aiban	Print size, approximately 32 x 22 cm.
aragato	'Rough stuff'. Highly stylised and fierce acting style in the Kabuki theater.
bakufu	A feudal government.
baren	A disk made of tightly twisted and coiled bamboo leaves backed by several layers of lacquered paper and covered by a bamboo leaf. A baren is used for applying pressure when printing with woodblocks.
bijin	'Beautiful woman'.
bijin-e, bijin-ga	Pictures of beautiful women.
bijutsu	Art, fine arts, or visual art.
bokashi	A technique employed by the printed to provide shading or gradation in the areas printed in color.
bunraku	Puppet theater.
chuban	Print size, approximately 25 x 17 cm.
daimyo	Literally, "great name"; a feudal lord.
dai-ya	A cook house in the brothel district.
ehon	'Picture book'; book illustrated with woodblock prints.
fukei	Scenery.
fukusei	Reproduction.
fukusei hanga	Print made in reproduction of a painting or another print.
ga	A suffix meaning "picture by". Often used as the last character to a signature.
gashu	A collection of pictures.
geisha	Frequently depicted in shin hanga, geisha are female entertainers who are highly trained in classical Japanese music and dancing as well as literature and conversational arts. Geisha are not prostitutes and are paid only to attend parties and gatherings, traditionally held at tea houses (ochaya) or traditional Japanese restaurants.
gendai	Present day, current.
go	An artist's pen-name or psuedonym. An artist may use a variety of go throughout his career.
gofun	An opaque white pigment. Often splashed on a print to imitate effects such as snow in a three-dimensional manner.
hana	Flower or flowers.
hanga	Generic term for 'print', usually referring to woodblock prints.
hanmoto	A publisher, particularly a publisher of woodblock prints.
hanshita-e	The finished drawing of a print that is pasted on a block of wood to be carved into the key block.
haori	A jacket worn over a kimono.
hashira-e	'Pillar print'. A highly variable print size of approximately 75 x 13 cm.
Heisei	Historical era from 1989 to present.
hiragana	Cursive Japanese script.
hitsu	A suffix meaning 'brush of'. Often used as the last character of a signature.
jizuri	Self-printed. Also refers to the seal on original Hiroshi Yoshida prints.
Kabuki	Popular form of theater that developed in the urban culture of Edo and which was an important subject of Japanese woodblock prints.
kacho	Flowers and birds
kacho-e, kacho-ga	Pictures of flowers and birds
kanji	Chinese characters used in Japanese writing.
Kano	A Chinese-inspired school of painting that flourished beginning in the 15th century. It became the official school of painting of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Kansai	An area in Japan which includes Kobe, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto.
Kanto	An area in Japan which includes Tokyo and Yokohama.
katakana	Straight-sided Japanese script usually used for foreign words.
key block	Block used to print the outlines of a print. It is cut from the finished drawing of the print designer (hanshita-e), and is the first block to be printed.
koban	Print size being used for one-half of an aiban (22 x 16 cm) or chuban (17 x 12 cm) or one-fourth of an oban (18 x 13 cm). Multiple small blocks were often produced on one large block.
kozo	Traditional Japanese paper made of mulberry fiber used in woodblock prints.
kuchi-e	Woodblock-printed illustrations for novels and literary magazines. These prints generally have a crease-line from being folded in a book. Many of the leading woodblock artists of the Meiji Period worked in this genre, including Mizuno Toshikata, Ogata Gekko, Kajita Hanko, and the young illustrator, Kaburagi Kiyokata. The primary subject matter of kuchi-e are bijin or 'beautiful women'.
kyokai	An association or society.
maiko	An apprentice geisha.
manga	Literally, 'comic pictures' or caricatures; sketchbooks.
Meiji	Historical era from 1868 to 1912, spanning the reign of Emperor Meiji.
meisho	'Famous place'. Favorite subject for prints produced in series.
mie	A pose or posture often assumed by kabuki actors.
mingei	Folk art.
mon	An identifying crest, emblem, or family insignia often found on the clothes of actors or historical figures.
moku hanga	Woodblock print.
Nanga	A Chinese painting style used by the literati of Japan since the 18th century.
Nihonga	Japanese style painting of the 20th century.
nishiki-e	'Brocade pictures'. A term generally used to denote full-color multiple block printing since the introduction of the kento in the 1760's.
Noh or No	Classical theater of the aristocratic classes, characterized by its use of masks. Contrary to Kabuki, the Noh theater was not usually portrayed in woodblock prints.
oban	Print size. Approximately 37 x 26 cm. The predominant print size throughout the history of Japanese woodblock prints.
obi	A broad sash worn with a kimono. Obi worn by geisha are always tied with the bow in the back of the kimono, while prostitutes wear the obi tied in the front.
okubi-e	'Picture of a large head'. A close-up portrait.
onnagata	'Female form'. Male actors in the Kabuki theater who played female roles.
onsen	Japanese hot springs. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places and may be either indoor or outdoor. Found throughout the Japanese countryside, onsen inns (onsen ryokan) are a popular destination for relaxing and are depicted in many Japanese prints.
otanzaku	Print size. Approximately 37 x 17 cm. Derived from the shape of the poem slip or tanzaku.
saku	A suffix meaning 'work of'. Often used as the last character of a signature.
samisen	A three-stringed insturment with a small square body, rounded sides, and a long neck.
sashi-e	An illustration.
sha	A suffix meaning 'depiction' or 'depicted by'. Sometimes used as the last character of a signature.
shakuhachi	A wind instrument of bamboo with four holes in front and one behind.
shikishiban	Print size. A square format, approximately 23 x 23 cm, often used for kacho-e.
shin hanga	'New prints'. A term originally coined by the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. Refers to the prints that resulted from the early 20th century movement to revitalize traditional printmaking techniques and practices.
Showa	Historical era from 1926 to 1989, spanning the reign of Emperor Showa (or Hirohito).
sosaku hanga	'Creative prints'. Prints produced in juxtaposition to the 'new prints' of the shin hanga movement. This movement was based on Western traditions of printmaking, in which the artist carried out the entire creative process.
sumi	Chinese ink stored as a dry ink stick and ground as needed.
sumi-e	Monochromatic ink painting.
sumo	Japanese style of wrestling.
suzuri	Stone for grinding an ink stick.
Taisho	Historical era from 1912 to 1926. Early modern period between the reigns of Emperor Meiji and Hirohito.
tate-e	'Vertical print' as in oban tate-e. A vertically aligned print.
tayu	The highest ranked courtesan.
to	Knife used to carve woodblocks.
Tokaido	Major road used in the Edo period between Kyoto and Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
torii	A high gate, often red with two curved crossbars, at the entrance to a sacred Shinto area. An especially famous torii is found at the Miyajima Shrine.
Ueno	A section of Tokyo which includes Shinobazu Pond, Ueno Park, and several museums.
ukiyo-e	'Pictures of the floating world'. Prints and paintings showing the transient life, the 'floating world' of the urban population of the Edo period (1600-1868).
washi	General term for handmade paper.
Yoga	'Western painting'. A style of painting that shows strong influence from the West.
yoko-e	'Horizontal print' as in oban yoko-e. A horizontally aligned print.
Yoshiwara	A brothel district in Tokyo.
yujo	A courtesan.
yukata	A light summer kimono made of cotton, usually in a blue and white pattern. This type of kimono is typically worn at hot springs or onsen.