Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese Art by Call Number: Art Reference, N7340. M8175 1981ISBN: 0878172483Publication Date: 1981Useful definitions of Japanese subject matter, styles, techniques as well as specific schools and biographies.
A Dictionary of Japanese Art Terms, Bilingual / Wa-Ei Taisho Nihon Bijutsu Yogo JitenCall Number: Art Reference, N7350. W23 1990Publication Date: 1990Use to translate Japanese characters into English. Arranged by "stroke count". There is a useful "Index of Romanized Japanese Terms" in the back.
Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists by Call Number: Art Reference, N6538. A83 H35 2007ISBN: 9780313334511Painters, photographers, sculptors, and installation artists are among the seventy-five artists represented in this guide to Asian American artists. Within each entry, Kara Hallmark describes the artists' early life, education and training, and impact on the art world both in their country of heritage as well as the U.S. While some artists dismiss any notion of their heritage influencing their work, others describe how assimilation and immigration affected themselves and their families, particularly those affected by World War II and the Japanese internment camps. Interviews with living artists, as well as extensive images, enhance entries that celebrate the contributions of Asian American Artists to American art.
- "Japan" in Grove Art Online
See esp. 2. History. (iv) Age of Military Houses (d) Edo (1600-1868). - JAANUS: Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology
This dictionary contains approximately 8000 terms related to traditional Japanese architecture and gardens, painting, sculpture and art-historical iconography from approximately the 1st century A.D. to the end of the Edo period (1868).
New Kabuki Encyclopedia by Call Number: Art Library PN2924.5 K3 L44 1997 c.1-2ISBN: 0313292884This is the most comprehensive guide to Japan's kabuki theatre in any language other than Japanese. Kabuki plays largely reflect the values of feudal Japan, a world of noble samurai overcoming evil adversaries, adulterous lovers,, parents sacrificing their children in the name of loyalty to a superior, and children giving up their lives for the sake of their parents. Productions typically contain spectacular sets, elaborate costumes, and colorful makeup. Appendices include a chronological table of kabuki history, a list of all major or formal play titles, a list of all variant or popular titles, genealogical charts, and a list of all major actors' stage nicknames (yago) currently in use.
Biography
- Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists
Over 4,700 artists from antiquity to the present from the Benezit Dictionary of Artists (2006). Most are from East Asia, particularly Japan and China. Entries include concise narratives of artists’ careers, bibliographies, exhibition histories, and collection holdings.
Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art by Call Number: Art Library, N7358. B55 1981ISBN: 0870114883Publication Date: 1981Use for biographies of Japanese artists. Arranged by media; use the index to find all references to an artist. Includes maps, black and white plates and charts of artistic lineages and families.
A Dictionary of Japanese Artists by Call Number: Art Library, N7358. R6ISBN: 0834801132Publication Date: 1976Use for biographies of Japanese artists alive before 1972. Artists are listed by western names; entries include corresponding characters and alternate names.
Japanese Women Artists, 1600-1900 by Call Number: Art Library, N7353.5 F57 1988 c.1-2ISBN: 0913689254Publication Date: 1988Catalog of an exhibition held at the Spencer Museum of Art, Apr. 2-May 22, 1988 and the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Sept. 21-Oct. 23, 1988