Glossary of ukiyo-e terms
Abuna-e: a “dangerous picture” that is suggestive,
but not explicitly erotic. The first
image in a series of shunga prints is often an abuna-e.
Ai: blue pigment extracted from indigo leaves and
combined with kiô to make green
Aiban: a print size about 13 by 9 inches (34.5 by 22.5 centimeters)
Aizuri-e: prints printed entirely or primarily in blue
aka-e: a print entirely or predominantly in red,
said to protect against smallpox
Ama: a fisher-woman who specialized in
diving for abalone (awabi)
Aratame: “examined” in seal form used as a censorship mark on prints, 1849-51, 1854-7, and 1859 onwards (combined with date)
Arhat: in Buddhism, one
who has attained enlightenment
Ashigaru: the lowest rank
of feudal retainer
Asobi-e: playful (humorous) pictures
Atozuri: Printings
subsequent to the first printing made from the original unaltered
woodblocks. Has the same meaning as Nochizuri
Awabi: abalone
Baiyaku-e: medical prints
Banzuke: program or play bill
Benigara (or bengara):
brown pigment made from rust called “
Bero-ai (or bero):
synthetic blue pigment known as “Prussian blue” or “Hiroshige blue” in English
Bijin: beautiful woman
Bijin-ga: prints of beautiful women
Blind printing: an uninked woodblock is used to press a raised design into the paper, also known as embossing, gauffrage, and karazuri
Bokashi: the gradual shading of color achieved by hand-applying a gradation of ink to the wooden printing block rather than inking the block uniformly. This hand-application had to be repeated for each sheet of paper that was printed.
Bonji: debased and formalized Sanskrit characters signifying Buddhist divinities
Bonsai: artificially dwarfed trees in pots, sometimes of great age and value
Bugaku: ancient court dances performed in masks
Cartouche: enclosed area, usually in the upper part of
a print, containing the title of a print with or without some additional
information
Castle-toppler: a courtesan of the highest rank, also called
an “oiran”
Chidori: plovers or wave-birds
Chirimen-gami-e: a print in which many fine creases were made with a mechanical
device; literally “compressed thread paper print” and rendered in English as
“crepe print”
Chôban: a print size about 20 by 8 inches (50 by 20 centimeters) also known as nagaban
Chûban: a print size about 7 by 10 inches (18 by 25 centimeters)
Chûshingura: the most famous of the Japanese tales of
revenge
Chûtanzakuban (or chû-tanzaku): a print size about 14 by 5 inches (36 by 13 centimeters)
Daimyô: a great lord, head of a feudal clan
Dai ôban: “double ôban”, a single sheet print
about 13.75 by 18.25 inches (34.5 by 45.5 centimeters)
Degatari-zu: prints showing actors in front of chanters and musicians
Dô: copper, used as a powder to produce a gold
color
Edition: all the
copies of a print produced in a single printing
Egoyomi: print containing
information about the long (31 days) and short (30 days) months in a specific
year
Ehon: an illustrated book
Enpaku: inorganic white pigment, lead carbonate
Floating world: literal translation of “ukiyo”
Fûkei-ga: landscape prints
Fûzoku-ga (or Fûzoku-e): genre prints
Ga: “drawn by” or “painted by”, often found at the end of a signature
Gauffrage: an uninked woodblock is used to press a raised design into the paper, also known as embossing or blind printing
Geisha: a girl trained to entertain with music, dancing and conversation
Genji-mon: a set of 54 rectilinear heraldic devices, each representing one of the chapters of the romance of Prince Genji
Giga (or giga-e): comic prints
Go: a complicated game somewhat like checkers
Gô: an additional art-name
Gofun: white
pigment made from ground seashells
Green houses: brothels
Gohei: a wand with strips of cut paper attached, a Shinto divine symbol
Gunjô: blue pigment known as “azurite” in English
Hakama: long and very wide trousers worn on ceremonial occasions
Hanshita-e: final drawing for a print
Haori: a coat, especially
a military surcoat worn over armor
Harimaze: a print having several images intended to be cut apart, sometimes designed by different artists
Hashira-e: “pillar print”, about 28 by 4.5 inches (73
by 13 centimeters)
Hibachi: a domestic brazier
Hikifuda: advertising
prints
Hinin: a criminal, beggar or social outcast
Hitsu: “drawn by” or
“written by”, often found at the end of a signature
Hodoyoshi: pseudonym used by Kuniyoshi. Hodoyoshi
(程芳)
is sometimes pronounced “Hodomoyoshi”.
