J NOTES

	Aji-no-moto	(or Ajinomoto) trade name for MSG and the company name, invented by Professor Kidunae Ikeda in 1909. [umami]
	alru-hara	alcohol harassment
	ama	women divers
	Amekaji	American casual
	amigurumi	little crochet figures
	annaijo	local information desk
	arubaito	part-time work
	asanoha	hemp leaves pattern
	ateji	kanji used for their sound rather than their meaning
	bachi	shamisen/samisen plectrum
	Bero-ai, bero	synthetic blue pigment known as Berlin or "Prussian blue" or 'Hiroshige blue' in English
米国	beikoku	America
	benjo	toilet (baka?)
	bijin	beautiful woman
	bijin-ga	prints of pretty girls
	bishie	short for bishōnen
	bishōnen	beautiful youth: an aesthetic widely shared in Asia. Young man whose beauty (and sexual appeal) transcends the boundary of sex. In the original Japanese, bishonen applies only to boys under 18. For those older, biseinen (beautiful man)
	bokashi	gradation shading of color on ukiyo-e
	bonenkai	"forget the year" end-of-year parties, held throughout December, while 'shinnenkai' or "New Year Parties" are held in January.
	boryokudan	literally means 'Violence Group', the proper-term for Yakuza
	bosozuku zoku	loud motorcycles after 11PM - "speed tribes" member of a motorcycle tribe
	Burakumin	the symbol used is four fingers held together like the legs of an animal (since they dealt with dead animals) [before the surrender: eta]
	bu shugi no kitte	postage stamps with "sad" colors (navy blue, silver and yellow) colors used for New Year's cards when there's been a death in the family
	buchō	boss
	bukkake	refers to showering a receiver with sperm from one, several or many men
仏教	bukkyoh	Buddhism
	bunbo-ku	school supplies
	bunka	kultur
	Bunmei Kaika	Transformation of Civilization (during Meiji era)
	buraku	the outcast ghetto, hence: burakumin
	buton	shiki buton (futon) kake buton (duvet)
	chambara	sword-play
	chankonabe	fattening stew Sumo wrestlers eat (not sankandon)
	chapatsu	tea hair
	chikan	gropers, men who fondle women on crowded trains
	chindoga	useless inventions (chin - unusual)
	chindonya	street performers
	chirigami kokan	paper recycling truck
	burusera	shops that sell used panties. "Buru" - bloomers, and "sera" - sailor
	chokuegambo	the wish that there were more designer-brand shops on a given street
中国	Chugoku	China
	daihen	getting somebody else to answer for you at roll call
	daisho	(large and small - the pair) swords
	dango	round mochi, skewered then barbecued (and not sweet). Also, price-fixing
	dekasegi	reverse migration, back to Japan (from Peru)
	deniru	"to hang out in Denny's" - Family restaurants, found not only along suburban highways but also in the central city: Denny's (Deniizu), Jonathan's (Jonasan), Royal Host (Roiyaru Hosuto) and Skylark (Sukairaku)
	den-wa	telephone (electric talk) keitai denwa - mobile phone
	doboku	construction
	dojin, dojinshi	"amateur" or copycat comics - manga produced by manga and anime fans, published in 'zines
	Domo-kun	small brown open-mouthed monster, mascot of NHK's BS2 (a satellite channel)
	Don't Pelorian	don't be normal when you're supposed to be abnormal
	dotaku	bronze, bell-like objects from antiquity, usage unknown
	Edo no hana	flowers of Edo: fires
	Edokko	Edo citizens
	eikaiwa	English conversation (schools, the big four: Nova, Geos, Aeon, and ECC
	enjo kosai	"assisted dating" usually w/ high school girls
	enka	sentimental ballads
	enryo	polite restraint
	eta	outcast (archaic Enow, burakumin)
	fukujoshi	to die during sex - literally, to die atop a belly
	fumi-e	stepping on a metal image of Christ or Mary
	furikake	condiment sprinkled on rice - typically consists of a mixture of sesame seeds, chopped seaweed, sugar, salt, and MSG. Other flavorful ingredients such as dried skipjack tuna shavings, salmon etc. are often added to the mix.
