10 Things You Should Know About One Piece's Eiichiro Oda

Did you know in Anime?

• That the first ever TV series in Japan was Tetsuwan Atom, a.k.a. Astro Boy, based on the manga by Osamu Tezuka?
• That the AT Field in Evangelion is an actual term used in psychology, which refers to the mental barriers erected by autistic children?
• That there exist two movies by AIC (Bubblegum Crisis, Gall Force) which assemble many characters from their different series and that you can see Sylia Stingray in Super Deformed?
• That the Japanese clap prior to praying?
• That the most popular Sailor Moon character in Japan is Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury?
•  That manga forms a third of the printed material in Japan?

Naruto Fun Facts

1. Shino and Ino rhyme but of course you now know that from the first fact but did you ever notice that….Kabuto and Naruto rhyme?
2. Lots of Japanese people put their last names first like Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, in English it's the first name first (lol,obviously), Rock Lee's last name is Rock---have you ever heard someone say his name as "Lee Rock"?
3. Everyone from the Sand Team has something on their back and it's essential for their battles.
4. GaaLee and ShikaTema are popular couples/pairings because Gaara saved Lee from Kimimaro and Temari saved Shikamaru from Tayuya, but why isn't KanKiba (KankuroxKiba) a popular couple if Kankuro saved Kiba from Sakon and Ukon?
5. In episode 1, when Sasuke and Naruto kissed Naruto didn't have his whiskers! Don't believe me? Watch it again!! It's so hilarious how everyone concentrates on that moment and puts it in their AMVs or profiles or make it their avatar but nobody ever noticed. XD
6. In the episode when Ino was talking to Chouji about girls not liking fat guys and guys not liking fat girls, Shikamaru winked at Ino when she was walking away, what was that about??X3
7. In the ending "Yellow Moon" all the girls have cell phones, yet cars and guns were invented before cell phones were invented, why aren't there any cars or guns? Or who cares, they'd ruin the anime anyways XD
8. When Sakura was in the Hidden Village of Tea and she was shopping, she saw keychains that looked exactly like Pakkun, Tonton, Gamabunta and Akamaru yet she didn't look surprised, she only commented that they were expensive.
9. In the Japanese version (original) Naruto's name is pronounced Na-ru-to, in the English version Naruto's name is pronounced Nar-u-to, isn't that a bit weird?
10. In the Japanese version (original) Konohamaru's name was pronounced KonohaMAru with the accent on the MA, in the English version (dubbed) Konohamaru's name was pronounced KonoHAmaru with the accent on the HA, isn't that a bit weird, too?
11. In the episode when Chouji almost dies and reads the words on the trees that the rest of the rescue team wrote he said "Hurry up and come" was Naruto and "We're all waiting" was Kiba, I don't think Naruto and Kiba are too different, how does he know?
12. Naruto's got the Kyuubi, Kiba has Akamaru, so shouldn't Naruto be more fox-like/dog-like? But in Shikamaru's rescue team, why was Kiba the only one that could smell blood and enemies?
13. Sasuke has purple lipstick in his second stage.XP
14. Kabuto is the name of a pokemon.
15. Does anyone notice that of all Konoha, Chouji has a pair of upside-down underwear with a metal plate on it as a headband? (No offense to Chouji fans)
16. We see Sakura and Ino do all sorts of things with their hair, in episode 3 Sakura was trying to make it look cute, in the Forest of Death Ino untied it to make it look attractive for Neji and later Sakura cut it, in the Chuunin Preliminaries Ino cut it and later put it into a bun. We never, ever see Tenten or Temari do anything with their hair.
17. Itachi means weasel or skunk.
18. Every sensei has lips (even Baki), except Kakashi, but we're not too sure of that.
19. Kisame's the name of that shark guy from the Akatsuki, right? Kisama means "damn you".
20. In episode 109, you get a quick glance of Sasuke's one-room house, it has a bed, a chair and a coffee table.
21. If the Chuunin exams were so full of excitement, wouldn't the Jounin exams be even more exciting? Too bad there was a time skip.
22. It's weird how Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji and Hinata have/had parents that are/were shinobis, Sakura's parents aren't shinobis (After the Forest of Death, her mom calls her to wake up), Tenten doesn't have parents and we don't even know if Lee has parents.
23. In the mission to the Village of Mist, Sasuke was eating such much he barfed, in the Mission to the Village of Tea he ran from the restaurant before the food was even served!!XD
24. So many guys seem to have an interest in make-up!! Kankuro puts purple make-up all over his face (For no reason and he looks ugly XD), Kiba put's make-up on his face (Which doesn't look too bad…Triangle power!!!XD), Chouji put's make-up on his face (Swirls WTF), Sakon/Ukon wears GREEN lipstick (Ew…), Sasuke at Stage Two wears purple lipstick (Orochimaru's really done it!!XD) and Gaara looks like he's wearing eyeliner.
25. Kakashi, Kabuto, Sakon, Ukon and Kimimaro all have grey hair AND K's in their names!XP
26. Asuma's chain smoker yet we never see him cough, Hayate always coughed yet we never saw him smoke.
27. In the episode where Naruto and Neji fight in the Chuunin Finals, in the flashback, we saw the Hyuuga family, nobody looked out-of-the-family which meant the Hyuugas married each other, which also means that Neji and Hinata are going to have to be forced to marry each other.
28. If Shikamaru's so lazy, why does he bother to tie up his hair in a spiky ponytail every morning?
29. On episode 21 or 22 we saw Sakura with curlers in her hair, though her hair isn't curly, what's up with that?

Japanese Slang

A

ABAYO >> Informal term for "good bye", this is not considered a polite way to say goodbye.

ABUNE >> Slang, this is an exclamation take from "abunai". It is used as in, "That was close!!!" (Thanks to Aussie boy)

ACHI ITTE >>  Impolite phrase meaning "go over there!" which of course means that you should "go away!"

ACHI KAERE >> Impolite phrase meaning "go back over there, far away". This is a very direct way of saying "go away!".

AHO >>  Impolite term meaning "dumb ass".

AHONDARA >> Slang, insult, related to "aho" but much stronger. (Thanks to Aussie boy)

AH SO >> Informal phrase which means "Oh, I see...", but I would avoid using this phrase as a "gaijin" because it may have been over-used by American movie studios as a stereo-typical Japanese thing to say. I think that I have read somewhere that it may even be offensive to some Japanese people.

AITSU >> Impolite term meaning "that thing over there" or "that dude over there".

AKUMABITO >> Informal term for "demon" or "spirit". The first "A" is not clearly pronounced. "Akuma" means devil or demon, and "bito" refers to a person (HITO). The "H" in HITO changes to "B" after certain vowels.

AMAI >> Informal term meaning "gullible" or "someone who is a real sap".

