beiju no iwai: Eighty-eighth birthday celebration.

daikon: Japanese radish.

haji: Disgrace, shame.

hara kiri: Ritualistic suicide by disembowelment.

ikebana: Japanese-style flower arranging; the art of floral arrangement.

Issei: First-generation Japanese immigrant in America.

-ken: A prefecture.

Nisei: American-born children of Japanese immigrants; second-generation Japanese Americans.

nitousha: Second-class carriage.

ochazuke: Boiled rice with tea poured on it.

orikaeshi unten: Shuttling back and forth.

sake: Japanese liquor; rice wine.

-sensei: A teacher.

Soryojikan: Consulate-general.

tonarigumi: Neighborhood association.

yen: The basic monetary unit of Japan.

yokatta: Good.