14 Glossary*

ai, love; specifically a superior's love of a dependent.

arigato, thank you; ‘this difficult thing.'

buraku, a hamlet of some fifteen houses; a district in a village.

bushido, ‘the way of the samurai.' A term popularized during this century to designate traditional Japanese ideals of conduct. Doctor Inazo Nitobe in Bushido, The Soul of Japan, itemizes as Bushido: rectitude or justice, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, loyalty, and self-control.

chu, fealty to the Emperor.

daimyo, a feudal lord.

donen, age-mates.

eta, a pariah class in pre-Meiji times.

geisha, a courtesan especially trained and given high prestige.

gi, righteousness.

gimu, a category of Japanese obligations. Vide Chart, p. 116.

giri, a category of Japanese obligations. Vide Chart, p. 116.

go, a unit of measure of capacity; less than one cup.

haji, shame.

haraki'ri or seppuku, suicide according to the samurai code. Seppuku is the more elegant term.

When no accent is indicated, give all syllables equal value. The accents which are marked are rough approximations meant only to help Englishspeaking readers. Vowels and diphthongs are sounded as follows:

a as in art i as in police

ai as in aisle ? as in tin

e as in get o as in pole

ei as in veil

g is always hard, as in go. u as in rude

hysteri, nervousness and instability. Generally used of women.

?nkyo, the state of formal retirement from active life.

Issei, an American of Japanese ancestry born in Japan. Vide Nisei.

?ssh?n, to restore, to dip back into the past. A slogan of the Meiji Restoration.

jen (Chinese), good human relations, benevolence.

jicho', self-respect; circumspection. ‘To double jicho with jicho,' to be superlatively circumspect.

j?n (written with the same character as Chinese jen), obligation which is outside the obligatory code. But vide ‘knowing jin,' p. 119, footnote.

jingi (variant of jin), an obligation outside the obligatory code.

jiri'ki, ‘self-help,' spiritual training dependent solely on one's own disciplined human powers. Vide tariki.

judo, a form of jujitsu. Japanese wrestling.

juj?tsu, Japanese wrestling.

kabuki, popular drama. Vide noh.

kagura, traditional dances performed at Shinto shrines.

kami, head, source. Shinto term for deity.

kamika'ze, ‘divine wind.' The hurricane which drove back and overturned Genghis Khan's invading fleet in the thirteenth century. The pilots of suicide planes in World War II were called the Kamikaze Corps.

katajik?nai', thank you; ‘I am insulted.'

kino do'ku, thank you; ‘this poisonous feeling.'

k?nsh?n, repentance. A period of withdrawal to remove ‘the rust of the body.'

ko, filial piety.

koan (pronounce ko-ari), problems having no rational answer, set by the Zen cult for those in training.

ko-on, obligation to the Emperor, the State.

magokoro, ‘sincerity.'

makoto, ‘sincerity.'

Meiji Era, the period of the reign of the Emperor Meiji, 1868–1912. It designates the beginning of the modern era in Japan.

moxa, powdered leaves of a certain plant, which are burned in a cone on the surface of the body for curative purposes. It cures ailments and naughtiness.

muga, the elimination of the observer-self achieved by those who have taken training.

nar?k?n', nouveau riche. ‘A pawn promoted to queen' (chess).

n?rva'na (Sanskrit), final emancipation of the soul from transmigration; state of not-being; absorption into the divine.

Nisei, an American of Japanese ancestry born in the United States. Vide Issei.

noh, classic drama. Vide kabuki.

nushi, master.

on (pronounce own), a category of incurred obligations. Vide Chart, p. 116.

oya, parents.

ron?n, in feudal times samurai retainers who, because of disgrace or because of the death or dishonor of their overlord, had become masterless men.

sake (pronounce sa-ke), a rice-beer which is the principal alcoholic drink of the Japanese.

samurai, in feudal times the warriors, two-sword men. Below them were the common people: farmers, artisans, and merchants.

satori, Buddhist enlightenment.

seppu'ku or haraki'ri, suicide by piercing the abdomen. In feudal times it was the exclusive privilege of the nobles and samurai.

shogun, in pre-Meiji times the actual ruler of Japan; succession was hereditary as long as a family could remain in power. The Shogun was always invested by the Emperor.

shuyo, self-discipline; mental training.

sonno joi, ‘Restore the Emperor and expel the barbarians (Westerners).' A slogan of the Meiji Restoration.

sumimaseri', thank you; I'm sorry; ‘this never ends.'

sutra (Sanskrit), short collections of dialogues and aphorisms. The disciples of Gautama Buddha wrote such sutras in the conversational idiom of their day (Pali).

tai setsu, Higher Law.

tori'ki, ‘help of another.' Spiritual blessing which is an act of grace. Vide jiriki.

tonari gumi, small neighborhood groups of about five to ten families.

yoga (Sanskrit), a form of ascetic philosophy and practice prevalent in India from earliest historical times.

zaibatsu, big business; influential members of the economic hierarchy.

Zen, a Buddhist cult introduced from China and important in Japan since the twelfth century. It was an upper-class cult of the rulers and warriors and still contrasts with the great tariki Buddhist cults with their huge membership.