Abuna-e: erotic
or intimate scenes involving couples.
Aiban: middle
size, approximately 131/2 x 8 3/4 in. (34 x 22 cm.).
Aizuri-e:
prints created using various shades of blue.
Aragoto: the
role of the heroic strong-man in kabuki which is charcterized by a flamboyant
and exagerated style of acting.
Aratame: a
seal use by censors to declare a print "examined" for content; used from
1849-51, 1854-57, and from 1859
onwards in
combination with a date.
Atozuri: a
late print impression.
Baren: a circular
pad wrapped with bamboo cord used in the process of woodblock printing.
Beni-e: early
black and white prints in which hand painted areas of red pigment (beni)
were added.
Benizuri-e:
early prints colored with pink and/or pastel pigments.
Bijin-ga/e:
pictures of beautiful women.
Biwa: lute-like
instrument.
Bokashi: a
gradation of colors used in the printing process.
Bunraku: puppet
theatre.
Cartouche:
an oblong or square area withing a print containing descriptive text, print
title, or signature.
Chimidoro-e:
prints illustrating bloody scenes.
Chirimen-e:
creped print.
Chuban: medium
print, approximately 101/2 x 8in. (27 x 20 cm ).
Courtesan:
a prostitute.
Daimyo: Feudal
lord.
Diptych: (nimain-tsuzuki):
a composition of two prints, either horizonatal or vertical.
-e: a prefix
meaning print or picture.
Edo: name
of Tokyo prior to 1868.
Edo-e: prints
depicting the area in and around Edo.
Ehon: a woodblock
printed picture book.
Egoyomi: calendar
print.
Fukibokashi:
a printing technique in which an area of the inked block is wiped with
a cloth - the result being a gradation in
the color
or pattern of the finished print.
Fukusei: print
facsimile or reproduction.
Ga: drawn
by, painted by, a suffix to the signature of artists.
-gawa: suffix
indicating river.
Genroku: the
era 1688-1704.
Geisha: a
professional entertainer (normally female) trained in singing, dancing
and conversation with sexual liasons being
at the geisha's
discrention.
Go: a pseudonym
used by artists.
Gofun: white
chalk pigment used in printing.
Haiku: a short
seventeen syllable poem in the form of 5-7-5.
Haimyo: pen-name
used by poets.
Hanshita-e:
final finished drawing.
Hakkake: the
technique of overprinting.
Hammoto: publisher.
Han: -published
by.
Hanamachi:
"Flower ward," a licensed geisha community.
Hanga: a general
term for print or woodblock print.
Hangi: printing
block made of cherrywood or boxwood cut across the grain.
Hangishi:
block master or master engraver.
Hankoku: a
reprint.
Harimaze:
prints of two or more subjects on one sheet.
Hashira-e:
pillar prints, a narrow sized print intended for decorating the support
structures of Japanese homes;
approximately
271/2-291/2 x 43/4-6 in. (70-75 x 12-15 cm.).
Heian: the
period 794-1185.
Hinin: a criminal,
beggar or social outcast.
Hitsu: drawn
by, painted by, used at the end of an artist's signature.
Horishi: carver
or engraver.
Hori: engraved
or carved by.
Ichimai-e:
a single-sheet print.
Ichimonji:
narrow horizontal band of color used as a printing effect.
Impression:
the initial run of published prints estimated to be anywhere from two hundred
into the thousands for a single
batch ( the
exact number being a point of contention amongst experts). However, two
hundred prints per initial run seems to
be the most
commenly agreed upon number.
Iro: color.
Joruri: a
chanted bunraku narrative drama accompanied by shamisen.
Kabuki: a
form of Japanese theatre popularized during the Edo period.
Kabuki-e:
theater print or actor print.
Kacho-e: bird
and flower prints.
Kakko: an
hour-glass shaped hand drum.
Kami: paper.
Kamuro: child
attendant and pupil of a courtesan.
Kanji: Chinese
charcters adopted for use in writing Japanese.
Kara-zuri:
embossing, gauffrage.
Kaei: the
era 1848-1854.
Kakemono:
hanging scroll normally hung in the tokonoma.
Kamigata:
the Kyoto-Osaka area.
Kappazuri-e:
stencil prints.
Kento: right
angle registar marks cut into the corners of the printing blocks in order
to ensure perfect alignment of the paper
in the multi-block
printing process.
Kiri: a Paulownia
tree.
Kishin: a
demon.
Kiwame: a
censorship seal used to declare a print "approved" for the public; used
on prints from about 1790 to 1842
Kizuri-e:
prints encompassing a yellow background.
