The Nicholas Linnear Novels (162 page)

In Itami’s house—
his
house, should he wish it—the modern-day Japan had not yet come. The feudal
hand
still resided there, proud and splendid and eternally victorious. Honor lived there, as well as courage.

Nicholas, taking Justine’s hand in his, thought it would be the perfect spot to teach a new spirit what life was all about.

aikido—ai
, HARMONY; KI
,
energy;
do
, the way. A discipline of hand-to-hand martial arts employing pivoting movements to neutralize an attack.

Aisha seishin
—in business, devotion to the company.

a
ka-i-ninjutsu
—literally, “red
ninjutsu.
” Used for good.

akuma
—an evil spirit: a devil.

akuryo
—a battle mask in the shape of an evil demon’s face. See
mempo.

ama-gasa
—an umbrella.

anata
—the polite form of “you” used by women.

atemi
—one of a number of percussive strikes in
aikido.

baishun
—literally,
the selling of spring
; prostitution.

bokken
—wooden practice sword used in
kenjutsu
training.

bonbori
—paper lanterns traditionally hung during
hanami.

Boryokudan
—a gang of thugs employing extremely violent tactics. Its members are not bound by the code of honor of the
yakuza.

bujutsu
—generic heading for all Japanese martial arts.

bushido
—
samurai
’s strict and unforgiving code of honor.

-chan
—informal suffix to a name indicating love and a certain special closeness.

chano-yu
—the tea ceremony.

cho
—districts within a city’s wards.

chome
—subdistricts within a city’s
cho.

chimin
—tactical unit leader within a particular
ninja
school or clan.

dai-katana
—longest of the
samurai
’s
katana
, or long swords.

daikon
—a white radish.

daimyō
—a feudal warlord.

dan
—any of a number of black belt or highest rankings in
aikido.

denka no hoto
—bureaucratic phraseology for the
katana
, the
samurai
sword.

dohyo
—a
sumo
ring, where the wrestling is performed.

dojo
—physical school of martial arts, the place of practice.

domo arigato
—thank you very much.

ekika
—in hand-to-hand combat, a vital spot just beneath the armpits.

feng shui
—Cantonese for geomancer: he who reads portents in the cardinal elements of life: earth, air, fire, and water.

fusuma
—opaque sliding door in the interior of a Japanese house.

futon
—a thick, flexible mattresslike quilt for sleeping.

Fuyajo
—literally, “The Castle That Knows No Night,” the name of a
geisha
house. See
geisha
and
Yoshiwara.

gaijin
—a foreigner.

gakubatsu
—the bond between school classmates that extends on into business life.

geisha
—one trained in the arts of entertainment.

genin
—a
ninja
agent within a particular school or clan.

geta
—wooden clogs.

getsumei no michi
—literally, “the moonlit path”; a level of awareness suspended between the conscious and the subconscious.

gi
—the costume worn during the practice of martial arts.

giri
—the concept of debt, usually moral.

goho-no-kamae
—a specific opening stance in spike and chain combat. See
manrikigusari.

gunsen
—a war fan, usually made of iron.

h’eung yau
—literally, “fragrant grease”; Cantonese for a bribe.

hachimaki
—a cloth wrapped around the forehead of a warrior.

haha
—mother, informally or lovingly.

hai
—yes.

haiku
—a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables which strives to encompass a maximum of content and emotion in a minimum of space. A microcosm of Japanese life.

hakama
—a traditional black divided skirt worn by
sensei
in certain forms of martial arts; part of the
gi.

hanami
—three days of cherry blossom viewing.

Hang Seng
—the Hong Kong stock exchange.

hara
—to be grounded within oneself, to possess force of spirit, inner strength; therefore, to garner respect. Most prized by Japanese.
Hara
resides in the lower belly.

haragei
—in the martial arts, a form of sixth sense.

hera-mochi
—literally, the one with the right to hold the spoon used to serve rice; the head of the household; the mother.

hinin
—the lowest level of Japanese caste society. Traditionally, all
ninja
families originated in the
hinin.

hiragana
—the basic Japanese language, consisting of forty-eight phonetic syllables adopted from Chinese Mandarin.

hito washi
—“the human eagle,” a makeshift glider
ninja
learn to construct.

iai
—the art of drawing a weapon—usually a
katana
—and striking in the same motion. May be effected from a position of seeming unpreparedness.

ichi
—literally, “position”; an offshoot of
kiai
, using the voice to influence the enemy’s thought or action.

ichomage
—the traditional intricate coiffure of the grand champion, or
yokozuna sumo.

Ikagadesuka
—the equivalent of “Hello, how are you?”

ikebana
—the art of flower arranging.

irimi
—exercise variations of
jo-waza
, stave
aikido.

Iss-hogai
—literally, “for life”; the name of a
katana.

iteki—a
barbarian; a derogatory term devoid of all respect.

jaho
—magic.

janomegasa
—a rice-paper umbrella.

