atarimae: Of course; naturally.

hakujin Caucasian(s); white(s).
hiragana: The Japanese alphabet, written with a cursive style.

Issei: First-generation Japanese immigrant in America.

kamaboko: Boiled fish paste.

katakana: The Japanese alphabet, written with a square style.

miso: Soybean paste, often used in Japanese cooking.

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

odori: Dance; dancing.

okazu: Side dish; accompaniment for rice dishes.

oshoyu: Soy sauce.

Sansei: American-born grandchildren of Japanese immigrants; third-generation Japanese Americans.

sensei: A teacher.

shakuhachi: Five-holed bamboo wind instrument.

shamisen: A Japanese instrument, similar to a banjo.

shikata ga nai: It can't be helped. There's nothing one can do.

shoji: A translucent sliding panel of rice paper on a wooden frame, used in Japanese homes as a partition or door.

taiko: Japanese drums.

yoshi: An adopted son; a son-in-law; a man who marries the eldest daughter in a family without sons and is adopted into her family to carry on the family name.