Notes to self: (Bah, need to go back and find my Japanese notes from high school D: Soooo out of practice...)

Japanese Vocab-

CLOTHES

Hakama- pleated, traditional Japanese pants

Haori- formal jacket (hip or thigh length)

Kimono- Japanese traditional garment (not always ankle-length, worn by both genders)

Furisode- formal kimono worn by unmarried women; long, hanging sleeves

Obi- sash

Dogi- martial arts uniform

WEAPONS

Naginata- 5-7 foot long pole weapon with ~12-inch long blade mounted on top; generally wielded by samurai, later by women in samurai class.
Designed to keep opponents at a distance and minimize disparities in height/weight/strength between the wielder and their opponent.

Tessen- Japanese war fan; used for signaling, clubs, warding off arrows/darts, throwing and slicing. Fan points are often sharpened.

Bo Shuriken- Throwing weapon; metal spike about 5-9 inches long, generally used as nuisance weapon.

Wakizashi- Traditional Japanese sword; blades usually about 12-24 inches long. Shorter than a katana, longer than a tantou. Usually worn with a katana (called daishou), used as a backup weapon or for committing seppuku; also used in close-quarters where a katana would be too long.

Monk's Spade- (Japanese: getsugasan) Pole weapon consisting of spade-shaped blade on one end and crescent-shaped blade on the other. Used by monks both for defense and to bury the dead.

PEOPLE

Geisha- Female Japanese entertainers; perform music and dance

Maiko- Apprentice geisha

Sensei- Martial artists often refer to their teacher as sensei; used to show respect to someone with mastery in an art form or other skill

Senpai- Senior student; Western equivalent to a mentor. In martial arts, they are highest-ranked students; expected to help sensei with younger, less experienced students.

Kohai- Junior student; Western equivalent to a protégé.

OTHER

Shamisen- Japanese 3-stringed instrument played with pick called bachi.

EXPRESSIONS

Anou- "Um..."

Sumimasen- "Excuse me"

Ohayo Gozaimasu- "Good morning" (formal)

Daijoubu- "It's/I'm okay"

--desu nee- Exclamation (end of a sentence)

--desu ka- Question (end of a sentence)

Nani/Nani desu ka- "What/What is that?"

Baka- "Idiot/stupid"

Hen- Weird

Totemo- "Very-" (used before an adjective)

Sou desu ne- "I see." (casual- 'sou ne.') -- Sou desu ka- "Is that so/Really?" (casual: 'sou ka?')

Youkoso- "Welcome" (greeting)