Glossary of Japanese Culture Words

Japanese words for culture, tradition, religion, food, and daily life are gathered here, each with a short meaning. Some are ordinary words. Others name an object, a custom, or an institution.

The list is mixed, and the glosses stay short enough for a quick meaning. Hashi is entered twice, once for chopsticks and once for a bridge, because those two words only share a spelling.

List of Japanese Words - Glossary

• -Cho - suffix used for the area in a city;
• -Chome - suffix used for the area in a city smaller than -cho;
• -Fu - urban prefecture;
• -Jo - suffix meaning "castle" as in Osakajo [Osaka Castle];
• -juku - suffix meaning postal city on one of the ancient roads of Japan, such as Tokaido and Nakasendo;
• -Ku - suffix for an administrative ward, as in Kita-ku;
• -Sama - polite suffix;
• -San - polite suffix, close to Mr., Ms., or Mrs.;
• -Shi - suffix meaning "city", so Kyoto-shi is the city of Kyoto;
• Aburatorigami - "oil-blotting paper", first used by geisha and kabuki actors and now common in skincare;
• Aburidashi - ninja technique of writing in invisible ink;
• Aikido - martial arts;
• Aimai - vague;
• Ainu - indigenous peoples of northern Japan and Hokkaido;
• Akari - Japanese paper lamps and lanterns;
• Akiba - abbreviation of "Akihabara", the famous electronics, gaming, and nerd culture district of Tokyo;
• Akiya - abandoned houses that are increasing, especially in the countryside, as Japan's population ages and young people move to cities;
• Amakudari - lit. 'descent from heaven', the practice of former bureaucrats of the public service taking executive positions in companies they had supervised in government;
• Amazake - a sweet drink made by fermenting rice with koji, or by sweetening sake lees. The name joins ama, sweet, and sake;
• ANA - All Nippon Airways
• Anime - a shortened form of the English word 'animation' referring to Japanese cartoons;
• Arigata-meiwaku - a favor that brings more trouble than help;
• Arubaito - part-time work from the German word for work Arbeit;
• Asagao - morning glory flowers;
• Atariya - "staged accident" or another incident of that kind, where a scammer pretends injury to gain financial benefit;
• Ateji - "called characters" the kanji used phonetically to represent words with little or no consideration to the underlying meaning of the characters;
• Awamori - strong alcohol from Okinawa;
• Baka - epithet for "stupid";
• Bakufu - lit. 'tent administration', the name given to the Tokugawa shogunate government during the Edo period;
• Bakumatsu - the end of the Bakufu government approximately 1853-1868;
• Bakuto - an illegal gambling gang from the underworld see Yakuza;
• Banto - the head clerk of a traditional shop, standing between the owner and the other staff;
• Banzai - traditional joy lit. "10,000 years";
• Batto-kannon - statue of Kannon with a horse's head to protect horses;
• Benten - popular goddess;
• Bigaku - aesthetics, the study of what counts as beautiful;
• Biru Bochi - rooftop cemeteries;
• Biwa - traditional four-stringed lute;
• Bonenkai - lit. "forget the year's party" year-end party at the workplace usually involving a lot to drink;
• Bonkei - a miniature landscape built on a tray with colored sand, small stones, and tiny models;
• Bonsai - the art of creating miniature potted plants;
• Bonseki - a miniature landscape of white sand and small stones on a black tray;
• Boryokudan - lit. 'violence syndicate' see Yakuza;
• Boso-zoku - motorcycle gang;
• Bugyo - Magistrate appointed by Tokugawa;
• Buke - the warrior houses, the samurai class. The plain, practical buildings associated with them are called buke-zukuri;
• Bushi - warrior class;
• Bushido - the way of the warrior, samurai spirit;
• Butsudan - Buddhist altar kept in homes;
• C-mail - the short message service provided by the au mobile operator;
• Chanoyu - the artistic and aesthetic discipline of the tea ceremony;
• Chikuwa - a tubular roll of cooked or grilled fish paste. Literally 'bamboo ring' from the method traditionally used to shape it;
• Chin-suru - microwave something
• Chinmoku - silence;
• Chochin - colorful paper lanterns found at temples, shops, and outdoor market stalls;
• Choju-giga - picture scrolls from the Heian period showing animals acting like people, often cited as an ancestor of manga;
• Chonmage - top knot used in the past by samurai and now by sumo wrestlers;
• Chozuya - water source in Shinto shrines for ritual purification of hands and mouth;
• CV - character voice, the performer who voices a character in anime or games;
• Daikoku - one of the seven lucky gods of Japan.