	furita	people who work part-time and without job security (also, freeta: free part-timer)
	furoshiki	cloth wrapper
	fusuma	opaque shoji
	futōkou tōkōkyohi	school refusal (absent more'n three days)
	futsuu	normal, a fact of life
	gachapon	capsule toys from vending machines
	gaikoku-jin (gaijin)	outside people/person abunai gaijin - dangerous foreigner baka gaijin - stupid foreigner henna gaijin - weird foreigner sangokujin - non-Japanese Asians laowai   (the Chinese term)
	gaika	foreign currency
	gairaigo	loan or borrowed words, almost exclusively written in katakana
	gaisha	foreign cars
	gaman	virtue of endurance without complaint - to suffer quietly, even in the worst of circumstances
	ganguro	literally, blackface - darkened skin via makeup or tanning salon
元気	genki	healthy, energetic, optimistic, perky, bouncy, horny, happy, cheerful, high-spirited, filled with life
	giri	demands of duty, or of traditional family - what society expects, debt of gratitude
	girichoko	candy women give men (not their spouses/SOs) on Valentine's Day
	gohei or oshide	the zig-zag paper streamers at shrines
	Gojira	(stress on "go") - a combination of King Kong ("ko") and Kujira (whale)
	gomi	rubbish
	habu	snake
	hachimaki	headband
	hage	bald
	hamaya	Shogatsu (New year's) good luck arrow
	hanabi	fireworks
	hanagumori	hana = flower. kumori (or gumori) = cloudy weather. This is desirable - when cloudy, you get the subtle pink cherry blossom, white sky combination. The pink in front of a blue sky contrasts too sharply.
	han-cho	group leader (honcho)
	hanshi	archaic writing paper, 24cm square
	hassha	short, ear-pleasing jingles known also as departure or train melodies
	hatsu-yuki	first snowfall of winter
早い	hayai	early, fast
	henro	pilgrim
	hentai	erotic anime (literally, it means perversion)
	hibakusha	atomic bomb victims
	hibutsu	'secret buddha' - important, hidden Bhudda statue
	hikifuda	advertising prints
	hikikomori	social withdrawal - psychopathic otaku who have withdrawn from society
	himanji	fat children
	hinin	criminal, beggar or social outcast
	hinomaru	the flag of Japan (literally, sun disc)
	hitomaki	sewing kits like I inspected at Hirano-ya 8-7-4 Ginza
	hojo jitsu	Medieval samurai martial art of tying up captured enemies
	honne	real feelings or intent - what you actually believe, but usually never say (cf. tatemae)
	ichigen	'first look' - a customer without an introduction
	ijimie	teasing, bullying, especially of the smart by the stupid
	ijime-lareko	the targets of the bullying
	iki	chic, stylish (vs. yabo)
	inaka	countryside
	inari	the Shinto god of rice and sake. Foxes are his messengers, and their favorite food is said to be balls of rice in pockets of sweetened fried tofu
	irori	open hearth
	ishiyaki-imoya	hot-potato seller
	iyashi	healing and relaxing goods
	Japonisme	coined in 1872 by Felix-Hilaire Buhot
	jido-hanbaiki	vending machines
	Jinrai Butai	the divine thunderbolt (Kamikaze)
	jishinban	fire watcher (who calls out "Hi no yo-jin" (Beware of fires))
	jishan	earthquake, self-confidence
	JOAK	the first radio station
	jubako	stacking lunchbox, bento or for osechi (New Year's)
	juban	underwear (from the Portugese jibao)
	junishi	the twelve signs of the zodiac
	kaeru	frog, and the verb to return - hence, one travels with a froggy
	kago	palanquin or sedan-chair
	kaishaku	the 'second' in seppuku
	kaiju	"giant monster"
	kaiso	out of service
	kakimochi	baked rice cracker vs. senbei: rice cracker
	Kami no Yo	Age of the Gods
	kamishibai	old, traditional story-telling (with the still images in a frame)
	kamuro	young girl apprenticed to a brothel
	kani kama	surimi krab
	Kasei, Kaseijin	Mars, Martian
	karakuri	mechanical device to tease, trick, or take a person by surprise
	karakusa(moyo)	vines pattern
	karisuma tenin	charismatic salesgirls
	karoshi	death by overwork
	katori-senkō	mosquito-incense (katori-buta - the pig it's burned inside)
	kazan	volcano, "fire-mountain"
	keigo	Japanese honorific or self-effacing speech, three types: sonkeigo, kenjōgo and teineigo
	keiretsu	corporate groupings which followed the war, amid the dissolution of zaibatsu family-controlled monopolies
	keitai	"portables" - tiny cellular phones
	kenchinjiru	a stew containing burdock, carrots, daikon radish, pork, tofu, and konnyaku
気	ki	vital energy
	kidōtai	riot police
	kigurumi	masked figures, like Mickey at Disneyland - not cosplay
	kikoku shijo	children of overseas businessmen who've returned to Japan
	kiku	chrysanthemum
	kimigayo	the Japanese national anthem
	kimoi	gross!