ANO >> Informal word which can mean "that thing over there", but the slang meaning is more commonly "Uhhh..." or "Well..." and is used a lot in colloquial speech at the start of a sentence or between sentences just like we use "Uhhh.." to slow down the conversation so we can think.

APO >> Informal term referring to "an appointment for a date".

ARE ! >> used for exclamation such as :   "Oh my !"   "WTF?" etc.

B

BAITO >> Informal slang for someone who is working part-time.

BAKA >> Informal word meaning "stupid". This has to be the most commonly used insult in Japan. Being called stupid is quite serious to the Japanese.

BECHA BECHA >> Slang used to describe  a "chatterbox" or a really noisey converation (see PECHA KUCHA)

BETSU NI >> Informal phrase meaning "nothing" or "nothing really". Normally used in response to a question.

BIJIN >> Informal term meaning "beautiful woman" but actually is closer to "hot babe!"

BISHONEN >> Informal term for "hunk" or "cute guy"

BOKE >> Impolite term meaning "knuckle head"

BONKURA >> Slang, insult, referring to your intelligence such as, "dimwit" or "dumbass" (Thanks to Ahondara)

BOROI >>  Slang, refers to something that is "old" or "worn out". Also see BORO BORO (Thanks to Ahondara). Also, Slang for "making easy money" or "making money dishonestly" (thanks to Mamingazetto).

BORO BORO >> Informal, refers to something that is "old" or "worn out". Also see BOROI. (Thanks to Ahondara)

BOZU >> Informal term for "kid" and is kind of like saying "Hey squirt!".

BURU HAIRU >> An expression used when things aren't going right (Thanks to chickendance)

BURU SERA >> You may need to know this, if you are a perv.......This is a business which sells uniforms (usually for school girls )

BUSAIKU >> Slang, insult, refers to someone's appearance such as, "pretty damn UGLY!!!" (Thanks to Aussie boy)

C

CHARA CHARA >> Slang for something that is too flashy in terms of style, or refers to person who blatantly flirts.

CHAU CHAU >> Informal way of saying CHIGAIMASU which means "wrong" or "it's something different (from what you think)". This phrase comes from the Osaka dialect. Can be said once or twice depending on the tone or emphasis.

CHE >> Exclamation used to express disgust. It's kinda like saying "shiiit!"

CHINKE >> Slang, refers to something "cheap" and of "poor quality". (Thanks to Ahondara)

CHOBERIBA >> Informal term which means "extremely bad". CHO means "extremely", and the BERIBA actually comes from and sounds like "very bad".

CHOBERIGU >> Informal term which means "extremely good". CHO means "extremely", and the BERIGU actually comes from and sounds like "very good". This may now be heard as CHOBEGU. (Thanks to Ahondara)

CHODAI >> Informal term that is very close to KURE YO! and means "Please do this for me".

CHOTTO II ? >> This is how you ask, "Can I ask you something quick?" this is a friendly way, and is best used with people you know already.

CHOTTO MATTE >> Informalphrase which means "wait a minute" or "excuse me a bit" and can vary according to the tone you use all the way up to "wait a damn minute!".

CHOUSHI HA DOU DESU KA? >> This is how you say : " How are you (feeling) ? "

D

DABO >> Slang, insult referring to your intelligence, like "complete idiot" (Thanks to Mamingazetto)

DAI >> Colloquial for DESU KA example: Nan dai? = Nan desu ka?

DAME >> Informal term with many meanings. I can mean "no" or "it's bad" or "it's not possible" or "you can't do that" etc. etc. It is word that signals a "no" answer.

DASAI >> Exclamation used to express disgust about something totally uncool.

DE >> Informal term that can have many meanings, but the slang usage is at the beginning of a sentence. When a person starts a sentence with DE, it is more of an interjection, and it's meaning is more like "So....(anyway)..."

DATTARA >> Informal phrase which means "if that is so..." and can be used as in "so?"

DO- >> Colloquial prefix, used to add emphasis to words such as "total" or "absolute" such as "Do-Aho!"

DO ITTA >> Informal phrase which means "move out of the way" but is basically a way of saying "move it!"

DOUKA >> This is used at the beginning of a request. It is close in translation to "Would you please....." EX: Douka...shashin o misete kudasai yo!

DO KASHITEIRU >> Informal phrase which means "Are you o.k.? (you seem kinda out of it)"

DOKE >> Informal term used to say "get out of the way!". It is a slang version of the word DOKERU.

-DONO >> Suffix added to names like "-san" to make it more polite, but "-dono" is more like "Mr." In TENCHI MUYO, Washu addresses Tenchi as "Tenchi Dono" very often and she is just being extra respectul to Tenchi by calling him "Mr. Tenchi".

DOSE >>  Informal word used to express  "Anyway......." in a somewhat negative way, or used in a sentence to express doubt like when you user the word "afterall".  EXAMPLE:    Afterall (doose).....it can't be true you know.

DORE DORE >> Informal phrase which loosely translates to, "Hello, what do we have here?" or "What's this?"

DORO DORO >> Informal term for something that is gooey or muddy, or something that is confusing. Consider the abstract concept of "muddiness". Also is used to imply that someone is not getting along with someone else.

DOSHITA >> Informal phrase which can mean "what's wrong?" or "what?" or is used to get a response, like when you say "well...?"

DOSHITA NO >> Informal phrase which can mean "what's wrong?" or "what happened?" and is mostly used to express concern. The NO at the end doesn't really change the meaning much, and is used in this case for emphasis.

E

ETO >> Interjection that is similar to "uhhh.." or "errr..." and can imply a phrase such as, "well, actually...."

F

FAITO !!! >> Loan word which refers to a fighting spirit, kinda like GAMBATTE and is said when you want to express that you must keep on going and hang in there.

FUKERU >> To play hooky from school, or something. This word is very similar to saboru (Thanks to Sakura)

G

GAKI >> Informal term meaning "brat" or "young punk"

GAMAN SHIRO >> This is a simple way of saying , "..Just deal with it"

GARUTACHI >> Informal term which roughly means "partners in crime" and refers to real hoodlums.

GE >> Exclamation meaning "yuck!" or "gross!"

GOCHA GOCHA SURU >> this means "to be confused"

GO KURO >> Informal phrase which means "good work" or "thanks for doing something that inconveniences you" and is short for the more polite GO KUROSAMA DESHITA.

GUZU >> Somebody who dawdles, wastes times, or goofs off.

GUZU GUZU >> Informal phrase which refers to something or someone that is lazy, or an action which happens slowly and lazily.