• Daikon - giant white oriental radish;
• Daimyo - provincial feudal lords during the Edo period.
• Danchi - blocks of public housing;
• Dango - dumplings, often served three to a skewer. The similar-sounding dangō means bid-rigging;
• Dojin - refers to a group with shared interests;
• Dojinshi - are works, often anime, manga, hentai etc., published by dojin groups;
• Dojo - practice room;
• Dokyosei - classmates;
• Dokyun - a mocking label for someone seen as crude or delinquent, close to the British word chav;
• Donabe - ceramic pots with lids;
• Dōro - a road, written 道路. A different word, doro, means mud;
• Doryo - colleagues;
• Ebisu - one of the seven lucky gods of Japan.
• Edokko - lit. 'Edo child' a person born in the center of Tokyo;
• Ema - an ema is a wooden plaque or board with a wish or prayer written on it hung at Shinto shrines;
• Engawa - a smooth strip of wood like a small porch around a traditional Japanese house;
• Engimono - lucky charms;
• Enjo kosai - compensated dating, a euphemism for students paid by older men for dates that can include sex;
• Enka - sentimental popular ballads. The older rural songs are called min'yō;
• Enryo - restraint;
• Ero-kawaii - erotic kawaii, a mix of sexy and cute;
• Freeter - a young person who makes a living from part-time work rather than a regular post. The word joins English free and German Arbeiter, worker;
• Fude - calligraphy brush;
• Fufu - husband and wife;
• Fugu - a pufferfish; poisonous fish eaten as a delicacy in Japan;
• Fuhai - corruption;
• Fujisan - Mount Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, at 3776 meters;
• Fukushin - reliable friends;
• Fundoshi - loincloth;
• Furigana - hiragana script to help with the pronunciation of kanji characters;
• Furin - wind chime;
• Furo - bath;
• Fusuma - sliding paper doors in traditional homes and temples;
• Futoko - the growing phenomenon of students refusing to go to school;
• Futon - traditional mattress laid on the floor for sleeping;
• Gagaku - ancient court music;
• Gaisensha - sound trucks, equipped with public address systems, used for advertising or by the right to broadcast their propaganda;
• Gals - urban fashion tribe;
• Gaman - endurance;
• Ganguro - fashion tribe that favors a tanned look;
• Garakei - a compound word from Galapagos Syndrome and keitaidenwa referring to old mobile phones;
• Gei-no-jin - TV "talent" or star;
• Gengo - name of the era such as Taisho, Showa, Heisei, Reiwa etc;
• Genkan - the genkan is the entrance area of a Japanese house where people take off their shoes;
• Geta - wooden sandals;
• Giri - a social duty owed to other people. Set beside ninjō, human feeling, it names the strain between obligation and personal feeling;
• Go - board game with black and white counters;
• Gokaido - the five main highways of the Edo period;
• Gokudo - gangsterism;
• Gomagi - a wooden stick with a prayer written on it, burned in the goma fire ritual of esoteric Buddhism;
• Green Car - The Green Car is equivalent to First Class on European trains or Business Class on airlines in Japanese trains;
• Gundam - legendary animated Japanese science fiction phenomenon;
• Hachimaki - a headband, tied on for work, sport, or resolve;
• Hagoita - a wooden paddle for the shuttlecock game hanetsuki, also sold as a decorated New Year ornament;
• Haiku - Japanese poem consisting of three lines arranged in a syllable count of 5-7-5;
• Hakimono - footwear: tabi, sandals, slippers, geta, setta, zori;
• Hakko Ichiu - "the eight corners of the world under one roof" military slogan from the early Showa period;
• Han - name for feudal territories during the Edo period;
• Hanami - flower viewing;
• Hanko - personal seal/stamp;
• Hanten - a padded cotton coat;
• Hanto - Peninsula;
• Haori - short kimono jacket;
• Haragei - "art of the belly" or mutual understanding;
• Haramaki - are traditional Japanese cotton belly warmers;
• Hashi - chopsticks;
• Hashi - bridge;
• Hihokan - a Japanese sex museum;
• Hikari - shinkansen express train;
• Hikikomori - a term for young people who become reclusive and refuse to leave their homes to interact with society at large;
• Hoji - Buddhist memorial service;