Hoko:
an early form of spearhead with a laterally projecting point
Hôsô-e: “smallpox prints”, prints primarily or
entirely in red said to protect
against smallpox
Hosoban: a print size, mostly abandoned by
Kuniyoshi’s time, about 13 by 5 inches (33 by 14.5 centimeters)
Hyôtan ashi: “gourd legs” or exadurated musculature
Ihan: a late impression of a print made from
altered or repaired woodblocks
Ireki: Wooden plug use to alter a woodblock
Iroha: the Japanese
syllabary embodied in a poem of 47 syllables
Ishizuri-e: print that mimics a stone rubbing, usually uninked figures or text on a black background
Jôge-e: "two-way pictures", prints that can be viewed either rightside-up or upside-down
Jôruri: A short play with puppets or
actors accompanied by a chanted ballad and shamisen
Jûmonji: the cross-shaped
character for the number ten ㈩
Jûnishi: the twelve signs of the zodiac
Kabuki: a popular form
of Japanese theater frequently depicted in ukiyo-e
prints
Kachô-e: “pictures of birds and flowers”, but often
used for all nature prints
Kage-e: shadow or silhouette prints
Kago: a palanquin or
sedan-chair
Kakemono: a hanging scroll-picture, so kakemono-e, a vertical diptych or triptych designed to be mounted and hung as a kakemono
Kakihan: a hand seal or personal heraldic device, equivalent to the French word “paraphe”
Kamigata-e: prints from the region including the cities
of Kobe, Kyoto and Osaka
Kamuro: (禿 or かむろ) young girl apprenticed to a brothel
Kana: the Japanese characters representing the syllables of the iroha, often written alongside the kanji characters to indicate correct pronunciation
Kanadehon Chûshingura: the most popular
of al kabuki plays
Kappa: a river-sprite
Kappazuri-e: stencil prints
Karako: boys (or dolls of boys) in ancient Chinese
dress
Karazuri: an uninked
woodblock is used to press a raised design into the paper, also known as
embossing, gauffrage, and blind printing
Ken: a hand game something like rock-paper-scissors
Ken no e: prints depiction the game of ken
Kentô: registration marks carver into each
woodblock so that the paper can be properly aligned on each woodblock during
printing
Kesa: a Buddhist priest’s robe worn slung across the shoulder
Keyblock
print (kyôgô
or kyôgozuri-e):
an impression pulled from the first woodblock made by a carver (omohan or sumihan) from the
artist’s original drawing. The artist
would write instructions for each color on a separate key block print, and the
woodblock for each color was cut using one of these as a guide. In addition to being a guide for carving the
color woodblocks, the key block was also used to apply black ink (usually) in
the final printing process.
Kihada: yellow pigment derived from the cork tree
Kimono: general word for
a garment, or clothing
Kira: the pearly colored mineral mica
Kiô: inorganic yellow
pigment made from arsenic trisulphide and combined
with ai to make green
Kiri
seal:
paulownia flower seal used by Kuniyoshi
Kiwame: “approved” in seal form used as a censorship mark on prints before 1842
Koban: a print size about 7 by 5 inches (18 by 13 centimeters)
Kogatana: a small knife carried in a slot in the sword-scabbard
Komochi-e: a “trick picture”–a print with a flap or
other moveable part
Komusô: a samurai in temporary disgrace, usually represented with a shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and a deep straw hat concealing his face
Kotanzakuban (or ko-tanzaku): a print size about 14 by 2.5 inches (36 by 6 centimeters)
Koto: a musical instrument consisting of a long sounding-box over which strings are stretched, each with its separate bridge, and plucked with plectra attached to the player’s fingers
Koyomi: calendar
Kusudama: a hanging scented ball of artificial flowers with streamers
Meishô: Famous places
Mempô: an armor mask or visor
Mimizu-gaki: “worm scribbles” or tortuous lines
Mitate: a parody or imaginary scene, such as actors
in a play who never actually appeared together on stage in those roles
Mokugyo: a hollow wooden fish-shaped gong struck by Buddhist priests
Mokume-zuri: visible wood grain
Mon: although usually translated as “crest” or “family crest”, heraldic device is more accurate
Musha-e: warrior prints
Nagaban: a print size about 20 by 8 inches (50 by 20 centimeters) also known as chôban
Naginata: a pole-arm with a long curved blade; a glaive
Namazu-e: print depicting a giant catfish, said to
protect against earthquakes
Nanori: the official name of a Japanese person, such as “Yoshitsune”
Nehanzu: prints and paintings of the nehan (death of Buddha)
Nishiki-e: multicolored
prints or “brocade pictures”, (This term does not apply to hand painted
prints.)