	kinpatsu	golden-haired
	kiritsu	Achtung!
	kisama	you (bastard!)
	kobito	lover
	kodokusi	dying alone, dying because one is alone
	kogaru, kogal, kogyaru	(high school?) call girl (ko - little, garu - girl), enjo-kosai - teen prostitution? That look, anyway. See also: Assisted Dating
	kojitsunagi	interlocking "I's" pattern
心	kokoro	soul, heart
	koku	amount of rice needed to feed one man for one year
	kokumin	the Japanese people, the word used in their Constitution ("all people are equal")
	kokutai	body politic, national essence (a pre-war concept)
	konnyaku	devil's-tongue jelly
	korokke	fried mashed potatoes mixed with meat or other ingredients
	koshikake	the little stool in the public bath
	koyo	crimson leaves
	kuichi	Jewish
	kuma	bear
	kumade	decorative lucky fan, for "raking in the money" (uchiwa - oval hand-fan, sensu - folding fan)
	kuni	home, where you come from
	kurambo	Negro
	kuroko	black-clad Kabuki and Bunraku attendants, supposedly invisible to audience
	kusari-doi	rain chain, downspout alternative
	kusudama	spherical origami (kusui: medicine, tama: ball)
	kushimono kushiyaki	dinner on a stick kebabs
	kyo-no-ranchi	today's lunch special
	mairu-tomo	mail friend
	maki guso	roughly translates as "curlicue poo" - presented in Japan as a prettified swirl resembling soft ice cream
万円	man en	10,000 yen
	maneki-neko	beckoning cat - cats with the right paw raised are beckoning in money or good fortune and cats with the left paw raised are beckoning in customers. Most Maneki-neko are white, but if you see a black one, it is warding off evil, and the even rarer red ones are to prevent sickness.
	manji	backwards swastika, Buddhist temple symbol (can mean good fortune)
	mankitsu	manga kissaten = manga cafes (some offer showers and even allow overnight sleeping, on the floor?)
	marumado	also called yoshinomado - circular window, or a circular window with a flat bottom edge. If the round window is over 1.5m in diameter, it's called ōmarumado.
	mawashi	sumo wrestler's loincloth
	mazui	inappropriate, nasty-tasting
	meibutsu	village's speciallty
	meiwaku	group shame, or just inconvenience
	meiwaku mail	mobile phone spam
	mikoroshi	stand idly by while another dies
	mizuage	deflowering
	mogaki	one who preys on men sleeping outdoors (aokansha)
	momiji	Japanese maple tree
	Mommo-no Sekku	Girls' Festival (March 3)
	mono no aware	essential sadness of life
	mō	100 mo = 1 sen
	Mutsuhito	what Meiji (which means enlightened rule) was called before his death
	namasera	variation of burusera. "Nama" - fresh, panties worn by the girl who then removes them and hands them over directly at the point of sale
	nampa	attempt at 'picking up' a girl (or, the wolf)
	natsukashii	pleasurable / sad nostalgia
	nengo	era name (like Showa)
	nihon-jin	the Japanese people gaikoku-jin (gaijin) - outside people hakujin - white people nikei-jin - Japanese who've settled abroad
	Nikkei	Nippon Keizai Shinbun
	nikuman	meat-filled steamed bun anman - sweat beanpaste filled kareman - curry filled pizzaman - pizza filled
	ninjo	pull of human emotions or modern ways - human feeling towards
	niito	NEET: Not in Education, Employment or Training. Also, freeta and putaro
	nojuku	people sleeping in the open air (or under blue plastic?) or also aokan, sleeping out in the open, hence aokansha, person who sleeps in the streets)
	nomiya	classic pub
	nyan nyan	a widely used term for sexual activity
	nyotaimori	woman-body-helping, plateful - eating sushi off a naked lady
	Nyu-Sha-Shika	Entering the Company ceremony (April 1)
	obasan	middle-aged woman
お茶	ocha, not kocha (English) or the roasted brown hōjicha	gyokuro (best quality green tea), then comes sencha, and finally, bancha, which is either hōji-cha, which is roasted, or genmai-cha, a mix of leaves, stems and genmai (roasted rice grains)   karigane - just the tea stems mugi-cha - roasted barley 夏には麦茶を飲みます。 kobu-cha - seaweed
