Copyright 2004-2024 Richard Heli
Once again, unusual customs are responsible for a lot of words. In particular, there are a number of words related to various systems of personal combat or of war:
- miso
- a high-protein food paste consisting chiefly of soybeans, salt, and usually fermented grain (as barley or rice) and ranging in taste from very salty to very sweet
- nori
- dried laver seaweed pressed into thin sheets and used especially as a seasoning or as a wrapper for sushi
- sake
- a Japanese alcoholic beverage of fermented rice usually served hot
- sashimi
- a Japanese dish consisting of thinly sliced raw fish served with a sauce for dipping
- satsuma
- any of several cultivated mandarin trees that bear medium-sized largely seedless fruits with thin smooth skin; also, the fruit of these trees
- shiitake
- from shii, the Japanese chinquapin + take mushroom; a dark Asian mushroom (Lentinus edodes of the family Agaricaceae) widely cultivated especially on woods of the beech family for its edible flavorful tan to brown cap
- sukiyaki
- from suki- slice + yaki broil; a dish consisting of thin slices of meat, bean curd, and vegetables cooked in soy sauce and sugar
- sushi
- cold rice dressed with vinegar, formed into any of various shapes, and garnished especially with bits of raw fish or shellfish
- tempura
- seafood or vegetables dipped in batter and fried in deep fat
- teriyaki
- a Japanese dish of meat or fish that is grilled or broiled after being soaked in a seasoned soy sauce marinade
- wasabi
- a condiment prepared from the thick pungent greenish root of an Asian herb (Eutrema wasabi) of the mustard family and is similar in flavor and use to horseradish; also : the root or the herb that yields it
But just as important there is the other side of the coin, words of poetry, song and religion:
- aikido
- an art of self-defense employing locks and holds and utilizing the principle of nonresistance to cause an opponent's own momentum to work against him
- banzai
- a cheer or war cry
- banzai attack/charge
- a mass attack by Japanese soldiers in World War II; also : an all-out usually desperate attack
- Bushido
- a feudal-military Japanese code of behavior valuing honor above life
- hara-kiri
- ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by the Japanese samurai or formerly decreed by a court in lieu of the death penalty
- honcho
- leader of a squad
- judo
- a sport developed from jujitsu that emphasizes the use of quick movement and leverage to throw an opponent
- jujitsu
- an art of weaponless fighting employing holds, throws, and paralyzing blows to subdue or disable an opponent
- kamikaze
- literally, divine wind 1 : a member of a Japanese air attack corps in World War II assigned to make a suicidal crash on a target (as a ship) 2 : an airplane containing explosives to be flown in a suicide crash on a target 3 : having or showing reckless disregard for safety or personal welfare
- karate
- a Japanese art of self-defense employing hand strikes and kicks to disable or subdue an opponent
- kendo
- a Japanese sport of fencing with bamboo swords
- seppuku
- ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by the Japanese samurai or formerly decreed by a court in lieu of the death penalty
- sumo
- a form of wrestling in which a contestant loses if he is forced out of the ring or if any part of his body except the soles of his feet touches the ground
Unusual things:
- geisha
- from gei art + -sha person; a Japanese woman who is trained to provide entertaining and lighthearted company especially for a man or a group of men
- haiku
- an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively; also : a poem in this form usually having a seasonal reference
- kabuki
- traditional Japanese popular drama performed with highly stylized singing and dancing
- karaoke
- a device that plays instrumental accompaniments for a selection of songs to which the user sings along and that records the user's singing with the music
- koan
- from ko public + an proposition; a paradox to be meditated upon that is used to train Zen Buddhist monks to abandon ultimate dependence on reason and to force them into gaining sudden intuitive enlightenment
- No
- literally, talent; classic Japanese dance-drama having a heroic theme, a chorus, and highly stylized action, costuming, and scenery
- Tanka
- an unrhymed verse form of five lines containing 5, 7, 5, 7, and 7 syllables respectively; also : a poem in this form
- zen
- a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation
Words not yet in the English dictionary, but growing in acceptance:
- anime
- a style of animation originating in Japan that is characterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes (short for animEshiyon, a returned word from English animation)
- bonsai
- a potted plant (as a tree) dwarfed and trained to an artistic shape by special methods of culture; also : the art of growing such a plant
- dojo
- a school for training in various arts of self-defense (as judo or karate)
- fuji
- from Fuji, the mountain in Japan; a spun silk clothing fabric in plain weave origin made in Japan
- gaijin
- from gai- outer, foreign + -jin person; a foreigner in Japan
- Go
- game for two who alternately place black and white stones on a board checkered by 19 vertical lines and 19 horizontal lines in an attempt to enclose the larger area on the board
- kimono
- a long robe with wide sleeves traditionally worn with a broad sash as an outer garment by the Japanese
- ninja
- from nin- persevere + -ja person; a person trained in ancient Japanese martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations
- obi
- a broad sash worn especially with a Japanese kimono
- samurai
- a military retainer of a Japanese daimyo practicing the code of conduct of Bushido or, in general, the warrior aristocracy of Japan
- sensei
- a teacher of martial arts (as karate or judo)
- shogun
- one of a line of military governors ruling Japan until the revolution of 1867-68
- shoji
- (as in shoji screen) a paper screen serving as a wall, partition, or sliding door
- skosh
- This slang term meaning a small amount; a little, comes from Japanese sukoshi.
- tatami
- straw matting used as a floor covering in a Japanese home
- zori
- a flat thonged sandal usually made of straw, cloth, leather, or rubber
- bento
- a meal served in a kind of box with discrete sections
- hagaki
- a card or postcard
- manga
- Japanese comic books, often read by businessmen on the subway
- neko
- literally cat, but known as the name of a cartoon kitty
- Pokemon
- name of a product line for cards, games and related paraphernalia; a returned word that comes from Englis "pocket monster"
- ronin
- masterless samurai; also a student who failed to get accepted at a university of his choice and is seeking another chance; also a student who, having failed a school entrance examination for a particular year, is preparing for one next year
- yakuza
- organized crime member