• Hori-kotatsu - sunken place in a tatami room covered with a kotatsu table;
• Hosutesu - "hostess", a woman who entertains men in a club for that purpose;
• Hosuto - "host", a man who entertains women in a club for that purpose;
• Hotei - god of happiness, derived from China;
• Hotto - "hot", meaning "hot coffee", a staple of kissaten;
• i-mode - wireless internet developed by NTT for its mobile phones and based on a compact version of HTML, not compatible with WAP;
• Ichirizuka - mounds of earth that indicate the distance of 1 ri
• Ijime - bullying;
• Ikebana - the art of arranging cut flowers;
• Ikigai - the concept of "a reason for being" or the pursuit of self-fulfillment;
• Ikki - to drink a drink in one go;
• Ikuji - childcare, the day-to-day work of raising a child;
• Inemuri - "sleeping while present" napping in public places, such as on trains,
• Irezumi - tattoo;
• Irori - traditional hearth or fireplace;
• Ishidatami - stone paving, including the stone roads of the Edo period;
• J-League - the Japanese professional football league formed in 1993. It now has three divisions: J1, J2, and J3, with J3 added in 2014;
• J-pop - Japanese pop music often featuring young idol singers, boy bands, and girl bands, such as Morning Musume;
• JAF - Japan Automobile Federation;
• JAL - Japan Airlines;
• japan - in lowercase means lacquer or urushi
• Jidai geki - samurai dramas on TV;
• Jika-tabi - rubber boots with toes;
• Jimmu - mythical first emperor of Japan;
• Jinja - shrine;
• Jitensha - bicycle;
• Jizai Kagi - fireplace hook;
• Jizo - Bodhisattva and protector of travelers;
• JNTO - Japan National Tourism Organization
• Joshi kosei - high school girls;
• Joshi-buka - the workplace pair of jōshi, a boss, and buka, a subordinate;
• Joyato - The stone lantern from the Edo era lit after dark to guide travelers;
• JR - Japan Railways;
• JTB - Japan Travel Bureau, the large travel company now called JTB;
• Juku - cram school;
• Kagura - kagura is a type of traditional music and dance approaching pantomime associated with the myths and founding gods and goddesses of Japan;
• Kaisha - company, business;
• Kaishaku - a second who delivered the mercy stroke to a samurai committing seppuku;
• Kaisoku - rapid train;
• Kaitenzushi - Japanese sushi restaurants where sushi rotates on a small conveyor belt;
• Kami - 'Gods' or Shinto spirits that can reside in animals, rocks, trees, and other natural phenomena;
• Kampo - Chinese herbal medicine;
• Kanzashi - ornate Japanese hairpins used in traditional Japanese hairstyles, usually representing flowers or animals;
• Kappa - mythical evil sprite resembling a frog;
• Karakuri - automated and mechanized dolls, automatons;
• Karoshi - death from overwork;
• Kashiwade - clapping the hands during worship at a Shinto shrine. At most shrines the order is two bows, two claps, and one bow;
• Kashu - singer;
• Katorisenko - incense coils repelling mosquitoes;
• Kayokyoku - popular songs;
• Keigo - honorific language;
• Keiretsu - a network of allied companies, tied by shares, suppliers, or a main bank;
• Keitai - the Japanese term for mobile phones or cell phones;
• Kempeitai - The Japanese military police founded during the Meiji period;
• Ken - means "prefecture" used as a suffix in 43 of Japan's 47 prefectures.
• Kendama - Japanese "cup and ball" game;
• Kendo - martial art using a sword;
• Ki - vital force;
• Kiku - chrysanthemum the imperial flower;
• Kimo-kawaii - creepy-cute, a style that puts the gross and the cute in the same figure;
• Kimono - traditional Japanese dress worn by men and women;
• Kisha - a reporter. Kisha clubs are the press clubs attached to ministries, companies, and other institutions;
• Kissaten - a small neighborhood café, of Japanese style, now being surpassed by coffee chains;
• Kiyome no shio - salt piled in a cone to purify an entrance;
• Koan - Zen riddle or fable;
• Kodo - the cultivation of mental composure by burning incense;
• Kodokushi - a lonely death: someone dies alone and is found only later;
• Kodomo - child;
• Kogal - Fashionistas based in Shibuya;
• Kokki - national flag;
• Kombu - seaweed or sea tangle used as a basic ingredient for stock.