	ojisan	middle aged man
	okama	gay males
	okami-san	proprietress of a ryokan
	okoge	the crust of rice that sticks to the side of the rice pot (also, fruit flies or fag hags - women who like gay men)
	okusan	person of the interior: wife
	omamori	good luck charms from shrine or temple
	ominami or seigaiha	waves pattern
	omiyage	souvenirs
	oneesan	older sister, young woman
	oni	a small malicious horned demon
	oreiboko	a former apprentice giving his master a man/year, gratis, after gaining his journeymanship
	ossan	oyaji
	Oshichi	was burned at the stake for burning down the house
	oyaji	dad (juvenile corruption of oyachichi), middle-aged, unfashionable, noisy, self-centered, greedy, soul-less drone
	oyabun	boss, leader
	pachi-puro	professional pachinko player
	pachi-suro	pachinko slots
	panchira	showing the panties
	pittari	on the dot, "bang on the nose"
	puri kura	(print club) little photo stickers
	putaro	an unemployed loafer who is between jobs
	rikishi	sumo wrestler
	rin	1000 rin = 1 yen
	ronin	high-school graduates who take a year off in order to study solo in preparation for university exam
	ronin mawashi	pen spinning
	rori-kon	"Lolita complex" (a loose transliteration)
	rusu-sokusu	loose socks (or ru~zu sokkusa)
	ryotei	exclusive restaurant
	sabi	a sense of the impermanence of things
	sabisu	service (no charge)
	sakariba	district of bars & nightlife clubs
	sakenosakana	like tapas
	sankin kotai	samurai back-n-forth 'tween Edo and the home office
	sashimono	flag attached to the back of the armor to facilitate recognition in battle
	"satee wan"	31 = Baskin-Robbins
	Satsuma	now known as Kagoshima
	sayagata or "keyfret"	eternal knot with swastika/Buddhist cross (manji) pattern (aka: manji tsunagi)
	seijin no hi seijin-shiki	coming of age day (traditionally January 15, now: Happy Monday) coming of age ceremony
酒	seishu	sake choko - sake cups jizake - locally-brewed sake komokaburi - wooden sake casks wrapped in rush mat masu - wooden boxes for drinking cold sake tokkuri - warm sake flasks
	seka haru	sexual harassement
	semba tsuru	a thousand cranes, ren-zuru connecting cranes
	semi	cicada
	sempai/ko-hai	senior/junior
	senga	a highly refined and complex form of the traditional Japanese cut-paper art called kirigami
	Sengo Kiseki	postwar miracle
	sensu	folding paper fan
	sen zuri	a thousand rubs (manzuri: ten thousand rubs)
	settai	donation
	shabu	speed (Amphetamines)
	shibui / dasai	cool / uncool, ugly
	Shichifukujin	the seven lucky gods
	shichigosan	3 5 7 coming of age ceremony
	shigoto	work
	Shin Hanga	'new prints' (like the 20th century work of Hasui and Eijiro Kobayashi)
	shin hatsubai	newly available
	shinju	double suicide
	Shishi-odoshi, or so~zu	the bamboo-tube-water-knocking rig (the first name means animal- or deer-scarer)
	shitaki mania	regular panty mania, not the weird kind (?)
	shiteiseki	reserved tickets
	shobijin	small beauties (The Peanuts in "Mothra")
	shogakusei	no longer cute
	shogo	girls' manga
	shokuji	mealtime
	shonen (boys) and shojo (girls)	two types of anime
	shokudō	cafeteria
	Shosoin	Imperial Treasury (in Nara)
	shukubo	temple lodging
	shun-ga	"spring pictures" - ukiyo-e porno
	Sofusha	right-wing political group known mostly for parading with nationalist slogans blasting through loudspeakers mounted on ominous-looking black buses. Sofusha and some other right-wing groups have close ties to the yakuza
	soji	cleaning
	soto	outside the family or group (cf. uchi)
	sudare	lined-up bamboo hanging down: bamboo matchstick blinds
	sugidama	cedar fronds ball
	sugoi	cool, awesome!
