| arigatō | thank you |
| bengoshi | attorney at law, lawyer |
| bōsōzoku | Japanese motorcycle gangs who rebel against strict social norms and like to cause a nuisance by removing their mufflers and revving their engines loudly at night |
| burakumin | a social class still suffering discrimination and even ostracism because their ancestors were involved in what used to be considered "unclean" professions, such as those involving the handling of meat or dead bodies |
| bushidō | in feudal Japan, the code of valuing honor more highly than one's own life |
| chigau | different |
| chikan | sexual pervert or molester |
| chirashi | advertising flyer |
| daimyō | feudal lord |
| Dōjin-kai | "yakuza" crime syndicate based in Fukuoka on the western island of Kyushu |
| eijūken | right of permanent residency |
| eijūsha | permanent resident |
| eikaiwa | English conversation as a skill or the school that teaches it |
| enkai | banquet or dinner party |
| fugu | blowfish (pufferfish) with toxic parts that must be removed by an expert before serving |
| furosato | native place |
| fusuma | vertical sliding panels to separate and extend rooms in a traditional Japanese house |
| gaiatsu | pressure from outside |
| gaijin | foreigner or non-Japanese, literally "an outside person" |
| gakureki shakai | a society based on academic credentials |
| gaman | patience or perseverance |
| geisha | traditional Japanese hostess skilled in classical arts and entertainments |
| gyōsei shoshi | administrative scrivener |
| gyōza | tasty Chinese dumpling with meat or vegetable filling |
| "Irasshaimase!" | "Welcome!" or "Can I help you?" |
| haiku | three-line verse consisting of 17 syllables with 5-7-5 distribution |
| hanzai | crime |
| hatago | inn, tavern |
| hikikomori | those leading an extremely reclusive lifestyle to escape from the demands of society |
| hiragana | one of the two kana syllabic scripts in modern Japanese; primarily used for native words and names (cf. "katakana") |
| honjin | luxury inn for government officials during the Edo period (1603-1868) |
| honne | the true state of affairs as opposed to the "tatemae" (how things seem) |
| ichigen kanri | unified or centralized management |
| ijime | bullying |
| ikebana | Japanese-style flower arrangement |
| izakaya | affordable Japanese working men's pub and eatery |
| jigoku | hell |
| juku | cram school |
| jukunen rikon | late-life divorce |
| kachō | section chief in a company |
| kaiseki | multi-course Japanese dinner, each course rather small but artistically presented |
| kaizen | business philosophy of striving for continuous improvement |
| kami | gods |
| kamikaze | means "divine wind" |
| kanji | the Chinese ideograms that serve to clarify meaning in written Japanese, a language with relatively few sounds and therefore many homonyms |
| karaoke | means "empty orchestra" |
| karate | means "empty hands" |
| katakana | one of the two kana syllabic scripts in modern Japanese; primarily used for foreign words and names (cf. hiragana) |
| kawaii | cute, adorable, desirable, gorgeous; "cool" |
| kimchi | hot and spicy fermented Korean cabbage or sometimes other vegetable |
| kokumin | citizens of Japan |
| kokusai kekkon | international marriage |
| kokusaika | internationalization |
| kotatsu | low table with a heat source underneath |
| ku | city borough or ward |
| kyōikuchō | head of the local board of education |
| mama-san | female supervisor of a hostess bar |
| meikaa no aji | processed foods |
| mizu shobai | "water trade" — a euphemism for Japan's ubiquitous bars and related entertainments |
| mochi | Japanese rice cakes made from pounded short-grain glutinous rice |
| mono no aware | acute awareness of the transience of everything in this life |
| "Mottainnai!" | "What a waste!" |
| musumeyaku | female actor assigned a female role in the all-female Takarazuka Revue |
| natsukashii | dear old... (referring to something fondly remembered) |
| nemawashi | "root binding" — consensus building ahead of a proposed policy change |
| Nihon kokuseki | Japanese citizenship |
| ninja | in feudal Japan this was a stealthy secret agent skilled at sabotage and assassination |
| ninjutsu | the art of unconventional warfare and espionage practiced by the "ninja" |
| nomiya | watering hole or drinking establishment |
| obentō | packed lunch or other meal in a box with compartments; lunchbox |
| Obon | Buddhist festival held each summer in one's "furosato" to honor ancestral spirits |
| ocha | green tea |
| ofukuro no aji | the taste of Mother's home cooking |
| omiyage | souvenirs |
| omoiyari | sympathetic consideration out of sensitivity to another person's wishes and feelings |
| origami | Japanese art of paper-folding |
| oshibori | hot towel to refresh travelers or restaurant and bar patrons |
| oshiya | "pushers" paid to squeeze passengers into overcrowded trains so the doors can close |
| otokoyaku | female actor assigned a male role in the all-female Takarazuka Revue |
| pan | bread |
| pan-ya | bread shop, bakery shop |
| rikon | divorce |
| ronin | "samurai" with no master, probably following the death or fall of his "daimyo" |
| ryōkan | Japanese-style inn or hotel |
| ryōtei | first-class traditional-style Japanese restaurant usually frequented by the elite |
| sake | Japanese rice wine |
| samurai | retainer of a "daimyo" and one who practiced "bushido" (see above) |
| sayonara | farewell or goodbye, especially when there are no plans to meet again soon |
| seiza | formal sitting posture that involves kneeling straight and sitting on your heels |
| sensei | respectful title given to a teacher, lawyer or other learned person |
| seshū seijika | politicians who have simply stepped into their fathers' shoes like hereditary peers |
| shamisen | traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument that is plucked with a plectrum |
| shihō shoshi | judicial scrivener |
| Shinkansen | means "new trunk line" — Japan's high-speed rail network or "bullet trains" |
| shōchū | Japanese alcoholic beverage that is stronger than wine but weaker than vodka and distilled from rice, sweet potatoes or barley |
| shōji | wood lattice panels backed with a translucent paper that are used to divide rooms or instead of curtains in a traditional Japanese house |
| shuriken | four-bladed "throwing star" used as a lethal weapon by the "ninja" |
| soba | buckwheat noodles |
| sugomori | those who spend all free time at home and shop online to save money in a recession |
| tanka | unrhymed poem consisting of five lines with a 5-7-5-7-7-syllable configuration |
| tatami | rice-straw mat used as flooring material in a Japanese-style home or room |
| tatemae | a facade that is put up, or how things are intended to appear to outsiders |
| teijūsha | long-term resident |
| tenjōin | tour conductor or guide |
| tōfu | soybean curd |
| tokubetsu | special; a special case |
| tsūkin jigoku | commuting hell, especially getting to and from work in Tokyo |
| udon | thick wheat-flour noodles |
| Wa | the old name for Japan which has become synonymous with "peace and harmony" |
| wagakuni | our country or homeland |
| waki-honjin | a smaller version of the "honjin" (see above), this was a semi-luxury inn where even general travelers with money and status could stay in the Edo period (1603-1868) |
| yakuza | either the Japanese mafia ("the yakuza") or one individual gangster ("a yakuza") |
| Yamaguchi-gumi | the name of Japan's largest organized crime syndicate |
| zairyū kādo | "residence cards" — introduced in 2012, these new-style ID cards must be carried by resident non-Japanese at all times, but they eliminate the need for visas to be entered in a passport, or re-entry permits if absences are less than a year |
| zazen | seated meditation in Zen Buddhism |