• Kone - abbreviation of "connection", that is, being in favor of an insider;
• Kosatsuba - the official notice boards of the Edo period, and the spot where they were posted;
• Koshitsu - a private room, usually reserved for a group in a restaurant or izakaya;
• Koshu-Kaido - historic road from Shimo-suwa to Edo;
• Kotatsu - kotatsu are low heated tables covered with a futon;
• Kote-e - plaster relief art, colored reliefs most commonly found in warehouses, although also found in homes and temples;
• Koto - 13-string musical instrument;
• Kunaicho - Imperial Household Agency;
• Kura - warehouse with thick walls;
• Kusari-doi - rain chains in traditional Japanese buildings;
• Kuyakusho - ward office;
• Kyogen - short traditional plays associated with Noh;
• Kyoiku mama - "mother of education."
• Kyudo - Japanese archery. A martial art that emphasizes the balance between action and tranquility;
• Kyuko - common express train;
• Kyusu - Japanese ceramic teapots with a handle at a 90-degree angle on the side.
• LDP - Liberal Democratic Party, the dominant political party in Japan for much of the post-war period;
• Live house - live music venue;
• Lost Decade - the so-called period of economic stagnation in the 1990s, after the burst of the "Bubble Economy";
• Love hotel - a short-stay hotel paid by the hour for couples;
• Machiya - traditional residence;
• Majime - serious;
• Mama-san - bar or club owner female;
• Mamba - aka sub-tribe yamamba of ganguro;
• Mamushi - venomous snake;
• Maneki Neko - waving cats in ceramics thought to bring good luck.
• Manga - Japanese comic magazines, as popular among adults as they are with children.
• Manji - the Buddhist manji, the mark used for temples on Japanese maps. It is a swastika form with a history of its own, apart from the Nazi emblem;
• Manzai - A form of Japanese comic storytelling, performed by a duo, widely associated with Osaka;
• Matcha - powdered green tea;
• Matsukazari - branches of pine and bamboo wrapped in rice straw as New Year decoration;
• Meido kissa - maid café;
• Mizuko - a child lost through abortion, stillbirth, or miscarriage. Rites for these children are called mizuko kuyō;
• Namiki - trees planted to provide shade on the old road system;
• Naruto - popular manga and anime created by Kishimoto Masashi, and also the port city in northeastern Shikoku famous for the whirlpools of the Naruto Strait;
• Natsubate - the drained, listless feeling brought on by summer heat;
• Neko - a bottom, in gay language;
• Nemawashi - prior consultation in the business world;
• Nengajo - New Year card;
• Netsuke - carved wood or ivory fastener;
• NHK - Japan's public broadcaster for television and radio;
• Nihonjinron - theory of Japanese "uniqueness" developed in the 1960s;
• Nikko-kaido - historic road from Edo to Nikko;
• Ningyo - doll;
• Noh - a masked and highly stylized form of classical Japanese theater, developed in the 14th century and later refined to its current minimalism.
• Noren - a short curtain often hung at store doors, indicating that the store is open for business;
• NTT - Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation;
• Nyushi - entrance exam;
• O-chugen - gifts given in July for favors or services rendered;
• O-josan - a polite word for a young lady, often someone else's daughter;
• O-miyage - souvenir;
• O-seibo - gifts given in December for favors or services rendered;
• O-shibori - hot towels provided in cafés and restaurants;
• O-tsumami - snacks served in bars;
• Obi - an embroidered sash for a kimono;
• Ohaguro - custom of Japanese women blackening their teeth in the Edo period;
• Oibara - practice of seppuku after the death of one's lord;
• Ojigi - bowing;
• OL - abbreviation of 'Office Lady', a female worker;
• Omakase - "depends on you" or "leave it to you", often used in restaurants for chef or waiter recommendations;