	(denki) suihanki	(electric) rice cooker
	suiseki	the art of stones found in rivers, for viewing
	sukatu no naka	inside the skirt
	sukosi	skosh
	sumi	charcoal
	tachi-nomi	places inside or next to liquor stores, open afternoons or early evenings
	taibatsu	corporal punishment
	taima	hemp
高い	takai	high, expensive
	tamaranai	an uncontrollable attraction one feels (towards kogal)
	Tango-no Sekku	Boys Festival (May 5)
	tankuoban	paperback manga collections
	tanuki	raccoon-dog
	tanzaku	ribbon/scroll on certain of the hanafuda cards
	ta-ray	Tsukiji vehicle
	tategaki	top-to-bottom, then right-to-left vs. yokogaki: left-to-right, then top-to-bottom
	tatemae	"building a front" - not lying, really, just putting up a polite front, to avoid hurt feelings - flattery, officially stated position (cf. honne)
	teishoku	set meal
	tenno heika	His Majesty the Emperor
	tenugui	traditional hand towels, use as headbands, etc.
	tokoro ga	the matter at hand
	tokusatsu	special photography (Japanese science fiction television and movies)
	tomoe	the comma in kamon - based on archer's leather arm protector
	tomarimasu	overnight (at a love hotel)
	torii	"bird rest" - wooden archway found outside Shinto shrines, and originally a perch for birds dedicated to the gods
	tsukeru	being pickled (in a bath)
	tsumayōji	toothpick
	tsukuri	sashimi in Kanto
	tsukisoi	sub-professional nurse
	tsuyu	month-long "rainy season"
	tsuyukusa	a fugitive blue pigment derived from the petals of the dayflower
	uchi	inside, "on the bus" (cf. soto)
	ukiyo-e	floating world pictures
	umami	the 5th taste: a specific kind of salty, tangy taste, not in foreign cooking (like soy) - savory, deliciousness, MSG
	unchi unko	poop shit (or maybe, a turd)
	uyoku	right wing groups, with their gaisensha (trucks equipped with loudspeakers) The best estimates are that there are more than 100,000 members of far-right groups in Japan, belonging to almost 1,000 groups throughout the country, 800 of which are affiliated through an organisation called the Zen Nihon Aikokusha Dantai Kaigi (All-Japan Conference of Patriotic Associations)
和	wa	harmony
	wabi	rustic simplicity (which can be boring), or how a slight imperfection merely accentuates the fundamental perfection of a thing
	Wabisabi wabi & sabi	the beauty of poverty together they signify the beauty of the ephemeral and the fleeting; the aesthetic of decay, asymetrical detail and natural color, and an appreciation of the incomplete, the impermanent, the imperfect.
	wagamama	selfishness, egoism
	wagara	Japanese patterns
	wangiri	when people call and let the phone ring once and leave their caller ID on your phone to get you to call them back. It has become a type of spam
	warikan	going Dutch
	yabane or yagasuri	arrowfeathers pattern
	yabo	unrefined, boorish, vulgar
	yagai	outside, ie public sex, public urination
	yakiimo	sweet potato(also satsumaimo)
	yakimono	grilled dishes
	yakinohara	burnt plains, atomic wasteland
	yakudoshi	an inauspicious year (ie, streak of bad luck)
	yakuza	means 'Eight-Nine-Three' and comes from a Japanese form of gambling known as Oicho-Kabu, which is similar to Blackjack. In this game, the object is to get 19 points, so the score of eight plus nine plus three (20) is worthless and came to be associated with the Yakuza who were considered to be worthless to society.
	yamabushi	mystic mountain man, warrior-monk (literally "sleeping in the mountains")
	yamakake	mountain potato
	yamamba	mountain witches - girls with bleached (white?) hair and white makeup, usually ganguro (Gan: face and Kuro: black) and wearing atsukutsu (the big-soled shoes)
	Yamato	"Land of Great Harmony" - traditional name for Japan
	Yamato nadeshiko	Japanese ideal woman
	yanqui	young bucks wearing nikka-bokka pants
	yaso-e	"gather together pictures" - large pictures composed of many small pictures
	yasui	cheap
	yobai	night crawling
	yokozuna	grand sumo champion
	yorikiri	stepping outside the sumo ring
	Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki-gaisha	YKK slide fasteners - HQ in Kurobe City
>ゆ	yu	hot water labels in the sento: atatakai (hot) and nurui (tepid)
雪	yuki	snow
	yutori	slack; to take it easy. (Having a surplus of something, time or money)
	zaibatsu	the great family-controlled banking and industrial combines of modern Japan. The leading zaibatsu are Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo. (This word may be archaic, modern term is keirestsu)
	zakka	miscellaneous goods
	zanryu koji	Japanese children left in China after the war who returned to Japan decades later only to find themselves unable to fit in
	zaru	monkey kikazaru - hear-not monkey mizaru - see-not monkey iwazaru - say-not monkey
	zashiki	tatami room
	zentai	woman dressed in a tightly fitted, opaque, body sock-y (Latex, leather, cloth, etc) that covers every inch of her skin