GYOGI GA WARUI >> Informal phrase which simply means "bad manners"

H


HAI >> OK, this DOES NOT MEAN "yes", it means "I am paying attention, and I understand what you are saying"

HAMATTA >> Expresses that something was funny. (Thanks Boozemonkey)

HANASHI ARU sounds like HAH NAH SHEE AH RU. Informal phrase which means "I need to speak to you" although literally it means "a conversation exists".

HARA HETA sounds like HAH REH TAH. Informal phrase which means "To be hungry" and literally translates as "My/your belly is in a bad condition".

HASSHIN sounds like HA SHEEN. Exclamation meaning "launch!".

HAZUI sounds like HAH ZEE. Informal term for "embarrassing" and is short for HAZUKASHII.

HE ? >> This is how you say, "Huh?" or "WTF?"

HETCHI >> This refers to anything or anyone that is perverted

HEKI >> informal expression that loosely translates as "No problem!" "It's ok!"  "Forget about it!"
ex: Daijobu desu ka? Heki da yo!  (Is it a problem? No problem, it's ok!!)

HIDOI sounds like HEE DEH. Informal term meaning "terrible" or "horrible" or "grotesque"

HORA sounds like HO RAH. Informal term which kinda means "hey!" or "see?!" when you want to get somebody's attention. Related to KORA

I

ICHIO sounds like ITCHY OH. Informal term meaning "anyway...." or "well...." and can replace a direct answer with the meaning "Uhhh...kinda sorta...".

II DARO sounds like EE DAH ROH. Informal phrase meaning "it's a deal" or "it's o.k. with me" or "it's probably o.k.".

II JA NAI BETSU NI >> This expression is used to say "It's o.k.! I don't mind!" but if you use it when someone is being nosey, then it means, "It's none of your business anyhow!!!"

II KAMO SHIRENAIsounds like EE KAH MO SHEE NIGH. Colloquial phrase that is used to say that something is nice, good, or cool. II KAMO is used by itself alot to simply say something is cool. "Shirenai" is literally translated as "I dunno..." so it follows the polite way of expressing your thoughts by ending the phrase with an expression of doubt. (Thanks to Greg C. Sharp for this valuable bit of info!)

IJO NASHI sounds like EE JOE NIGH SHH. Informal phrase meaning "functioning normally". This is used a lot in futuristic anime in regards to equipment working normally. Literally means "without abnormallity" and replaces the English version "all systems normal".

IKEMEN >> Translates into something like "very handsome man" or "hot guy"

IKENAI sounds like EE KEH NIGH. Informal term meaning "something's wrong" or "it's no good" or "you can't do that" or "it wont work". It is very close to the word DAME and is short for IKEMASEN.

IKINARI >> This word means "suddenly" or "without notice" and is used to say that something was unexpected and usually not welcome. For instance, if somebody visits you without an invitation, that is the kind of feeling it expresses.

II KAGEN NI SHINASAI >> loosely translates as "don't be like that!" or "don't behave like that!" and is usually used to scold kids.

II ZO sounds like EEE ZO. Informal phrase meaning "ready!" or "let's go for it!"

II YO >> This means, "It's OK, don't worry about it !"

IKU ZE sounds like EE KU ZEH. Informal phrase meaning "let's go!"

IYA sounds like EE YAH. Exclamation meaning "no way!" or something like "that's terrible!"

J

JA sounds like JAH. Informal exclamation which can mean "well..." or "see ya!" or "umm..." or can be used to stall for time when you don't want to answer a difficult question. It is a very handy word and has many more meanings. It is also a very short way of saying "bye!"

JIGEN sounds like GEE GHEN. Standard word for "dimension". It is commonly heard in anime when referring to
an interdimensional tunnel which is called "JIGEN NO TUNERU"

JOUZU DESU NE ! >> OK, LISTEN CAREFULLY This is how you say, "My, you are pretty good at (English or Japanese)".......but if Japanese people say this to you, DONT LET IT GO TO YOUR HEAD OK? They are just being polite.

JUNBI O.K. DESU >> This is a very modern way of saying, "I'm ready!" And it really does use O.K. as in English.

K

KAI sounds like KIGH. Colloquial for DESU KA example: Nan kai? = Nan desu ka?

KAN KAN sounds like KAHN KAHN. Slang which means "pissed off" or "going ballistic" or "enraged"

KEITA sounds like KAY TAH. Informal term for "cell phone"

KI GA TSUITA >> Informal phrase which translates as "to be awake" or  "to be conscious" and also means "I just noticed something"

KIMOCHI WARUI sounds like KEE MO CHEE WAH RU EE. Informal phrase which means "feel sick" but is more often used to say "yuck!" or "gross!". I think that if you say "Kimochi GA warui" then it refers to how sick you feel.

KIMOI sounds like KEE MOY. Informal term for " feel sick" or "makes me feel sick", it is short for KIMOCHI WARUI.

KI NI SHINAI sounds like KEY KNEE SHEEN EYE. Informal phrase meaning "don't worry" or "no problem". "Ki ni suru" means, "To worry".

KIDOU sounds like KEY DOH. Informal term which means "start to function" or "be functional".

KISAMA sounds like KEY SAH MAH. Impolite term for "you" and will probably get you into a fight if you use it (in Japan). Literally means "your honorable self".

KISHOI sounds like KEY SHEH. Informal term for "gross" or "nasty".

KOCHI KOCHI sounds like KO CHEE KO CHEE. Slang meaning "this way!" or "over here!". It is short for KOCHIRA which is a polite way of saying "this way".

KOITSU sounds like KOYT-SUU. Informal term meaning "this thing" or "this dude/chic" and can be considered rude.

KON ~ >> This is the friendly and cool way to say "Konnichi ha " in a chatroom.

KON'ARO sounds like CON ARROW. Impolite term for "you bastard!". It is short for "kono yaro"

KONCHA >> Short for Konnichiwa and is very colloquial.

KONJYOYAKI >> Pressing a lit cigarette onto your own arm to prove you've got "konjyo" (guts) Thanks to Boozemonkey for this one.

KONO YARO sounds like KO NO YAH ROH. Impolite phrase meaning "you/that bastard!" even though "kono" refers to "this". ( see "YARO" )

KORA sounds like KO RAH. Informal term meaning "hey!" or close to "listen here!" and is used to get someone's attention in a rough tone.

KOSO KOSO sounds like KO SO KO SO. Onomotopoeia which describes  a "sneaky" action or behavior.

KURE YO sounds like KUU REH YOH. Informal phrase meaning "please do this for me" and is literally closer to "wont'cha do this for me?" and can also be used as in "Gimmie!" (Thanks to Mamingazetto)

KORYA sounds like KO REE AH. Colloquial for KORE WA meaning "this"

KUSO sounds like KUU SO. Exclamation that means "shit!" and is used just like anywhere in the world.

