ageya – a grand house where courtesans would meet their clients
bakufu – shogunate officials
daimyō – a lord from the Edo period
fūzoku – the sex industry in Japan
gaijin – literally ‘outside person’ – foreigner
gaikokujin – ‘outside country person’ – a polite way of referring to foreigners
horimono – a traditional Japanese tattoo (also known as irezumi)
horishi – a traditional Japanese tattooist
kumichō – the term of address used by yakuza to their boss
mizu shōbai – literally ‘the water business’ – a term used to represent night-time entertainment establishments in Japan who operate on the edge of the law
oyabun – a term of reference for a yakuza boss (this derives from the gang structure with a ‘father’ at the head of a family)
sōkaiya – yakuza-linked groups who infiltrate legitimate businesses
tayū – the highest rank of courtesan in the early Edo period
ukiyo – the floating world
ukiyo-e – pictures of the floating world
Living only for the moment, savouring the pleasures of the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms and the maple leaves; singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting ourselves just in floating, floating; unconcerned by imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the river current: this is what we call ukiyo, the floating world.
From Tales of the Floating World, Asai Ryōi, c.1665
Fall: Move from a higher to a lower level, typically rapidly and without control.
Oxford English Dictionary