To the Spring Equinox and Beyond

Glossary

bushukan: an irregularly shaped orange with finger-like extensions (hence the name bushukan, lit., Buddha's hand citrus)

fire fighter's standard: the banner of a company of firemen held up by their leader until the fire is extinguished

geta: wooden clogs

go: a game for two players using a board and small round white and black checker-like pieces

hakama: a pleated skirt worn over the lower half of a kimono

haori: a loose, knee-length coat

janome: (lit., serpent's eye) an umbrella made with a thin, lacquered bamboo frame and a dark-colored oil paper with a region of light color which looks like a bull's-eye

kana: the Japanese syllabaries as opposed to the Chinese characters

Kannon: in Buddhism, the bodhisattva of mercy

lower town: a literal translation of the word shitamachi, an appellation referring to Tokyo's low-lying areas, the home of the artisan and merchant

Meiji: the era lasting from 1868 to 1912; "the forties of Meiji" would thus be about the 1910s

miso: fermented soybean paste; used most commonly in making soup

Namu Amida Butsu: a prayer to Buddha meaning something like "Hail, merciful Buddha"

negake: a piece of jewelry for adorning a woman's top-knot

roman: a shortened form of "romance," "romantic," or "romanticism"

sabi: a term used of poetry, art, etc., often translated as "elegant simplicity"

sanjin: the pronunciation derived from Chinese of the characters usually pronounced yama-no-kami, literally "mountain god," but meaning a nagging wife

shimada: a bouffant hairstyle, worn by unmarried women

shoji: a sliding wood-framed door paneled with white paper; in a boardinghouse of the type Keitaro lived in, smaller shoji served as the window to a room, glass windows not being standard at the time

sushi: rice seasoned with vinegar, usually flavored with a kind of horseradish, and most often topped with a slice of raw fish or rolled with various ingredients in dried laver

tabi: a sock-like covering for the foot, having a separate section for the big toe

talami: thick rectangular rice-straw mats of set dimensions (about 1 x 2 m.) covered with woven rush, placed into and serving as the floor in most rooms of a Japanese house

tomobiki: (lit., friend-pull) one of six days used in divination based on ancient Chinese philosophy; as a day for a funeral it is thought to be inauspicious because a relative of the dead person might be pulled into death as well

yukata: an unlined cotton kimono for summer wear or night-wear