by Wen Spencer
Ryokan—A bed and breakfast where the rooms are traditional
Japanese with tatami mats and futon bedding. The style of the
rooms and method of dealing with the guests is what makes it a
ryokan versus a hotel. It may or may not have a hot spring bath.
If it does, then it’s a ryokan onsen.
Sake—Rice wine.
Salaryman—It’s a cobbled-together English phrase to mean
someone who earns a salary but typically means a man
who wears a business suit.
Seme—the aggressor of “Pitcher” in a yaoi manga. The related term,
Uke, is used for the “Catcher.”
Shide—A streamer made of paper that has been folded into a zigzag
shape. Sometimes they are tacked on to objects to create a ward
or mark the item as holy. Other times they are attached to
wands and used in rituals. The wand is called a haraegushi, or
lightning wand. When it is waved, it makes a rustling noise.
The wand is often used by Shinto priests and shrine maidens
in cleansing rituals.
Shikansen—Bullet train.
Shintai—The vessel of a Shinto god, or physical object serving as
a repository for the god.
Shoji—A door consisting of paper covering a wooden frame.
Because the paper is nearly translucent, a great deal of natural
light is able to shine through the door while still being able to
block out dust and insects. The paper is sold in sheets and
routine maintenance on the door is to remove the old paper
as it is torn and glue new paper into place.
Soto soto!—Outside, outside.
Sumimasen—basically means “I’m sorry’ but in the nature of
“I’m sorry to bother you” or “Excuse me.”
Tabi—These are traditional socks that have a notch between the big
toe and the second toe so that the foot fits easily into a sandal.
Taiko—Large drums usually played by ensemble group. The drums
are made from wooden sake barrels with skin stretched over
one end. They’re played with two wooden sticks.
Takoyaki—Fried octopus dumplings, a very common “street”
food often found at food courts, train stations, and festivals.
It’s topped with a BBQ-like sauce and sometimes mayonnaise.
It originated in Osaka. It’s usually found in eight packs,
reflecting the Japanese sense of humor and the fact that
octopi have eight tentacles.
Tanuki—A common animal found in Japan that fills the niche of
“raccoon,” complete with face mask but is more doglike in
build. It is often referred to as “raccoon dog.” (While on
Miyajima Island we came face-to-face with one in a back alley
one night—they are scary large despite their name.) The name
also refers to a trickster spirit (yokai) that can transform its
appearances, from someone the person knows to an object.
For some reason, they’re the patron saint of restaurants
and statues of them are often found by the front door of
an eating establishment.
Tansu—Traditional wooden storage cabinet, often bound with
metal, they were considered portable and designed to be easily
moved. They could be used for food, clothing, medicine,
or weapons. They were custom built for one specific item so
varied widely on size and shape. Some were chests, others
drawers, and others wardrobes. Occassionallt they were built
with a wheel-base to make it easy to move them long distances.
My favorite tansu are drawers stacked up in a manner that
allowed them to also serve as a staircase to a second floor.
Tatami—Straw bound into rectangular mats, which are
about two inches thick. Room sizes in Japan are measured
by the number of tatami mats that can be laid down on
the floor, thus the room might be a 4 tatami or 8 tatami room.
While new, they smell strongly of cut hay fields. The scent fades
over time although high humidity can renew the scent.
Japanese never walk on the tatami mats with shoes on and
don’t place chairs on these mats. In modern homes, only the
living room might be set up with tatami mats. In older, more
traditional homes, the bedrooms and the dining room
will also have mats.
Toire—Toilet or bathroom.
Toire wa doko desu ka—Where is the bathroom?
Torii—A structure of two post supporting a crossbeam, often
translated as “gate” although there’s no swinging gate or barrier
walls involved. They represent crossing from the real world to
the spiritual world. The kanji for this means “Bird Rest.”
Toryanse—This is an old children’s song, original unknown, that’s
been sung by Japanese children for generations. It is much
like “London Bridge” in that the children play a group game
which involves two people holding hands forming a “gate” and
the other children “passing through the gate” while the song is
sung. The child under “the gate” when the song ends is caught
and held prisoner. For some reason, the Japanese decided when
they first added sound to crossing lights to have this song played.
I love the melody but unfortunately the song has been slowly
changed over to a very piercing beep.
Tsuba—The hilt of a samurai sword. It is fashioned separately from
the blade and can be changed if the sword is dismantled into its
separate pieces. Generally it’s a disc of metal, several inches
across, with a slot in the center for the blade. Each tsuba is
handcrafted and has artwork painted onto the surface. The
artwork often relates to the samurai’s family mon.
Uke—The “Catcher” in a yaoi manga. This is normally the character
that is caught off guard by the approaches of the other character.
Often the uke is smaller and prettier than the seme.
Uchiwa—A fan that doesn’t fold, sometimes made of plastic,
traditionally made of bamboo and paper. At festivals, plastic
versions are passed out, often with pretty pictures on one side
and festival sponsor’s names listed on the other. Sometimes
also given out are fans from restaurants with pictures of
popular food dishes and their prices. Because festivals are in
the summer, are crowded, and have countless food stall is
pouring out heat, one often needs a fan and something cool to
eat or drink. You see uchiwa tucked up against the kidneys
of people wearing everything from yukata to blue jeans.
Wakarimasen—I don’t understand.
Yaoi—Homosexual comics, graphic in nature. (Nongraphic
homosexual comics are considered “boy’s love.”) The two main
characters are divided into the roles of uke and seme in terms of
which character is the aggressive personality in the relationship.
Oddly, the readership is mostly female.
Yen—Japanese monetary unit. One yen is roughly a penny.
A hundred yen is roughly a dollar. A thousand yen is ten dollars.
A hundred thousand yen is a hundred dollars.
Unlike Americans, Japanese embrace coins. In addition to one,
five, ten, and twenty-five yen coins, they
also have a fifty-yen
coin, a hundred-yen coin and a five-hundred-yen coin.
Men’s wallets normally have a coin section to make carrying
these coins easier. That said, Japan is quickly moving to a
cashless society with pre-paid cards and cell phone payments
being accepted in vending machines and many stores.
Credit cards, however, are quite rare.
Yokai—Supernatural being that generally fall into the “monster”
range as opposed to kami which are more “gods.”
Yuri—Lesbian comics, sometimes graphic in nature,
but not as often as Yaoi.
Yuri—Lily. Often used as an old fashioned girl’s name:
(Yes, I gave Pixii lily flowers on her yukata for a reason.)
Yukata—A summer kimono, less formal than a proper kimono,
often wore to festivals. Normally only teenage girls wear them,
but there are male versions of them. The girl’s yukata’s are
bright, flowery gowns, often in pastel colors. Boy’s are usually
much more plain and run towards tan and navy.
Yakuza—Japanese organized crime syndicates. Like most things
Japanese, they are steeped in tradition. Yakuza members often
sport elaborate and colorful full-body tattoos, but they only
reveal them to fellow yakuza. As a penance for failing some task,
they sometimes cut off parts of their fingers, starting with
the pinkie. This apology is the origin of “pinkie promise”
in Japan. Such self-mutation was in order to weaken the
man’s ability to fight, thus making him the need protection
of his organization more.
* * *
And the French!
Mon Ami—My friend
Monsieur Minon—Mister pussycat
Pour penser, il faut un cerveau—for thinking, a brain is necessary