Jinno Shotoki
—one of the great books of teaching in the Shinto religion. It was written in 1339 by Chikafusa Kitabatake.

jit suryoko
—superhuman powers. See
akuma.

jitsu
—fullness, as in breathing.

jo-waza
—the martial art of stave
aikido.

jonin
—leader of a
ninja
school or clan.

joss
—Chinese term used variously for luck, destiny; akin to
karma.

joss stick
—incense.

juka
—the organ meridian on the human body just beneath each ear. See
kyukon.

juku—
an elite private study group to aid Japan’s best students.

junsuisei
—the purity of resolve.

k’ai ho
—Mandarin ideogram meaning, variously, a gap, an opportunity to be seized; spies. A term used by Sun Tzu in his
Art of War.

kabuki
—a form of highly stylized Japanese theater employing masked actors.

kamae
—one of a number of opening stances in spike and chain combat. See
manrikigusari.

kami
—a spirit, ancestral or otherwise.

kamikaze
—literally, “divine wind.” Self-destruction in war for the good of the Emperor.

kamiza
—the upper seat of the
aikido
practice mat. The place of honor reserved for the
sensei.

kamuro
—a serving girl to
geisha.

kan
—a status of power bestowed upon the bureaucrat by Imperial appointment. Originally from the Mandarin, meaning the home of the man presiding over a city.

Kan-aku na ninjutsu
—literally, “black
ninjutsu.
” Invariably used for evil, the most virulent sub-discipline of which is
Kuji-kiri.

kanji
—the written Japanese language.

kanryodo
—the Way of the samurai-bureaucrat; a modern martial art purely of the mind.

kanzashi
—traditional long hairpins, usually made of carved wood, ivory, or tortoiseshell; usually part of a set. See
kushi.

karma
—one’s destiny.

karyukai
—literally, “the flower and willow world.” See
Yoshi-wara.

katakana
—adjunct syllabary in the Japanese language used to introduce colloquialisms and words of foreign origin. See
hiragana.

katana
—the
samurai
’s longsword.

kataribe
—professional language memorizers used before the beginning of the Japanese written language (prior to the fifth century A.D.).

katsu
—a form of deep resuscitation.

keibatsu
—the bond created by blood or marriage into a family.

keiretsu
—an industrial conglomerate of companies.

Kempeitai
—in the present, the military police; during World War II, the secret police.

ken
—the standard six-foot unit of house construction.

kendo
—the art of the sword from an educational point of view; viz. technique is translated as
do
, meaning a spiritual path. See
kenjutsu.

kenjutsu
—the art (
jutsu
) of the sword (
ken
) in a combative, practical sense. See
kendo.

ki
—inner energy required for any of the martial arts.

kiai
—a shout to startle and frighten an enemy.

kimono
—a traditional robe, usually of silk or cotton, worn by both men and women.

kin-yu keiretsu
—financial linkages. The basis of
keiretsu.

kite
—one of a number of vicious percussive blows using either the edge of the hand or the tips of the fingers in concert.

Kobudera
—a form of evil magic employed by the
Kuji-kiri.

kobun
—a company; part of a
keiretsu.

Kodomo-gunjin
—literally, “little soldier.” A name as an endearment.

kogen
—the Japanese highlands.

kokuhisho
—black-skin syndrome caused by the inclusion of a coal tar dye in women’s skin cream.

kokyu suru
—in certain martial arts, an attack stance; to breathe.

komuso
—a wandering ascetic; the ideogram used at the center of the
Kuji-kiri ninja
crest.

konzern
—division of a
keiretsu
conglomerate, broken down by industry.

koppo
—the martial art of breaking bones.

ku
—wards, the broadest area designations, within a city.

Kuji-kiri
—literally, “nine-hands cutting”; a form of black
ninjutsu.
See
Kan-aku na ninjutsu.

kushi
—traditional comb used in the hair, usually part of a set. See
kanzashi.

kyo
—emptiness, as in breathing.

kyodobatsu
—the bond between men born in the same prefecture or town.

Kyoiku mama
—an education mother; one who helps her children in their academic studies.

kyudo
—a martial art.

kyukon
—the nine organ meridians on a human body.

kyusho
—vital spots.

mabiki
—the weeding-out process used to rid a school or bureau of undesirables.

maho-zukai
—a sorceror.

makiotoshi
—in spike and chain combat, a move to wind the chain about the opponent’s neck. See
manrikigusari.

manrikigusari
—literally, “the chain with the strength of ten thousand men,” a martial arts weapon consisting of a steel chain weighted at both ends.

mempo
—a battle mask made of hinged steel.

menju fukuhai
—literally, “reversing in the belly.” Slang phrase used by bureaucrats still under the domination of the American Occupation. It meant carrying out American orders on the face of it while reversing policy after some time had passed.

michi
—a path; a journey; duty; the unknown; a stranger.

mie
—a stylized pose used in
kabuki.

miira
—a mummy.

miko
—a sorceress; a maiden in the service of a shrine.

mochi
—traditional rice cakes eaten at New Year’s.

montsuki
—part of the traditional dress of the
sumo
grand champion.

muhon-nin
—a traitor.

musubinawa—
an eight-meter coil of rope made of women’s hair. See
rokugu.

naga-hibachi
—a kind of stove.

nariyuki no matsu
—to wait for the turn of events; to be patient.

nekode
—cat’s claws made of forged steel. See
rokugu.

netsuke
—carvings of ivory or wood, traditionally used to tie off the strings of an
inro,
a carved box, worn around the waist when dressed in a kimono, in lieu of pockets.

ninja
—literally, “in stealth.” A Japanese assassin.

ninjutsu
—a wide field of subspecies of martial arts studied by
ninja.

Noh
—serious Japanese drama.

oba-chama
—grandmother.

Oba
—mother, formally.

obi
—wide silk sash used to hold kimono in place.

ochugen
—in business, a mid-year gift.

Ogawa-no-jutsu
—the arcane art of breaking down toxic substances inside the body. Part of
ninjutsu.

ogi
—a folding fan.

oiran
—a full-fledged
geisha.
There are three levels, of which
tayu
is the highest.

Okagesamade
—the equivalent of “I am fine.” See
Ikagadesuka.