sized silk canvas; silk for traditional Japanese painting
A prepared silk surface used as a support for traditional Japanese painting (日本画). The silk is treated with size (膠) to make it suitable for painting.
To paint a Japanese-style painting, I stretch the sized silk canvas onto a wooden frame.
Compound of 絵 (e, 'picture, painting') and 絹 (ginu, 'silk'). The reading ぎぬ is a rendaku form of きぬ.