Bon Odori: Buddhist summer festival of the dead, which honors ancestors.
geta: Japanese wooden sandals.
hachimaki: A headband.
judo: A form of Jujitsu developed as a sport and a means of self-defense without the use of weapons.
kamaboko: Boiled fish paste.
Kibei: American-born person of Japanese ancestry sent to Japan for formal education and socialization when young and later returned to the U.S.
manju: Bean-paste bun.
mochitsuki: Rice cake making.
neesan: Older sister.
Nihonmachi: Japantown.
Nikkei: A person of Japanese ancestry.
Nisei: American-born children of Japanese immigrants; second-generation Japanese Americans.
Obon: The summer Bon festival, a Buddhist festival, which honors ancestors.
sake: Japanese liquor; rice wine.
Sansei: American-born grandchildren of Japanese immigrants; third-generation Japanese Americans.
shikata ga nai: It can't be helped. There's nothing one can do.
shogun: General, generalissimo.
sukiyaki: A Japanese dish of thinly sliced meat, onions, and other vegetables cooked quickly, often at table, with soy sauce, sake, sugar, etc.
taiko: Japanese drums.
usu: Mortar that can be used for making pounded rice cakes (mochi).