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.