aikido "The way of harmonious spirit". A form of
self-defence performed without weapons, now recognized as a
sport.
Amida Nyorai Amida Buddha will lead worthy souls to the
Western Paradise (the Pure Land).
banzai The traditional Japanese cheer, meaning "10,000
years".
basho Sumo tournament
Benten or Benzai-ten . One of the most popular
folk-goddesses, usually associated with water.
bodhisattva or bosatsu . A Buddhist intermediary
who has forsaken nirvana to work for the salvation of all
humanity.
Bunraku Traditional puppet theatre.
Buto (or Butoh) Highly expressive contemporary
performance art.
cha-no-yu, chado or sado The tea ceremony. Ritual
tea drinking raised to an art form.
cho or machi Subdivision of the city, smaller than
a - ku .
chome Area of the city consisting of a few blocks.
daimyo Feudal lords.
-dake Mountain peak, usually volcanic.
Dainichi Nyorai or Rushana Butsu The Cosmic Buddha
in whom all buddhas are unified.
donjon Castle keep.
dori Main road.
Edo Pre-1868 name for Tokyo.
ema Small wooden boards found at shrines, on which people
write their wishes or thanks.
fusuma Paper-covered sliding doors, more substantial than
shoji , used to separate rooms or for cupboards.
futon Padded quilt used for bedding.
gagaku Traditional Japanese music used for court
ceremonies and religious rites.
gaijin Foreigner.
geisha Traditional female entertainer accomplished in the
arts.
genkan Foyer or entrance hall of a house, ryokan and so
forth, for changing from outdoor shoes into slippers.
geta Traditional wooden sandals.
genki A useful (and often used) Japanese word meaning
friendly, lively and healthy.
haiku Seventeen-syllable verse form, arranged in three
lines of five, seven and five syllables.
hanami "Flower-viewing", most commonly associated with
spring outings to admire the cherry blossom.
hashi or -bashi Bridge.
hiragana Phonetic script used for writing Japanese in
combination with kanji .
ijinkan Western-style brick and clapboard houses.
ikebana Traditional art of flower arranging.
Inari Shinto god of harvests, often represented by his
fox-messenger.
-ji Buddhist temple.
jigoku The word for Buddhist "hell", also applied to
volcanic mud pools and steam vents.
-jinja or -jingp Shinto shrine.
Jizo Buddhist protector of children, travellers and the
dead.
-jo Castle.
Kabuki Popular theatre of the Edo period.
kami Shinto deities residing in trees, rocks and other
natural phenomena.
kamikaze The "Divine Wind" which saved Japan from the
Mongol invaders
. During World War II the name was applied to Japan's suicide
bombers.
kanji Japanese script derived from Chinese
characters.
Kannon Buddhist goddess of mercy. A bodhisattva who
appears in many different forms.
katakana Phonetic script used mainly for writing foreign
words in Japanese.
kawa or - gawa River.
ken Prefecture. The principal administrative region,
similar to a state or county.
kendo The "way of the sword". Japan's oldest martial art,
using wooden staves, with its roots in samurai training
exercises.
kimono Literally "clothes", though usually referring to
women's traditional dress.
-ko Lake.
koban Neighbourhood police box.
koen or gyoen Public park.
Kogen Plateau.
ku Principal administrative division of the city, usually
translated as "ward".
kura Traditional storehouse built with thick mud-walls as
protection against fire, for keeping produce and family
treasures.
kyogen Short, satirical plays, providing comic interludes
in No drama.
machi Town or area of a city.
maiko Apprentice geisha.
manga Japanese comics.
matcha Powdered green tea used in the tea ceremony.
matsuri Festival.
Meiji Period named after Emperor Meiji (1868-1912),
meaning "enlightened rule".
Meiji Restoration The Restoration (1868) marked the end
of the Tokugawa Shogunate, when power was fully restored to the
emperor.
mikoshi Portable shrine used in festivals.
minshuku Family-run lodgings, similar to
bed-and-breakfast, which are cheaper than ryokan.
mon Gate, usually to a castle, temple or palace.
mura Village.
netsuke Small, intricately carved toggles for fastening
the cords of cloth bags.
ningy o Japanese doll.
Nio or Kongo Rikishi Two muscular, fearsome
Buddhist kings ( ten ) who stand guard at temple gates,
usually one open-mouthed and one closed.
No Highly stylized dance-drama, using masks and elaborate
costumes.
noren Split curtain hanging in shop and restaurant
doorways to indicate they're open.
notemburo Outdoor hot-spring pool, usually in natural
surroundings.
obi Wide sash worn with kimono.
odori Traditional dances performed in the streets during
the summer Obon festival. The most famous is Tokushima's Awa Odori
.
onsen Hot spring, generally developed for bathing.
pachinko Vertical pinball machines.
pond-garden Classic form of garden design focused around
a pond.
romaji System of transliterating Japanese words using the
roman alphabet.
ronin Masterless samurai
.
rotemburo Outdoor hot-spring pool, often in the grounds
of a ryokan.
ryokan Traditional Japanese inn.
salarymen The thousands of suited office-workers who keep
Japan's companies and ministries ticking over.
samurai Warrior class who were retainers of the
daimyo .
san or -zan Mountain.
sento Neighbourhood public bath.
seppuku Ritual suicide by disembowelment, often wrongly
referred to as hara-kiri in English.
Shaka Nyorai The historical Buddha, Sakyamuni.
shamisen Traditional, three-stringed instrument played
with a plectrum.
shima or -jima Island.
Shinkansen Bullet train.
Shinto Japan's indigenous religion, based on the premise
that gods inhabit all natural things, both animate and
inanimate.
Shitamachi Low-lying, working-class districts of east
Tokyo, nowadays usually referring to Asakusa and Ueno.
shoji Paper-covered sliding screens used to divide rooms
or cover windows.
shogun The military rulers of Japan before 1868,
nominally subordinate to the emperor.
shukubo Temple lodgings.
soaplands Euphemistic name for bathhouses offering
massages and, frequently, sexual services.
stroll-garden Style of garden design popular in the Edo
period (1600-1868), comprising a series of tableaux which unfold as
the viewer walks through the garden.
sumi-e Ink paintings, traditionally using black ink.
sumo Japan's national sport, a form of heavyweight
wrestling which evolved from ancient Shinto divination rites.
taiko Drums.
tatami Rice-straw matting, the traditional covering for
floors.
-tera , o-tera or -dera Buddhist
temple.
tokonoma Alcove in a room where flowers or a scroll are
displayed.
torii Gate to a Shinto shrine.
ukiyo-e Colourful woodblock prints or paintings which
became particularly popular in the late eighteenth century.
waka Thirty-one syllable poem, arranged in five lines of
five, seven, five, seven and seven syllables.
washi Traditional, handmade paper.
Yakushi Nyorai The Buddha in charge of physical and
spiritual healing.
yakuza Professional criminal gangs, somewhat akin to the
Mafia.
yama Mountain.
yamabushi Ascetic mountain priests.
yukata Loose cotton robe worn as a dressing gown in
ryokan.