Nochizuri: Printings subsequent
to the first printing made from the original unaltered woodblocks. Has the same meaning as Atozuri
Nodachi: a very long
sword carried across the back
Noh (or nô): Japanese
classical dance-drama rarely depicted in ukiyo-e
prints of the Edo Period
Nyûgin mono (入銀 物): sponsored print, commissioned by a
poet, poetry group or business
Ôdo: an inorganic yellow pigment called “yellow
ochre” in English
Ôban: the standard print size, about 14 by 10 inches (36 by 25 centimeters)
Obi: lady’s silk brocade sash
Oiran: a courtesan of the highest rank, also called “castle-toppler”
Ôkubi-e: close-up prints of actors’ heads or busts
Omocha-e: prints intended to be cut-up and played with
(toy prints)
Oni: a small malicious horned demon
Onnagata: male kabuki actor playing a female role
Osaka: the city second to Edo (Tokyo) in the
production of ukiyo-e
Ôtanzakuban (or ô-tanzaku): a print size about 14 by 6.5 inches (36 by 17 centimeters)
Otokodate: chivalrous townsmen who championed the oppressed
Raijû: a fabulous beast of vaguely canine appearance, said to come to earth with thunderbolts
Rakan: a disciple of Buddha
Rimbô: the Buddhist “wheel of the law”, originally a Hindu weapon
Rokurokubi: female goblin with a long flexible necks
Rokushô: malachite, an inorganic green pigment
Rônin: a samurai without a feudal lord, especially one
of the 47 rônin in the Chûshingura revenge story, literally “wave
man”
Saihai: a general’s
baton, with large tassel of cut paper attached, used in directing troops
Sake: Japanese rice wine often heated before drinking
Samisen: a three-stringed banjo-like instrument, played with a large plectrum
Samurai: a member of the warrior class, similar to a
European nobleman
Sashimono: a flag attached to
the back of the armor to facilitate recognition in battle
Senjafuda (or sensha
fuda): privately published votive slips
Sekiô: inorganic yellow pigment made from arsenic
trisulphide and combined with ai to make green
Sennin: an “Immortal” or saintly recluse
Seppuku: the formal method of suicide by cutting open the abdomen; hara-kiri is a vulgar synonym
Shakuhachi: a bamboo flute or pipe, blown at the end, and slightly curved
Shikake-e: a print having a paper flap that can be lifted to
reveal a different picture, such as another costume or a sex act.
Shikishiban: a print size about 8 by 7 inches (21 by 18 centimeters) often used for surimono
Shimenawa: a rope with tufts of cut paper at intervals, hung round Shinto shrines and other places to confer sanctity
Shinchû-kin: brass, used as a powder to produce a gold
color
Shini-e: memorial print for a deceased person (death print)
Shinka: a “spirit flame”―a flame indicating the
presence of a ghost or other supernatural manifestation
Shiô: inorganic yellow pigment made from arsenic
trisulphide and combined with ai to make green
Shirabyôshi: court dancing-girls in medieval times, distinguished by a white robe, court cap, sword and gohei
Shirazaya: sheath and hilt of plain white wood in which sword blades were kept when not in use
Shita-e: preparatory drawing for a print
Shita-uri seal: oval seal on some actor
prints dating from the 1st month of 1850 to the 3rd month
of 1853. Shita-uri (シタ賣) translates as "low sale", but its real meaning
is not understood.
Shôgun: military ruler of Japan during the Kamakura and Edo periods
Shôji: window or sliding door covered with paper
Shomenzuri: polishing or burnishing on the surface of a
print
Shozuri: early impression from the first state of a
print
Shu: red pigment made from mercuric sulfide also
called “vermillion” or “cinnabar”
Shunga: erotic prints,
usually very explicit
Sode: an armor shoulder-piece
State: one of the versions of a print showing a
deliberate alteration in the design or color
Sumizuri-e: prints entirely
in black ink
Sumi: black ink
Sumô: traditional Japanese form of wrestling
Surimono: a print (often
about 8 by 7 inches or 21 by 18 centimeters) on superior paper and exhibiting
much technical refinement, used in the same circumstances as our greetings card
Syozuri: The first printing,
usually about 200 prints
Tachi: a long sword mounted to be slung from the belt
Taibi: “big tail” often used instead of a number to identify the last print of a series
Taisha: brown pigment made from rust called “brown
ochre” in English
Tameshizuri-e: a black outline print sold cheaply to be
colored by the purchaser. These are usually on thick paper, unlike keyblock
prints, which were printed on a thin inexpensive paper. Tameshizuri-e are often misidentified
as keyblock prints (kyôgozuri-e).
Tan: red ink made from red lead
Tanzaku: a long strip of paper
Tate: a rectangular wooden shield often set up for protection by troops in defensive positions
Tatebanko: an omocha-e
(toy print) designed to be cut up to make a three-dimensional diorama
Tate-e: a print in vertical or “portrait” format
Tengu: a birdlike wood-sprite
Torii: “bird rest”; a wooden archway found outside Shinto shrines, and originally a perch for birds dedicated to the gods
Toshidama seal: seal used by Kuniyoshi until the mid-1840s
Tsuba: a sword-guard, usually of circular or oval form
Tsudzumi: a hand-drum having an hour-glass shaped body
Tsuyukusa: a fugitive blue pigment derived from the
petals of the dayflower
Uchiwa: a non-folding
fan with bamboo framework, or a print made to be pasted on such a fan (about 9
by 10 inches or 23 by 25.5 centimeters)
Uke-e: print depicting an auspicious subject
Ukiyo-e: “pictures of the floating world”, a school
of Japanese art that flourished from about 1660 to 1900
Ukon: a fugitive yellow pigment derived from the tumeric plant
Wakana: young greens
Wani: a crocodile or sea-monster
Yakusha-e: actor prints
Yamabuki: the yellow rose (Kerria japonica)
Yamabushi: a warrior-monk
(literally “sleeping in the mountains”)
Yaso-e: “gather together pictures”; large pictures
composed of many small pictures
Yoko-e: a print in
horizontal or “landscape” format
Yoshi
kiri seal: paulownia flower seal used by Kuniyoshi
Zumi: a mustard-yellow pigment derived from the cherry apple
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