{"id":547,"date":"2013-10-19T02:55:24","date_gmt":"2013-10-18T17:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/?page_id=547"},"modified":"2015-01-24T03:53:11","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T18:53:11","slug":"glossary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"Glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below is a list of terms used in the story that western readers may not be familiar with. Commonplace words (such as ‘samurai’) have been excluded. Updated: Dec 24, 2014 (Book II Part\u00a013)<\/em><\/p>\n

Yokai<\/span><\/p>\n

Yokai<\/strong> – Term used for a variety of Japanese spirits\/demons, sometimes spelled ‘youkai’<\/p>\n

Jorogumo<\/strong> – Spider yokai often appearing as a beautiful woman, eats humans
\nKappa<\/strong> – Tricky water spirits, known for drowning humans and their love of cucumbers
\nKasa-obake<\/strong> – Old umbrellas\u00a0that have come to life after 100 years
\nKitsune<\/strong> – Fox capable of shapeshifting, portrayed as both michevious and beneficial
\nMoryo<\/strong> – Child-sized yokai known for eating corpses
\nMujina<\/strong> – Badgers, known for appearing as a human without a face
\nNekomata<\/strong> – Supernatural cat with a forked tail, said to have once been a normal housecat
\nNurikabe<\/strong> – Spirit that appears as a wall, often misdirecting humans by changing shape
\nOni<\/strong> – Large, similar in appearance to a demon or ogre — they have horns and their skin can come in many different colors (usually red or blue)
\nRokurokubi<\/strong> – Yokai nearly identical to humans with necks capable to stretching to great lengths
\nShisa<\/strong> – Lion-dogs, used as guardian symbols in Okinawa
\nTanuki<\/strong> – Raccoon-dogs with exemplary shapeshifting skills — they often enjoy causing trouble
\nTengu (Karasu)<\/strong> – \u00a0Humanoids with crow\/raven features, known for living in mountains and their skill with swords \/ Note:<\/em> Tengu with a red face and long nose are ‘Dai (great) Tengu [\u5927\u5929\u72d7],’ which are different from ‘Karasu Tengu [\u70cf\u5929\u72d7].’ Even so, they are commonly portrayed together.<\/p>\n

Fictional Place Names<\/span><\/p>\n

Furubashi<\/strong> – (\u53e4\u6a4b) Old bridge
\nKurohane<\/strong> – (\u9ed2\u7fbd) Black wing
\nSenba<\/strong> – (\u5343\u7fbd) Thousand feathers
\nUrameshiya<\/strong>\u00a0– (\u88cf\u98ef\u5c4b) Phrase used by ghosts to express resentment, kanji\u00a0can mean ‘back food shop’<\/p>\n

Japanese Terms<\/span><\/p>\n

Anko<\/strong> – A sweet paste made from red beans
\nBikuni<\/strong> – Japanese spelling of bhikkhuni, a term for\u00a0a female monk
\nBiwa<\/strong> – Short-necked lute with four or five strings
\nDaimyo<\/strong> – Powerful feudal lord, ruled over large amounts of land
\nDorayaki<\/strong> – Red bean pancake
\nFugu<\/strong> – Puffer fish\/Blowfish
\nGeta<\/strong> – Elevated wooden sandals
\nGyokuro<\/strong> – Valuable form of green tea grown in the shade
\nHakama<\/strong> – Long, pleated pants\/skirt
\nHaori<\/strong> – Lightweight jacket with long sleeves
\nJan ken pon<\/strong> – Rock paper scissors (janken translating to ‘two fists’)
\nJinkoh<\/strong> – Incense used in religious ceremonies
\nKagura<\/strong> – Traditional Shinto dance
\nKampo<\/strong> – Japanese traditional medicine adapted from China, uses herbs and acupuncture
\nKanpai<\/strong> – Cheers!<\/code>
\nKarasu<\/strong> – Crow\/Raven
\nManju<\/strong> – Dumpling-sized sweets with red bean filling
\nMiko<\/strong> – Shinto shrine maiden
\nMochi<\/strong> – Rice cake
\nMon<\/strong> – Copper coin of low value (roughly 10 cents)
\nNabe<\/strong> – Hot pot prepared with various ingredients (meats\/vegetables), often eaten in winter
\nNaginata<\/strong> – Long pole-arm with a wooden handle and a blade on one end
\nObi<\/strong> -Sash\/belt used for kimono and yukata
\nRyo<\/strong> – Gold coin of high value (roughly $500)
\nRyokan<\/strong> – Traditional inn
\nSasumata<\/strong> – Spear with a forked end, used by feudal police to capture criminals
\nSekihan<\/strong> – Rice made red by boiling with azuki (red bean)
\nSencha<\/strong> – Common form of green tea
\nShaku<\/strong> – Unit of measurement (roughly 1 foot\/30 cm)
\nShakujo<\/strong> – Staff with metal rings at the head, used by monks for ceremonies and travel
\nShamisen<\/strong>\u00a0– Three-stringed musical instrument
\nShogi<\/strong>\u00a0– Traditional game similar to western chess
\nSika<\/strong>\u00a0– Spotted Asian deer
\nSoba<\/strong>\u00a0– Noodles made from buckwheat, served hot or cold
\nSugegasa<\/strong> – Conical straw hat worn by travelers and farmers
\nTamagozake<\/strong>\u00a0– Cold remedy made of raw egg, sugar, and sake
\nTanto<\/strong>\u00a0– Dagger, sometimes carried by samurai in combination with a katana
\nTasuki<\/strong>\u00a0– Cord used to tie up sleeves while working
\nTatami<\/strong>\u00a0– Floor mats made of straw
\nTorii<\/strong> – Red gates marking the entrance to a sacred place
\nWakizashi<\/strong> – A short sword,\u00a0sometimes carried by samurai in combination with a katana
\nYukata<\/strong>\u00a0– Casual cotton robe worn by men and women, usually in warmer months
\nZazen<\/strong>\u00a0– Act of sitting in meditation
\nZendo<\/strong>\u00a0– Temple hall used for meditation<\/p>\n

Plants<\/span><\/p>\n

Azuki<\/strong>\u00a0– Red beans
\nAshitaba<\/strong> – Leafy perennial used in folk medicine
\nMikan<\/strong> – Small citrus fruit, similar to a tangerine
\nDaikon<\/strong> – Large white radish, can grow over 1 foot long
\nHatomugi<\/strong> – Commonly known as Job’s Tears, grains are used for food and medicine
\nHinoki<\/strong> – Japanese cypress tree
\nKabocha<\/strong> – Green, pumpkin-shaped winter squash
\nKuri<\/strong>\u00a0– Japanese chestnut
\nKuzu<\/strong> – Fast growing vine, also known as kudzu
\nMomo<\/strong> – Peach
\nNatsume<\/strong> – Fruit commonly known as jujube, or red date
\nOgi<\/strong> – Commonly known as astragalus
\nShiso<\/strong> – Pointed leaf with a sharp minty taste
\nSugi<\/strong> – Japanese cedar tree
\nTaro<\/strong> – Root vegetable, toxic when raw
\nWakame<\/strong> – Seaweed used in cooking
\nZenmai<\/strong> – Fern with edible fronds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Below is a list of terms used in the story that western readers may not be familiar with. Commonplace words (such as ‘samurai’) have been excluded. Updated: Dec 24, 2014 (Book II Part\u00a013) Yokai Yokai – Term used for a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-547","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":883,"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/547\/revisions\/883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jisukcho.com\/karasu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}