Koban: small
print which varies in size between either half aiban or half chuban.
Koma-e: a
print incorporating and illustrated cartouche.
Koto: Thirteen
stringed musical instrument.
Kyogozuri:
Proof impression of a print.
Kyoka: a type
of humorous poem based on waka form.
Meiji: period
from 1868-1912.
Mie: a dramatic
pose struck by actors to emphasize highly charged scences in a kabuki play,
the most popular aspect of the
mie is found
in the way in which an actor contorts or crosses his eyes - thus it is
the most common charcteristic found in actor
prints.
Mitate: a
parody or fictitious representation of a historical event.
Mon: a symbolic
design or badge used by both actors and families of status.
Monjin: pupil
or student.
Monogatari:
a tale or story.
Musha-e: prints
depicting warriors and other military subjects.
Muzan-e: atrocious
prints.
Nagaban: long
print (approximately 193/4 x 9 in. (50 x 23 cm.)
Nagasaki-e:
prints primarly representing foreigners and foreign ships in Nagasaki.
Naginata:
a staff on which a long blade is attached at one end.
Nengo: Japanese
era names based on a Japanese system of dating.
Nishiki-e:
(brocade print): a full-color print style using multi-block printing.
Nichiren:
(1222-1282); founder of the Buddhist sect known by the same name.
Noh: a classical
Japanese stylized dance drama.
Oban: large
print, aproximately 153/4 x 101/4 in. (39 x 26 cm.).
Obi: a silk
sash worn around outer garments.
Ochaya: a
teahouse.
Okubi-e: bust
portrait.
Oiran: courtesan
of the highest rank
Oni: demon
like creatures popular in Japanese fairy tales, an oni has a human like
body with two horns on its head and fangs.
Onna-gata:
a male actor specializing in the role of women.
Osaka-e: Osaka
print/Osaka school print.
Otokodate:
the kabuki role of the heroic commoner.
Pentaptych:
a composition of five sheets side by side.
Pentimenti:
paste-on print corrections.
Ronin: masterless
samurai.
Sashi-e: a
book illustration.
Seppuku: ritualaized
suicide performed by slicing through the abdomen; also referred to as harakiri.
Shamisen:
a three-stringed instrument.
Shini-e: a
memorial portrait often dedicated to popular actors and artists.
Shogun: Military
dictator or ruler.
Shogunate:
Military dictatorship lasting from 1185-1868.
Shunga: "spring
pictures" - a term for erotic illustrations and charcterizations
Soroimono:
a series or set.
Sumizuri-e:
a print in black and white.
Sumo: traditional
Japanese wrestling.
Sumo-e: prints
depicting sumo wrestling.
Surimono:
privately commissioned square format prints using elaborate printing techniques
and materials
Surishi: printer.
Tatami: straw
mats used to cover the floors of Japanese homes; room size being determined
by the number of its tatami.
Tengu: long-nosed/winged
mountain demon.
Tempo: the
era 1830-1844.
Tetraptych
(yommai-tsuzuki): a composition of four prints, either horizontal or vertical
Tokaido: the
famous "eastern highway" linking Edo and Kyoto.
Tokonoma:
an alcove in Japanese homes which is decorated with ikebana and/or kakemono.
Torii: a gate
marking the entrance to a Shinto shrine.
Toshidama:
a seal used in conjuction with the signature by artists of the Utagawa
school.
Triptych (sammai-tsuzuki):
a composition of three prints, either horizontal or vertical.
Tsubone: a
court lady.
Uchiwa-e:
a print designed for decorating nonfolding fans.
Uki-e: prints
designed using European style perspectives.
Ukiyo-e: pictures
of the floating world; woodblock prints and paintings depicting the culture
of Edo period.
Waka: a Japanese
lyrical poem composed of 31 syllables.
Wakashugata:
a kabuki actor who performs the role of a young samurai.
Warai-e: erotic
pictures, alternate name for shunga
Washi: Japanese
handmade paper.
-yama: suffix
meaning mountain.
Yago: a nickname
used by actors.
Yakusha: kabuki
actor(s).
Yakusha-e:
portrait prints of kabuki actors.
Yokohama-e:
later (1860-1880) ukiyo-e style prints illustrating scenes in an around
the Japanese port of Yokohama.
Yoshiwara:
licenced entertainment quarter of Edo; Nakanomachi being the main street
running through this area.
Yugao: gourd
plant; famous chapter from the Tale of Genji.
Yujo: a courtesan