KUSOTARE sounds like KUU SO TAH REH. Slang term which is easily translated to "shithead"

L THERE ARE WORDS THAT SOUND LIKE THEY START WITH L, BUT THEY DON'T.

M

MAA sounds like MAH. Colloquial interjection that closely translates as "well..." or "anyway..." and is included very often (I mean very often with some people) with no intended meaning.

MAA MO NAKU (NAI) sounds like MAH MOW NAH KOO. Colloquial usage which translates as "a short time" and more literally is "not even for a short amount of time". You can use it to describe that something happened a short while ago, or that something will happen shortly, or that something has been going on for only a short amount of time.

MAGURO = Slang, refers to a woman who is rather less than enthusiastic during sex. Like a "dead fish". (Thanks to Honen)

MAHO SHOJO sounds like MAH HO SHOW JOE. Informal term from anime which refers to a female character that has magical powers.

MAJI sounds like MAH GEE. Informal phrase that means "really?" or "are you serious?"

MAMA sounds like MAH MAH. Informal phrase meaning "calm down" or "there there". It is also used to refer to something that is "same as usual"

MANIAKU sounds like MAH NEE AKKU. Slang word referring to someone who is a know-it-all about a subject. It may be that this is a more positive term like an "otaku" is a know-it-all about anime. (Thanks to Balaji from India for this suggestion!)

MATA NE ! >> This is how you say, "See you later !"

MAZUI sounds like MAH ZEE. Informal term that refers to something that tastes terrible or something that sucks.

MECHA >> Slang word added for emphasis, kinda like "Ultra-...." so you could say "Mecha muzukashi desu ne!" for "It's super difficult huh?!" (Thanks to Mina for this suggestion!)

MECHA　KUCHA >>  means "very" as in   "pretty f**king good!"

MENDOI >> Informal term for "troublesome". It is short for MENDO KUSAI which literally means "stinks of trouble".

MISE MONO JA NAI YO ! >> Loosely means "what are you looking at buddy !?"

MUKATSUKU>> Informal term for "being irritated" or "pissed off"

MUKO >> Impolite term that literally means "opposite side" but it is used to refer to someone else who is causing you to be angry and you are totally against of. Also refers to something that you feel is not correct or unreasonable, Very close to "damn you!"

MURI SHINAI DE >> loosely translates as "take it easy!" or "don't kill yourself!"

MUYO sounds like MUU YOH. Informal term that means "unnecessary." It is also used to say "(there is) no need" for something.

MUZUI sounds like MU ZEEH. Informal term for "difficult" and is short for MUZUKASHII

N

NAMERU JA NAI sounds like NAH MEH RUU JAH NYE. Informalphrase which translates as "don't mess with me!" or "don't underestimate me!". It is usually said in an aggressive tone of voice.

NAME'N JA NE sounds like NAMEN JAH NEH. Informal phrase which is derived from NAMERU JA NAI ("don't mess with me")

NANCHATTE sounds like NAN CHA TEH. Slang term that is popular with young people, it is used in the same
way that "...just kidding!" is. It basically lets you know that somebody is just fooling around jokingly, or being ironic about what they are talking about.

NANDAKKE >> This expression is used when someone mentions something that you might have been told before but you forgot. Or, it is used to express " Um yeah, what about that (thing you're talking about)?"

NAN DE sounds like NAN DEH. Colloquial term meaning "why?"

NANKA SA >> slangy term, can be used loosely as in "....oh yeah...by the way.."

...NA NO DA sounds like NAH NO DAH. Colloquial quirk, and I'll go out on a ledge and say that it equals the words NO DESU and does not change the meaning of the sentence otherwise.

NANPA sounds like NAN PAH. Slang term meaning "pick up line" or "to try and pick someone up".

NANTE KOTO sounds like NAN TEH KO TO. Interjection which loosely translates to "Oh my gosh!" and more literally means "what an experience!"

NANTO KA sounds like NAN TOH KAH. Informal phrase that means, "Somehow..."
It is usually use in the phrase, "Nanto ka na....." which is usually used when trying to say," I guess I'll figure it out somehow...." or "I guess I'm not sure how it will work out".

NARUHODO >> When you are speaking or chatting with a Japanese person, say this often so they know you are still listening.

NE sounds like NEH. Informal interjection with many uses. It can mean "right?" or "isn't it" or "hey!"

-NECHAN sounds like NEH CHAH NN. Informal suffix added to girl's names to add respect but it doesn't add formality. It refers to an older sister but the person doesn't have to actually be related. This is used alot in Tenchi Muyo by Sasami.

-NICHAN sounds like KNEE CHAH NN. Informal suffix added to boy's names to add respect but it doesn't add formality. It refers to an older brother but the person doesn't have to actually be related. This is used alot inTenchi Muyo by Sasami.

NYAKO sounds like NEE AH KO. Informal term for "kitty cat"

NYUUYOKU >> This means "take a bath" and is used as a pun because it sounds like the Japanese word for New York. Get it?

O

OBOETE OKE sounds like OH BOY TOH KEH. Colloquial phrase which roughly translates as "Remember this!"  (Thanks to Greg C. Sharp for this definition). For further clarification, I will add that "OKE" comes from "OKU" which means  "to put" or "to place" or "to keep", in other words, OBOETE OKE means that you should
take whatever information is being given to you and you better keep it in your thoughts.

OFKAI sounds like AH HH KIGH. Informalinternet term which refers to meeting an internet acquaintance in person, face to face. (replace the "f" sound with an "h" sound)

OHA sounds like OH HAH. Exclamatory phrase for "good morning". Very short for OHAYO GOZAIMASU.

OHISA~ >> This is the cool and friendly way to say, "Long time no see" and it is short for "O-hisashiburi desu ne"

OI sounds like OY. Informal term meaning "hey!". Used to get somebody's attention.

OITOMA  >> very common expressed used to say " I gotta go now!!!"

OMAE sounds like OH MAH YEH. Informal term for "you". This is not a term you use to speak to people you respect.

OMAKE sounds like OH MAH KEH. Slang for "bonus" but is also an informal term for "defeat" or "loss".

OMATA sounds like OH MAH TAH. Informal phrase which means "sorry to keep you waiting" and is short for the more polite OMATASE SHIMASHITA.

OMOROI -Slang, short for omoshiroi

ONIGIRI I think it sounds like OH NEE GEE LEE. Standard word which means "wrapped" but refers to a very common rice treat. Just in case you didn't know, this is what you call the little rice cakes that you see kids eating in most anime. They look like little white turnovers and are made of rice and maybe a little stuffing inside, usually pickled plum. Sometimes they have a little piece of seaweed on the outside. This may be called "MUSUBI" or "OMUSUBI"  which means "tied up". By the way, in some Pokemon episodes, onigiri is referred to as "donuts" which they obviously are not.

