built-in bench in a Shoin interior, overlooking the garden. Originally a writing-desk.
Yosegi
A kind of statue-making in which the statue is assembled from separate hollowed-out blocks of wood.
Zither
A family of stringed musical instruments. The strings are carried over a plank-like soundboard, and played by plucking with the fingers. Examples include the Chinese Qin (pronounced "Chin") and Japanese Koto.