• Omikuji - fortune-telling by divination;
• Omotenashi - Japanese hospitality. The welcoming relationship between host and guest with politeness but without servility;
• Oni - demon or ogre;
• Onigiri - a ball of sticky rice wrapped in seaweed that usually contains fish or pickled plum filling: umeboshi;
• Onnagata - man playing the role of a woman in kabuki;
• Oshu-kaido - northern road in the Edo period to Shirakawa in present-day Fukushima;
• Otaku - nerd hobby obsessed with manga, anime, games, or other subcultures;
• Owan - soup bowl with lid;
• Ozen - footed tray;
• Ozoni - soup with mochi eaten on New Year;
• Paris Syndrome - the distress some Japanese travelers feel in Paris when the city does not match the image they arrived with;
• Pasu - a "pass", as in a bus or train pass;
• Pocchiri - the buckle on a maiko's obi often decorated with gemstones;
• Puchi-pura - low-priced but presentable clothes and goods, from petit and price;
• Q-chan - the nickname of popular marathon runner and Olympic marathon champion from Sydney in 2000, Naoko Takahashi;
• Rakugo - traditional storytelling, often comedic;
• Remocon - Japanese abbreviation for "remote control";
• Retoro - "retro";
• Risutora - "restructuring" usually means downsizing financially troubled companies;
• Robatayaki - rustic style izakaya;
• Ronin - wandering masterless samurai; now used as a term for students retaking university entrance exams;
• Rotenburo - an outdoor bath, usually at a hot spring;
• Ryoshusho - a receipt from a bill: for example, from a taxi, hotel, or restaurant;
• Ryotei - luxury Japanese restaurant with private dining rooms;
• Sado - tea ceremony;
• Saikeirei - 90-degree bow as a final sign of respect;
• Sakoku - the Edo-period policy that restricted foreign trade and travel into and out of Japan;
• Sakura - cherry blossom;
• Salaryman - the Japanese term for a male office worker;
• Samue - casual Japanese clothing consisting of a matching loose jacket and pants;
• Samurai - The hereditary class of feudal warriors. Public wearing of swords was prohibited in 1876, as part of Japan's modernization. The word derives from saburau, which means "to serve";
• San-pee - san-pī, also written 3P, a sexual threesome;
• SDF - Self-Defense Forces. De facto armed forces of Japan;
• Seichi junrei - pilgrimage to a sacred place, now often seen in Japanese mangas;
• Seiza - the formal way of kneeling, with the legs folded under the body;
• Seku-hara - sexual harassment;
• Sempai - elder and thus superior in school or work;
• Senryu - humorous poem of haiku;
• Sensei - teacher, master;
• Sensu - a folding fan, often decorated;
• Seppuku - or ritual suicide 'harakiri' performed by disembowelment with a sword. A form of penance undertaken by samurai warriors;
• Shachihoko - mythical creature shachi with a tiger's head and carp body used to protect Japanese castles;
• Shaku - symbol of authority of smooth wood, similar to a scepter, carried by Shinto priests;
• Shakuhachi - a traditional Japanese bamboo flute, with colloquial meaning, especially among gay Japanese, of a blowjob;
• Shamisen - lit. "three-stringed instrument";
• Shibari - bondage by rope;
• Shibui - austere sense of beauty;
• Shichifukujin - the seven lucky gods of Japan;
• Shiken - exam, hence shiken-jigoku is "hell of exams";
• Shin-jinrui - lit. term "new human species" from the media for empty-headed and consumer-oriented youth;
• Shina - insulting and taboo word for China;
• Shinbutsu bunri - nationalist policy of the early Meiji period, of separating "imported" Buddhism from "native" Shinto;
• Shinnenkai - New Year kick-off party at the workplace;
• Shinto - native animist religion of Japan;
• Shitagi dorobo - thief of underwear who snatches women's panties from laundry lines;
• Shitamachi - downtown Tokyo;
• Shodo - calligraphy, lit. "way of writing."