ONORE sounds like OH NO REH. Impolite term referring to "one's self" but is being sarcastic in a way that makes the listener angry. It's like "KISAMA" means "your honorable self" but is actually making a snide remark. (Thanks to Mamingazetto)

O SAKI NI sounds like OH SAH KEY KNEE. Informal phrase used to say "excuse me for going ahead of you". It is a short way to say "Saki ni, shitsurei shimasu" which means, "I am being rude for going ahead/before you".

OSSU sounds like OSSS. Slang term meaning "good morning". It is the very first and last part of "ohayo gozaimasu".

P

PAKURU >> Slang meaning to steal something, or to steal someone's idea (related to PAKURI) Thanks to Chicken dance for this one.

PECHA KUCHA >> This is the most commonly used term for someone who talks alot, a real "chatterbox"

PIN PON sounds like PEEN PON. Onomatopoeia which means "ding!" as in "ding! you're right!"

PURA MODERU sounds like PRUH MODURUH. Informal term for "plastic model". the PURA- is from PURASUCHIKKU which means "plastic".

PURI PURI >> This is used to describe somebody's mood that seems to be grouchy or moody.

Q THERE ARE NO WORDS THAT START WITH Q... I think....

R

RAKKI sounds like RAH KEY. Slang term that comes from the English word "lucky" and is used to express that something really "cool" just happened that makes you feel "lucky".

RYOKAI sounds like YO KIGH. Informal term meaning "roger!" as used in military radio communications. The "R"  is rarely noticeable. The literal translation is, "agreement" or "understanding". Thanks to M. Fiorello for pointing out the proper spelling for this one. The word "YOKAI" is standard for "ghosts" or "phantoms".

S

SABISU sounds like SAH BIS. Loan word meaning "service" but when you hear it used in anime, usually at the end credits or previews, it refers to "fan service" which means that the current video or the next video in the series will include bonus scenes or artwork.

SADO sounds like SAW DOH. Informal term which means "operational" or "to operate" in terms of operating equipment. Also, Slang, this meaning refers to a "sadist" or "S&M" in general. (Thanks to Ahondara).

SAIKIN DOU ? >> This is how you say "Hows it goin lately ?" This is for people you know already.

SAIKO sounds like PSYCHO. Slang word meaning "the best" or "the coolest!" or "awesome!"

SAITE sounds like SIGH TEH. Slang word meaning "the worst" or "it's the pits" or "crappy".

SA'NARA sounds like SAH NAH RAH. Colloquial term that is short for SAYONARA.

SASUGA sounds like SAS GAH. Informal term, (not slang, but is used a lot in anime so I'll include it) This is used to say that, "(somebody) did something good, or they did a good job, just as you would expect"

SAYO sounds like SAH YO. Interjection meaning "it's true" and is another way of saying SO KA if you use the words SAYO KA.

SHAKUHACHI = Slang, literal meaning is a "bamboo flute or clarinet" but is used to refer to "oral sex given to a man" (Thanks to Honen)

SHIKKARI SHITE sounds like SHEEKAH REESH TEH. Informal phrase meaning "be strong" or "get a hold of yourself" or "be confident".

SHIMATTA sounds like SHIH MAH TAH. Informal term simply meaning "damn it!"

SHINAI sounds like SHE NIGH. Informal word which usually means "don't do" but actually in some uses, possibly more by women, it simply replaces NAI which means "none or no". You mostly have to figure this out by using the context of what is being said.

SHISHI-ODOSHI >> Standard term for the common garden water fountain that is made out of bamboo seen in many anime movies.  It means "deer scarer". This is the thing that makes that "clack" sound.

SHOCK >> Loan word used to express "shock" or disbelief.

SHOGANAI  DARO sounds like SHOW GAH NIGH DAH ROH. Informal phrase that expresses the feeling that something is hopeless and you might as well stop resisting and just go along with it. It is like saying, "OH, what's the use...?"

SHOKIN KASEGI sounds like SHOW KEEN KAH SEH GEEH. Informal phrase meaning "bounty hunting". SHOKIN is "reward" and KASEGI is "earnings".

SHOKIN KUBI NI sounds like SHOW KEEN KUU BEE KNEE. Informalphrase meaning "bounty" or "reward". KUBI is "neck" so it means that "there is a reward in your neck".

SHUSSE HARAI sounds like SHOE SEH HA RYE. Informal phrase meaning "success payment". It is used to indicate that you want to buy something on credit. It is normally used as in "I'll pay you when I score big!".

SHINAKUCHA >> Colloquial usage, short for "shinakereba naranai" which means "must" (Thanks to Ario Wibowo)

SO DESU NE sounds like SO DEZ NEH. Informal phrase with many meanings. The first meaning can be "It is, isn't it?", another meaning can be "I see...", or "It seems to be that way" or "I think it's true (because of what I know from other people)". Also, you will hear this phrase a lot in television interviews, it seems to be a popular habit, and is probably a polite way of letting the other person know you are listening to them.

SO KA sounds like SO KAH. Informal phrase which can mean "really?" or "I see..."

SON'NA sounds like SO NAH. Interjection which means "no way!" or "that can't be!". This word is normally found in dictionaries, but doesn't seem to include this translation.

SORE GA, DOSHITA? sounds like SOREH GAH DOSH TAH. Informal phrase which translates as "so what?!"

SORO SORO.... >> This is a somewhat polite way to say "Umm....I gotta get goin ok? "  The complete phrase is "Soro soro oitoma o....."

SO SO sounds like SOH SOH. Interjection usage translates as "Indeed!" "By the way!..." "Come to think of it!"

SUGE sounds like SUU GEH. Slang term meaning "cool!" or "awesome!". It is slang for SUGOI

SUKOSHI WARUI NO JA NAI sounds like SKOSH EE WAH RU EE NO JAH NIGH. Informalphrase which best translates as "not too shabby". Literally means "it's not a little bit bad"

SUMMAN sounds like SUU MAH. Informal term, short for SUMIMASEN. SUMIMASEN can mean "I'm sorry" or "thank you", but SUMMA is generally used to express regret.

T

TAKO sounds like TACO. Informal term for "stupid jerk" with emphasis on the stupid. It literally means "octopus".

TAKU sounds like TAH KU. Slang term which closely means "damn it!", probably from the word MATTAKU.

TAKURU >> Slang which means to catch a taxi (Thanks to MacGyver)

TAOSU sounds like TAOS. Informal term for "drop" or "defeat" but slang usage means "kill"

TASHIKA NI sounds like TASH KAH KNEE. Informal phrase that means "certainly" or "without a doubt"

TEME sounds like TEH MEH. Informal and extremely rude way to say "you". Very popular word in anime. Using this word means you're looking for trouble.

