baishakunin: Go-between for arranged marriages; matchmaker.
haiseki: Discrimination; ostracism; rejection.
hiragana: The Japanese alphabet, written with a cursive style.
Issei: First-generation Japanese immigrant in America.
katakana: The Japanese alphabet, written with a square style.
Obon: The summer Bon festival, a Buddhist festival, which honors ancestors.
shakuhachi: Five-holed bamboo wind instrument.
shamisen: A Japanese instrument, similar to a banjo.
sumi: Black-and-white ink painting.