Glossary

Batto Kannon: This aspect of Kannon—depicted with a horse’s head on the headdress, or simply a horse’s head on a human body—is believed to expel evil spirits and to protect animals, particularly horses and cattle. Stone monuments engraved with his image are found by the roadside, particularly in northern and central Japan. Iconographically, he may appear with numerous heads and with as many as eight arms. See also Kannon.

bodaiji: A family temple.

chaya: A teahouse, or rest house, often at the side of a road. See also mine no chaya and naka no chaya.

ch’i: The primal energy from which the world is made.

chikuwa: A kind of fish paste often hardened into a small tube.

daikon: The large white Japanese radish.

dosojin: An old man and woman, often depicted with happy smiles, who protect travelers along their way. Their images are found engraved on stone monuments along the roads in Japan, although sometimes the monument will be engraved only with the Chinese characters . Of ancient Taoist origin, they have been incorporated into the Shinto pantheon.

furo (o-furo): The traditional Japanese bath, often made of cedar, tile, or, in times past, cast iron (a wooden false bottom is put in to keep bathers from being scorched). Before entering, the bather soaps off, rinses thoroughly, and then soaks for as long as he or she likes, depending on who’s next. Some o-furo are just big enough for one person, others for as many as six. The public baths are called sento.

futon: The folding mattress laid on the floor for sleeping.

gaijin: Foreigner. Short for gaikokujin, lit., “outside country person.”

guinomi: A small cup, often ceramic, used for drinking sake or tea.

gomen kudasai: Lit., “Excuse me.” Used to announce oneself at an entranceway to a house or shop.

gomen nasai: An apology (e.g., “I’m sorry.”).

haori: A Japanese half coat.

Heart Sutra (Hannya haramita kyo): A short sutra said to contain the essence of Buddhism.

honjin: The post town headquarters and officially designated inn for a provincial governor, warlord, or other important person.

waki-honjin: The supplementary honjin. Designated for important people, but for those less so than of honjin status.

hoshigaki: Dried persimmons. Usually prepared, peeled, strung together, and hung from a balcony.

iaido: The art of drawing the Japanese sword; sometimes called quick-draw swordsmanship.

ishitatami: Large, rough stones laid down to pave a road.

iwana: A char; a Japanese river fish (Salvelinus pluvius).

izakaya: A tavern or bar, often serving traditional snacks, something like Japanese tapas.

jinja: A Shinto shrine. Not to be confused with a tera or o-tera, which is a Buddhist temple. Sometimes both occupy the same grounds.

Jizo (Sanskrit, Ksitigarbha): A Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion. He appears with a shaved head, monkish robes, and a staff at the top of which are six rings. The rings not only jingle as he walks along, warning small animals to get out from underfoot, but represent the six realms within which we all transmigrate: hell, the realm of hungry ghosts, the realm of animals, the realm of humans, the realm of the angry gods, and the realm of the gods. He is particularly regarded as the savior of children, small animals, and travelers, and his stone monuments are seen by the roadside all over Japan.

kakehashi: A suspension bridge. Some were built to cross a river, but those in the Kiso were often constructed along a cliff or high bank on the side of a river.

kamidana: A household altar or small shrine for the family gods.

kampaku: The chief advisor to the emperor.

Kannon (Sanskrit, Avalokisteshvara): The Buddhist bodhisattva—sometimes referred to as a goddess—of mercy and compassion. This bodhisattva is depicted as either male or female but is always attired in beautiful flowing robes and with an otherworldly aura. Statues of Kannon are more likely to be found in temples or in temples grounds than by the roadside. Kannon is worshipped in almost all Buddhists sects in Japan. See also Batto Kannon.

karo: A small brazier put on a table, often lit by paraffin.

koi: , a carp. , love, passion. When written in the Japanese syllabary, , the meaning can be intentionally vague.

koma: Colt.

konbini: The Japanese shortened pronunciation of “convenience,” meaning “convenience store.”

koto: A thirteen-stringed musical instrument laid horizontally on the ground. Sometimes called a “Japanese harp.”

kotsuzake: Sake served over an iwana or some other river fish in a seven-or eight-inch horizontal “cup.”

kumayoke: A small bell rung to scare away bears that might be on or close to a mountain trail.

mame: Bean, also meaning “blister.”

mantra: A power-laden syllable or series of syllables that manifests certain cosmic forces or aspects of the buddhas. Continuous repetition of mantras is practiced as a form of meditation in many Buddhist schools (The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen).

masugata: A small square in the middle of a post town, constructed in part to slow down an invading army.

matsuri: A traditional Japanese festival, often honoring a god, a sacred object, or an event.

mine no chaya: A tea or rest house at the peak of a mountain or pass. See also chaya.

minshuku: An inn or private house, usually less expensive than a ryokan, lodging and serving meals to travelers. Meals are served in a common room.

mizubune: A water trough hollowed out from a single log, looking something like a small boat.

mujo: Impermanence. That all things are impermanent is one of the basic tenets of Buddhism.

naka no chaya: A tea or rest house halfway up a mountain or pass. See also chaya.

natto: Fermented soybeans.

nembutsu: Repetition of the sacred name of Amida Buddha (Sanskrit, Amitabha). It can be a prayer, chant, mantra, or act of devotion.

o-harai: A religious purification ceremony to cleanse both mind and body.

o-kami-san: Proprietress of an inn or eating establishment.

onsen: A hot spring. Believed to be of curative powers, some for very specific maladies.

ri: An ancient measure of distance, 2.44 miles.

ryokan: A traditional Japanese inn, with tatami floors in the guests’ rooms, futon as bedding, and meals often served privately.

shakuhachi: A five-hole bamboo flute, played vertically rather than horizontally.

shojin ryori: A vegetarian meal. Usually associated with the diet of Buddhist monks, but now served in an elegant fashion at the tea ceremony and some upper-class restaurants.

shuku: A post town.

ai-no-shuku: A small way station between post towns.

shukubo: A building in a temple compound reserved for pilgrims, travelers, and sometimes students.

takasho yakusho: A special office for inspecting the gathering and raising of hawk chicks.

tansaku: A short, stiff vertical strip of paper, used for samples of calligraphic poetry.

tanuki: Called a “raccoon dog,” it is neither raccoon nor dog but looks more like the former and is about the same size. Believed to be a shape-shifter and prankster, sometimes changing themselves into beautiful women and leading people astray.

tatami: The straw matting used for the floors in traditional Japanese houses. About six feet by three feet by one and a half inches thick.

toge: A mountain pass.

tokonoma: An alcove in a Japanese house, temple, or restaurant, in which is often displayed a hanging scroll, an arrangement of flowers, and/or some other artifact.

tokkuri: A small ceramic bottle for heating or serving sake.

tokubetsu junmai: An especially refined sake.

udon: Thick, white Japanese noodles.

umeboshi: A small, pickled Japanese apricot. The Japanese apricot (Prunus mume) is mistakenly called a “plum.”

unagi: A Japanese common eel, served grilled.

yukata: An unlined cotton garment similar to a bathrobe, worn after a bath or as an informal kimono during the hot summer months. Often of blue and white design.

zakkaya: A general dry goods or grocery store.