TTE BA sounds like TEH BAH. Informal phrase ending used when you have to repeat yourself when you think someone is not listening to you. EXAMPLE: "Yamete! yamete tte ba!" "Stop! Stop! I said!" It took a long time to find out what this meant! It emphasizes that you just said something.

TTE KA >> very slangy phrase, and can be used for just about anything like....."you know....." "....oh yeah..." "..by the way...." "in other words"

-TTE KANJI sounds like TEH KAN GEE. Slang inserted in phrases or at the end of words to express "it's something like" or "you know what I mean....?" or "....like, you know...."

TTE YANDE sounds like TEH YAH NN DEH. Slang phrase used to express that what has just been said has made the listener angry. Related to YAGARU and -TTE YAGANDE.

TOKO sounds like TOH KOH. Slang for "male" "boy" or "man". It is used often enough in anime, but I haven't seen it in any dictionaries yet. It seems to be just a shortened word for "OTOKO".

TOMA sounds like TOH MAH. Informal expression which I am still looking into.

TOTTO TOTTO sounds like TOTO TOTO. Informal phrase meaning "oops! oops!" or "whoa! whoa!"

TSUBO NI HAITTA >> Expresses that something was funny (Thanks to Boozemonkey)

TSUKIATTE sounds like SKEE AH TEH. Informal term meaning "to date" or "to go out with".

TURE-SHON >> Slang which means to go to the bathroom with a friend(s)  (Thanks to Mokuren)

U

UKETA >> Expresses that something was funny. (Thanks to Boozemonkey)

UNCHI >> Slang referring to anyone who sucks at sports. (Thanks to Chickendance)

URUSAI sounds like UUH RUU SIGH. Impolite term that can mean "shut up!" or "damn! that's annoying!" or can describe something that is really obnoxious. The literal meaning is closer to "noisy"

URUSSE sounds like UH RUH SEH. Slang term that means "shut up!" and is related to URUSAI.

USANKUSAI sounds like UUH SAN KUH SIGH. Informal term which means "suspicious". Could come from USSO KUSAI which means "reeks of a lie". KUSAI by itself can be used to mean suspicious, and is similar to our use of "something smells funny about this".

USSE sounds like UUH SEH. Slang for URUSAI, this more often means "shut up!"

UZATTAI sounds like UUH ZA TEH. Impolite term related to URUSAI, but this more specifically refers to someone or something that is really obnoxious or troublesome.

VTHERE ARE NO WORDS THAT START WITH V...I think....

W



WAKE sounds like WAH KEH. Informal word which means "reason, or meaning" This is one word which requires a little extra study. In some cases it is inserted just to express emphasis on what is being said. Be sure you study as many uses of this word because sometimes it changes what is being said completely.

WARI >> informal way of saying "sorry" and you may hear it more often as "Wari wari !"

WASHA >> Informal colloquial term which simply replaces WATASHI meaning "me" or "I".


X THERE ARE NO WORDS THAT START WITH X ...REALLY! Except maybe a Japanese  underground punk band ^^ LOL

Y

YABAI sounds like YAH BYE or YAH BEH. Informal term for "Oh shit!" or "I blew it!" or "I'm in trouble!"

YADA sounds like YAH DAH. Slang term meaning "no" or "no way!"

YAGANDE sounds YAH GAN DEH. Slang for YAGARU NO DESU, YAGARU refers to something that causes contemptuous feelings, usually something that has been said. Basically, if you add YAGARU to a sentence, you are being a "bad ass".

YAGARU sounds like YAH GA ROO. Impolite term added to a sentence to convey contempt or insult.

YARE YARE sounds like YAH REH YAH REH. Exclamation that is close in meaning to "my goodness!"

YARO sounds like YAH ROH. Impolite term for "bastard!". It literally means "farm hand" which in Japan seems to be pretty bad.

YARU KA sounds like YAH RUU KAH. Informal phrase which roughly translates as "do you wanna piece of me?!" or "you want some?!" in an aggressive tone. Of course, in a romantic tone of voice, it can mean "do you want to have sex?"

YARU NA sounds like YAH RUU NAH. Informal phrase meaning "not bad". It is more often used in a fight when an opponent makes a skillful move.

YATSU sounds like YACHT SUU. Slang for "that person" or "that dude". It is not necessarily rude, and can be used in a familiar way. YATSURA is the plural form.

YATTSUKERU >> To knock someone out, but slang uses means to finish something up (Thanks to Miyagisan)

YAWA sounds like YAH WAH. Informal word for something that is "weak" or "whimpy" or "flimsy". It is not commonly written this way in many dictionaries, it is short for YAWARAKA.

YO >> Colloquial usage, besides the usage for emphasis, it can be used as a greeting such as "Hey!" (Thanks to RadicalNIGHTS)

YOKAI see RYOKAI

YOROSHII sounds like YO ROH SHEE. Slang for "alright!" or "O.K!"

YOROSHIKU TANOM sounds like YOH ROSH KU TAH NUM. Informal phrase which means "I have a favor to ask from you". It is short for YOROSHIKU TANOMIMASU.

YUPPA sounds like YUP PAH. Slang term for "yup" or "yeah".

Z

ZAKKENAYO sounds like ZAH KEN EYE YO. Exclamatory phrase that means "don't mess with me!" and is very harsh. It comes from the phrase FUZAKERU NAI YO.As you can see, it is just a shortened version of FUZAKERU. I have seen this term translated as "Don't F**K with me!" but I think that would depend more on the tone and the circumstances, because FUZAKERU is actually better translated as "fool around" or "joke around".

ZAMA MIRO sounds like ZAMA MEE ROH. Informal phrase meaning "serves you right!" or "you had it coming!" and can imply a "in your face!" type of comeback.

ZANNEN NAGARA sounds like ZAN NEN NAH GAH RAH. Colloquial phrase used to express regret, such as sympathy when something bad has happened. It can also be used playfully such as "Nyah! Nyah! Too bad for you!"

ZEN IN sounds like ZAIN. Common phrase that means,"everyone" or "all the people mentioned". I have included this word because I could not find it anywhere spelled the way it sounded..... this is common as you probably know.

ZURAKARU ZE sounds like ZUU RAH KAH RUU ZEH. Exclamatory phrase meaning "let's scram!" or "let's get the hell outta here!"

ZURUI >> expression used when someone thinks someone is playing dirty or unfair. The normal phrase is "Zurui shita !" which means, "You cheated !" or "You played dirty !"