• Shogi - Japanese chess;
• Shogun - military ruler;
• Shogunate - military government associated with the Tokugawa regime from 1603-1867;
• Shoji - paper-covered screens;
• Shugendo - syncretic Shinto-Buddhist sect;
• Shuji - calligraphy, lit. "practice of letters";
• Shukubo - temple accommodations;
• Soapland - bathhouses that offer sexual services;
• Sonno joi - "Revere the Emperor; expel the barbarian" Bakumatsu;
• Soroban - abacus;
• Soto - outside, public space;
• Soubetsukai - farewell to a colleague;
• Sumaho - a smartphone, shortened from sumātofon;
• Sumi-e - ink paintings;
• Sumiyaki - charcoal burners;
• Suribachi & Surikogi - mortar and pestle;
• Tabako - that is, "tobacco", meaning "cigarette";
• Tabi - split-toe socks;
• Tachi - a top, in gay language,
• Taiko - traditional drum;
• Taketombo - traditional flying toy made of bamboo that flies like a helicopter when spun from the hands;
• Tako - kite;
• Tanka - traditional form of poetry;
• Tanshinfunin - job transfer without the family;
• Tansu - traditional chest of drawers;
• Tanuki - raccoon dog often represented in ceramics;
• Tawashi - cleaning sponge, like kamenoko tawashi or hechima tawashi;
• Teiki-ken - train pass;
• Teineigo - polite language;
• Teishoku - a fixed meal served in restaurants, usually including rice, pickles, and miso soup;
• Tekireiki - the right age for marriage;
• Tengu - long-nosed demi-god, red face and mischievous, derived from Hindu Garuda; often represented in statues and masks;
• Tenugui - bath towel in onsen or sento;
• Terakoya - The primary schools of the Edo period usually located in Buddhist temples;
• Teshoku - hand-held candle holder;
• Togyu - bull wrestling, in which two bulls lock horns. It is still held in Okinawa and on the Oki Islands;
• Tokaido - ancient coastal road between Kyoto and Edo;
• Tokkuri - sake flask;
• Toko kyohi - school evasion;
• Tosa - Province of the Edo period in Shikoku now known as Kochi.
• Tsuba - sword guard;
• Tsukiai - keeping up a social tie out of obligation, including drinks after work;
• Tsukubai - stone water basin found in traditional Japanese gardens;
• Tsuru - symbol of the crane of long life;
• Tsuya - the wake, the night gathering before a funeral;
• Ubasute - the legendary practice of taking the elderly to the top of a mountain or remote place to die;
• Uchi - belonging to one's own house; compare soto;
• Uchikake - the outer kimono worn over a bride's wedding robes. The white head covering is the tsunokakushi;
• Uchimizu - spraying water outside a house or shopping often in summer to cool the local area;
• Udon - thick wheat noodles served in soup. Buckwheat noodles are called soba;
• Ukiyo-e - lit. 'images of the floating world'; traditional Japanese woodblock prints dating from the Edo period;
• Ume - plum;
• Umeboshi - pickled sour plums, eaten with rice;
• Unten-menkyo - driver's license;
• Usu - a mortar for pounding rice to make mochi;
• Utai - Noh chant;
• Wa - harmony also a prefix to denote Japanese;
• Wabi Sabi - a fundamental concept of Japanese aesthetics, emphasizing unpretentiousness, simplicity, earthiness, and satisfaction with imperfection;
• Wabori - Japanese-style tattooing done by hand;
• Waraji - straw fabric sandals;
• Warikan - splitting the bill;
• Wasabi - green horseradish, often consumed with sushi;
• Washi - Japanese paper, usually made from kōzo, mitsumata, or gampi fibers;
• Wasshoi - a rhythmic shout at festivals, used to keep a group in time;
• Yabai - can be translated as dangerous or risky;
• Yabusame - Japanese mounted archery, riders dressed in medieval attire shoot arrows at three fixed targets;
• Yaki-imo - baked sweet potato often sold by mini-van vendors with a distinctive call;
• Yakitori - grilled chicken on a skewer;
• Yakyu - Japanese baseball often associated with ideals of teamwork and intense physical practice;
• Yamato-damashii - Japanese spirit; word with militaristic associations;
• Yamato - historical word for Japan;
• Yatagarasu - three-legged crow and helper of Jimmu;
• Yatai - a small food stall, often with a counter and a few seats;
• Yatate - a portable case holding a brush and ink;
• Yofu - Western style, as opposed to wafu, Japanese style;
• Yokozuna - Grand Champion is the highest rank in sumo wrestling;
• Yosakoi - a team dance from Kochi, performed moving forward with naruko clappers. The music has to include a phrase of Yosakoi Naruko Odori;
• Yoshokuya - Western-style restaurants;
• Yuino - betrothal gifts exchanged by the families of the bride and the groom;
• Yukan - washing the body of a person who has died, before the funeral;
• Yukata - an unlined cotton kimono for summer, festivals, and inns, worn by men and women;
• Zabuton - a floor cushion. Za means sitting, and the second half is futon;
• Zaibatsu - conglomerates;
• Zazen - Zen meditation;
• Zen - a branch of Mahayana Buddhism;
• Zenekon - a general contractor on a large building project;
• Zentai - full-body Cosplay suits;
• Zoni - another name for ozoni, the soup with mochi eaten at New Year;
• Zori - flat fabric sandals made of straw worn by men and women;
• Zoto - the exchange of gifts between people or families;