beings achieve complete Buddhahood
-jidōgyōgen| Amaterasu | the Shintō ‘Sun-Goddess’ |
| ankokuji | temples for the war dead |
| bosatsu | a bodhisattva; one who is dedicated to assisting all sentient beings achieve complete Buddhahood |
| bushidō | the way of the warrior |
| butsudan | family Buddhist altar |
| chadō | the way of tea |
| ch |
loyalty |
| daimyō | warlord |
| Dainichi | the ‘great’ or ‘central’ Buddha |
| danka | temple registration system under the Tokugawa |
| dog |
clay figures of females dating from the Jōmon Period |
| dōtaku | bronze bell-shaped artefacts dating from the Yayoi Period |
| eboshi | a cap worn by courtiers and samurai |
| feng shui | Chinese geomancy |
| Four Noble Truths | the fundamental insight or enlightenment of Buddha, relating to the existence of suffering and its cessation |
| fumi-e | image trampling to reveal secret Christians |
| goryō shinkō | vengeful spirits |
| goshintai | the object that houses a kami in a shrine |
| gunkimono | war tales |
| Hachiman | the Shintō god of war |
| hondō | the main hall of a Buddhist temple |
| hongan | original vow of Amida Buddha |
| honji suijaku | theory that Buddha manifested himself as the kami |
| ihai | memorial tablet |
| jing-ji |
shrine/temple complex |
| jinja | a Shintō shrine |
| junshi | following in death by suicide |
| kaihyōgō | ‘marathon’ pilgrimage on Mount Hiei |
| Kakure Kirishitan | Hidden Christians |
| kami | gods of Shintō |
| kami kaze | divine wind |
| kamidana | god shelf in the home |
| kannushi | a Shintō priest |
| kare-sansui | dry landscape garden |
| kata | style or form |
| kengō | master swordsman |
| Kirishitan | Christian of the 16th century |
| kō | filial piety |
| kōan | theme or problem in Zen |
| kofun | large burial mounds |
| kokugaku | national learning |
| kydō |
Japanese archery |
| mandala | artistic presentation of Buddhism |
| mappō | age of descent into chaos |
| matsuri | Shintō shrine festival |
| mikkyō | esoteric Buddhism |
| mikoshi | portable shrine |
| monto | disciple or believer |
| mujō | impermanence of all phenomena |
| musha shgyō |
warrior pilgrimage |
| nembutsu | invoking Amida’s name in prayer |
| norito | Shintō prayers |
| onryō | angry ghost |
| rōnin | masterless samurai |
| sabi | appreciation of that which is old, faded and rustic |
| senpuku Kirishitan | secret Christians under the Tokugawa |
| seppuku | suicide by disembowelment (hara kiri) |
| shaku | the wooden wand carried by Shintō priests |
| shikken | regency |
| shimenawa | the rope used to enclose sacred spaces in Shintō |
| shintai | same as goshintai |
| Shintō | religious system concerned with the worship of kami |
| Shogun | the military dictator of Japan from 1192 to 1868 |
| shōji | sliding paper screens |
| sōhei | warrior monk or priest soldier |
| sutra | Buddhist scriptures |
| Taoism | a belief system formulated in China by Laozi in the 5th century BC |
| torii | shrine gateway in the shape of the Greek letter ‘pi’ |
| ujiko | shrine adherents |
| wabi | quietness and tranquillity |
| yamabushi | mountain ascetic |
| yamato damashii | spirit of Japan |
| ygen |
mystery |
| zazen | sitting in meditation |