Pokemon Pikachu Facts

1. Pikachu is 1 foot, 4 inches tall (40.64cm) and weighs 13 pounds (5.9kg).
2. In 2001, Niue(a New Zeland dependant nation) released a one-dollar coin featuring Pikachu as part of a commemorative promotion for the Pokémon franchise, with Pikachu on one side and the nation’s coat of arms on the other.
3. Ash’s only electric type Pokmon by the time he reaches the Kalos region is still Pikachu.
4. In the anime, Ash’s Pikachu is also the only Pokémon in the entire series that has been able to defeat two legendary Pokémon.
5. In the Pokémon game franchise, Pikachu is the only non-flying type Pokémon that can learn the move Fly, through special events.
6. In Japan, Pikachu is the equivalent of the USA’s Mickey Mouse. People are often hired to go to public places in a Pikachu costume, such as malls and amusement parks, to entertain the kids.
7. “Pika” is the Japanese word for the noise of electricity crackling. “Chu” is how the Japanese describe the sound a mouse makes. That’s how the name “Pikachu” was created.
8. The original Pokmon mascot was originally going to be Clefairy.
9. Pikachu has a special fondness for ketchup, but has been seen eating berries and apples.
10. Pikachu is voiced by Ikue Otani (She is known for her anime voice roles as Chopper in One Piece and Konohamaru Sarutobi in Naruto).

Did you know in anime?

• That Akemi Takada, the character designer for Orange Road, Creamy Mami, Patlabor and Urusei Yatsura, among others, used to be married to Kazunori Ito, script-writer for Patlabor, among others?
• That there is a museum for Osamu Tezuka, who is considered the father of manga?
• That on average, the Japanese take twenty minutes to read three hundred pages of manga?
• That the last names of the characters in Maison Ikkoku are those of subway stops in Tokyo?
• That Mononoke Hime became the highest grossing film of all time in Japan, above such classics like E.T.?
•  That Neon Genesis Evangelion was the first anime to win the Anime Grand Prix three times in a row?

More Facts on Japan

1. Japan has the world’s third largest economy behind the US and China.
2. Japan’s unemployment rate is less than 4%.
3. There are over 1,500 earthquakes in Japan each year
4. Japan consists of over 6,800 islands.
5. Japan imports about 85% of Jamaica’s total coffee production.
6. There are vending machines in Japan that dispense beer

Did you know in Anime?

• That the theme of three sisters is used very often in anime, and that in almost all cases some of their characteristics can be traced back to the Three Fates of the Greek mythology? Most notable examples include Urd, Belldandy and Skuld from Ah My Goddess, or Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho from Five Star Stories.
• That in Japan lovers write their initials under the picture of an umbrella, instead of inside a heart?
• That the story of Disney's Lion King is suspiciously similar to that of a much earlier work by Osamu Tezuka?
• That black cats are considered good luck in Japan?
•  That the Japanese believe males get nosebleeds if they are turned on?

Weird Japanese Definitions

創価学会 -- Souka gakkai- the most popular cult in Japan. Like a Bhuddist Scientology, this cult has celebrities under its sway, sexual scandals, and even its own political party! The party is called Koumeitou.

朝鮮総連 -- Chosen Soren - north korea's advocacy group in japan. It comes in two versions. The big legitimate embassy-but-not-really-an-embassy building in Tokyo, and the underground spy/mobster version, called Gakushu-gumi.

エホバの証人 -- ehoba no jounin - the Jehovah's Witnesses. Even here they are weirding people out.


アムウェイ -- Amway. If telling people you are ehoba no jounin doesn't get rid of them, tell people "watashi no amuei wo sankashitai, no?" (would you like to join my Amway?) and watch them beat a hasty retreat.


パナウェーヴ -- panawave - another cult, famous for their hare krishna-like habit of parading down the street while wearing white robes. not so many white robes have been seen since they declared that the world would end definitely for sure in 2003.


梁山泊 -- ryouzanpaku - - league of people who make their living cheating at Pachinko. (the name comes from a Chinese novel - the original Ryouzanpaku was a fortress where bandits gathered)


日本赤軍 -- nihonsekigun - the Japanese Red Army. A terrorist group started in 1971 by Fusako shigenobu. Asking someone "nihon seki gun wo suki nandesuka?" (do you like the JRA?) is a great way to deal with anyone who asks you to give money to "those tsunami victims," or any other nuisance for that matter.


痴漢冤罪被害者　Chikan enzai higaisha -support group for people who claim they have been falsely accused of molesting women on trains. Ironically, Mitsuru Nagasaki, the head of the group, was re-arrested for a second offense. Reminds me of Joe Colombo, the founder of the "Italian Americans are NOT all mobsters" league, who wound up getting wacked during a protest.


and oh yeah, AUM.

PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!


右翼 -- Uyoku - literally, "right" plus "wing." (one of those wonderful Japanese words where they combine 2 Chinese characters for the purpose of translating an American phrase) the black-truck-yelling guys. Japan times has a great series on them here--part one , part 2 , part 3 , part 4 . part 5 , and the uyoku photo gallery. Also, can't forget the ,japanese nationalist portal page is here, in english.

青竜会　― -- seiryuukai - (lit. blue dragon gang) influential Uyoku group from Tokyo. For a laugh, ask your friends "what is the connection between seiryuukai and Tokyo governor Shintaro ishihara?"


宣伝カー　 -- Senden ka - "propaganda car" the famous black trucks used by uyoku.

日本遺族会 -- Nippon izokukai - the "association of families of japan's war dead", a lobbying group responsible for koizumi's visits to the yasukuni shrine.


靖国神社 -- Yasukuni shrine - short of wearing your shoes inside, the easiest way to get into an argument here. And here I am going to reveal the big secret. . . . the big secret of Yasukuni is, THERE IS NOBODY EVEN BURIED THERE. In Shinto, a shrine like that is just a place where ghosts hang out. So you have a million people pissed as hell, on both sides, because of a dude in a suit saying some words at a place where nobody is buried. All for symbolism. Not even pissed about real stuff! And now I'M pissed too!! god, fuck religion!!!!!

long story short, the ghosts of the good guys (pro-contact-with-the-rest-of-the-world Japanese who died fighting against the isolationist, feudal system) reside in the same shrine as the ghosts of the bad guys (world war two assholes who impaled chinese women on spikes and made the pregnant women watch as they cut their babies out of their bellies). So the emperor can't choose which ones he prays to, he has to pray to all of them or none. Japanese people are like, why won't the rest of the world let us practice our religion? But on the other hand, president Bush could go to the graves of the Enola Gay pilots and pray. I mean he could do that every weekend. But he doesn't. I wonder why?

And then there is China, who has a human rights record that Tony Montana could be proud of, trying to keep a straight face when accusing Japanese people of insensitivity. Of course, when you don't allow freedom of speech to your own people, and those people are broke and pissed off, you have to give them an enemy to say mean things about, the same way a steam engine has to have a safety valve or else it will expode. See also, Iran and Isreal. See also USA and French people/video games / rap lyrics / pot.

