Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Art Vocabulary for Art History

Daibutsu

giant Buddha (Example: the Great Buddha at Todai-ji)

Emaki

illustrated handscroll (Example: Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace)

Genre Scene

everyday-life scene in art (Example: shown in many ukiyo-e prints)

Japonisme

European art influenced by Japanese styles (Example: inspired by Hokusai's Great Wave)

Kondō

main Buddhist hall (Example: Todai-ji's Great Buddha Hall)

Nio

fierce temple guardian statues (Example: Nio at Todai-ji's Great South Gate)

Otoko-e

men's paintings showing battles (Example: Night Attack on the Sanjō Palace)

Tarashikomi

wet-on-wet painting technique (Example: used in White and Red Plum Blossoms)

Ukiyo-e

"floating world" woodblock prints (Example: Hokusai's Great Wave)

Yamato Style

Japanese scroll style with bright colors & simple faces (Example: stylistic influence on handscrolls like Night Attack)

Zen

Buddhism focused on meditation and nature (Example: Ryoan-ji rock garden)

Bi

jade disk with a center hole (Example: found in ancient Chinese tombs)

Bodhisattva

enlightened being who stays to help others (Example: figures at Longmen Caves)

Daoism

philosophy of harmony with nature (Example: reflected in Travelers Among Mountains and Streams)

Landscape

painting of natural scenery only (Example: Travelers Among Mountains and Streams)

Literati

scholar-artists who painted for themselves (Example: Fan Kuan follows literati traditions)

Lithograph

print made from a flat stone with oily ink (Example: Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan)

Lokapala

heavenly kings guarding the four directions (Example: guardian statues at Longmen Caves)

Porcelain

hard, white ceramic fired at high heat (Example: the David Vases)

Socialist Realism

realistic art glorifying communist leaders (Example: Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan)

Vajrapani

muscular Buddhist guardian holding thunderbolts (Example: guardian figures at Longmen Caves)

Yin and Yang

complementary opposites (Example: balance in Chinese landscape philosophy)

Rank Badge

embroidered symbol of government rank (Example: worn in Portrait of Sin Sukju)

Shamanism

nature-spirit worship guided by a shaman (Example: shapes in the Gold and Jade Crown reflect shamanistic nature motifs)

Sinification

adoption of Chinese culture (Example: Chinese influence in Portrait of Sin Sukju)