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).