expressing great humility on the part of the speaker, more respectful than -san or even -sama
foxfire: magical lights said to be carried by foxes or fox-spirits
fusuma: sliding divider, usually wooden and covered with cloth or paper, usable as both door and wall
gaijin: foreigner (literally “outsider”)
geisha: a skilled artist paid to wait on, entertain, and in some cases provide sexual services for clientele
genin: a low-level operative in a ninja clan (literally “low person”)
Gion: a district in Kyoto known for its geisha
goze: blind itinerant female, usually a musician, said to have the gift of second sight
gumi: yakuza clan (as in Kamaguchi-gumi)
Hachiman: god of war
hakama: wide, pleated pants bound tightly at the waist and hanging to the ankle
haori: a Japanese tabard (i.e., short, sleeveless jacket) characterized by wide, almost winglike shoulders, often worn over armor
hatamoto: bannerman, the highest rank of retainer in a lord’s service
hitatare: a robe associated with the samurai class, worn over a kimono and under armor
IAD: Internal Affairs Division
Ikebana: the art of flower arrangement
Ikko Ikki: a peasant uprising, largely disorganized and only nominally Buddhist, whose political and economic influence endured for over a hundred years
Irasshaimase: a welcome greeting said when customers enter a place of business
jizamurai: a low-level samurai not wholly removed from farming life
Joseon: a Korean kingdom of the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries
kaishakunin: person charged with decapitating someone who must commit seppuku; also called the “second”
kama: a short-hafted sickle for farming or gardening
kami: creative natural forces, often called “spirits”
Kansai: the geographic region around Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka, and the locus of political power for nearly all of Japanese history
katana: a curved long sword worn with the cutting edge facing upward
kenjutsu: the lethal art of the sword (as opposed to kendo, the sporting art of the sword)
kesagiri: in Japanese sword arts, a downward diagonal cut to the left shoulder
ki: life energy
kiai: a loud shout practiced as a part of martial arts training, usually uttered upon delivering a strike
kiri: a paulownia blossom, the emblem of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
koku: the amount of rice required to feed one person for one year; also, a unit for measuring the size of a fiefdom or estate, corresponding to the amount of rice its land can produce
kosode: a long garment similar to a kimono but with smaller sleeves
kote: the wrist, as a target for sword practice
kote-uchi: a strike to the wrist
Kura-okami: dragon-god of rain and snow
MDA: methylenedioxyamphetamine, a hallucinogenic amphetamine
mugi-cha: roasted barley tea, usually served cold
naginata: a polearm consisting of a curved sword blade on the end of a long haft
odachi: a single-edged great sword, curved like a katana
ri: a unit of measurement equal to about two and a half miles
ronin: a masterless samurai (literally “wave-person”)
sama: an honorific expressing humility on the part of the speaker, more respectful than -san but not as humbling as -dono
sarariman: “salary man”; a man with a white-collar job
satori: Buddhist enlightenment
seiza: a kneeling position on the floor; as a verb, “to sit seiza” means “to meditate” (literally “proper sitting”)
sensei: teacher, professor, or doctor, depending on the context (literally “born-before”)
seppuku: ritual suicide by disembowelment, also known as hara-kiri
shakuhachi: traditional Japanese flute
shamisen: traditional Japanese lute
shinobi: ninja
shoji: sliding divider with rice-paper windows, usable as both door and wall
shomenuchi: in Japanese sword arts, a downward vertical cut to the head
shonin: the highest level of commander in a ninja clan (literally “high person”)
shoyu: soy sauce
shozoku: the bodysuit, hood, and mask that ninja were (erroneously) said to have worn as a sort of uniform
sode: broad, panellike shoulder armor, usually of lamellar
southern barbarian: white person (considered “southern” because European sailors were only allowed to dock in Nagasaki, which lies far to the south)
Sword Hunt: an edict restricting the ownership of weapons to the samurai caste; there were two such edicts, each one carrying additional provisions on arms control and other political decrees
tanto: a single-edged combat knife, curved like a katana, ritually used in seppuku
tengu: a goblin with birdlike features
tetsubin: a traditional teapot made of cast iron
Tokaido: the “East Sea Road” connecting modern-day Tokyo to modern-day Kyoto
torii: a gate signifying the entryway to a Shinto shrine, usually composed of two pillars connected at the top by either a lintel or a sacred rope (shimenawa)
wakizashi: a curved short sword, typically paired with a katana, worn with the blade facing upward
yakitori: grilled chicken served on a skewer
yakuza: member of an organized crime syndicate; “good-for-nothing”
yamabushi: ex-soldier dwelling in the wilds as a criminal (literally “mountain warrior”)
yoroi: armor
yukata: a light robe
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you’ve gotten this far, you’re three books in and you’re expecting a third author’s note. Dear reader, I shall not disappoint.