任侠右翼　 -- ninkyo uyoku (the chivalrous right) : The unintended consequence of Japan's recent RICO-style anti-yakuza laws. Suddenly former gansters become uyoku. The Ninkyou uyoku are opportunists, more interested in using nationalist rhetroric as a pretext for shakedowns and other moneymaking schemes.

how that works:

before: GIVE US A MILLION YEN OR WE TELL THE SHAREHOLDERS YOU BUY ANIME PORN!

after: GIVE US A MILLION YEN OR WE'LL EXPOSE THAT YOU DO BUISNESS WITH THE HATED KOREANS!

CEO: but don't you guys buy most of your heroin from the ko--

guy: SHUT UP! YOU UNPATRIOTIC SWINE! JUST GIMME THE FUCKING MONEY OR WE'LL SURROUND YOUR OFFICE WITH OUR LOUD LOUDSPEAKER TRUCKS UNTIL YOUR COMPANY GRINDS TO A STANDSTILL!

石原慎太郎 -- Shintaro ishihara - current Tokyo governor who cracks down on foreigners, sex clubs, and basically anything interesting.

Seisuke okuno - right wing politician, former education minister, wants revisionist history in schools, said comfort women were volunteers.

Yoshitada Konoike -- another LDP guy. In 2003, called for the death by dragging behind a truck, of the parents of a kid that went postal. He also said that 4 elementary schoolgirls kidnapped in a separate incident might have been to blame for their fate, the teasing sluts. Oh, and the punchline? He was the the state minister in charge of youth policy at the time. Here is a great English translation of Konoike-san's website.

Seiichi Ota - LDP former cabinet minister, said Waseda University's rape gangs are "virile" and "close to normal"

Takami Eto, - this Diet member and LDP guy is fucking awesome. He's like the Japanese Jesse Helms and Eminem all rolled into one. Homey's specialty seems to be defending native Japaense rape gangs while calling foreigners who overstay visas murderers and thieves. Also, "that whole thing with Korea in the '30s? they invited us." Jeez, Eto, put down Christopher Reeve's legs!



SEX


Harigata - traditional dildo from like a thousand years ago. Nowadays they just say dii-rudo.


唐ゆき -- Karayuki - 1800s word for Japanese women sent overseas to be prostitutes, back when Japan was a poor-person country.


ジャパゆき　 -- Japayuki - foreigners brought to japan to be hookers, now that Japan is a rich-person country.


ﾊﾟﾝﾊﾟﾝ　 -- Pan pan - post war official prostitutes, recruited by the authorities, for the specific purpose of fucking American troops.


従軍慰安婦 -- Juugun ianfu - another WWII term: "comfort women"


アリバイ屋　 -- Aribai-ya - "the alibi store" : a service for women working in the sex industry, or having affairs. The alibai store will send fake coworkers "from the office" to accompany you to parties weddings etc. More importantly, they act as an answering service to take your messages, while you are where you are not supposed to be "hello, PretendyMcSham's Fake not-sexual office, can you hold please?"


腹上死　－ -- Fukujoshi - the technical term for fucking yourself to death. Literally, death atop the stomach.


売春旅行 ツアー -- "baishun ryokou tsuaa" - sort of a WWII historical re-enactment society but without uniforms. Baishun ryokou tsuaa are the infamous "sex tours" businessmen go on where a big group of them travel to Philipines, Thailand, China, etc. for cheap prostitutes and to feel like a big shot -


チンコ祭り　－ -- Shinto festivals where people gather around huge statues of penises and ride them like a mechanical bull for fertility in the coming year. To be fair, at this point most of the people are tourists out for a cheap thrill, not people who are really super devout about dicks. But still, try finding this in another country.


WWII


親子心中 -- Oyako-shinju - One of Hirohito's more morbid ideas, the parent-child death pact, to be done n the event of dishonorable defeat. Otherwise known as, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.!"


一億玉砕 -- Ichioku gyokusai -lit. ten thousand gems shatter. In practice it means more like, death before dishonor. another Hirohito decree, the whole nation should suicide if they lose. This is the guy the right-wingers want to bring back.


建国会 -- Kenkoku-kai - The association of the founding of the nation. A group which helped the emperor start WWII.


7３１部隊　－ -- Unit 731 and its leader, shiro ishii -- 石井四郎 -

these guys were the Japanese version of JOSEPH MENEGELE, THE ANGEL OF DEATH. unit 731 did nothing but atrocities on helpless prisoners of war, but after the war, the criminals didn't get hunted down by Ellie Wiesel, instead they went from the prison to the corporate boardrooms of various pharmecutical companies! while regular soldiers were in Sugamo, the 731 guys were giving medical secrets to the CIA in exchange for immunity. Like for some reason the CIA really needed to know "can people survive with their liver and stomach amputated?" In fact, nothing was even mentioned about 731 during the war crimes trials. Anyway, after the war, boss-man shiro ishii got a job as president GREEN CROSS, the japanese blood bank. . . which gave like 2000 people aids!


Kin no yuri -- golden lily. This was the name for Hirohito's plan to loot gold out of Asia. When Japan started losing the war, the gold was hidden in the Philipines. A lot of this gold was also used for the M-fund.

Kempeitai - WWII secret police. A sort of Imperial Gestapo.



PEOPLE


三島由紀夫　 -- yukio mishima - the John Wayne of Japan!!! An author who got a huge right-wing macho following by proclaiming that Japan should go back to the Samuai days, be more manly, and generally be an imperial power again. Then it turned out he liked him some dick. Cue foghorn! It's like imagine what would happen if your Granddad saw a film of The Duke getting teabagged. Although maybe they could have guessed his orientation if they'd read FORBIDDEN COLORS.

盾の会 -- tate no kai - the shield society. mishima's uyoku group of flag-waving ass-ninjas.



ジャニー北川 -- Hiromu "Johnny" Kitagawa -- a music producer. He's been the king of boy bands for over 20 years. Here's another Japanese word you should know - 少年愛好者. Shonenaikousha. It means "pedophile."

Togo ken - the Quentin Crisp of Japan. For many Japanese in the '70s or '80s, he was the first openly gay man they ever saw! He was well known for entering elections even though he never won -- the campaigns were largely a pretext for spreading his message of visibility and human rights. He even got on TV with a speech about gay rights.

Kobayashi Yoshinori - he's a manga artist who uses comic books to introduce young, educated, hip people to right-wing ideology. He also does a magazine called WASHISM (me-ism!) Washism has articles such as 反米流行　 -- hanbeiryukou (anti-american trend).

Yoshio kodama - WWII gangster, class A war criminal, later supported by Macarthur and the CIA in helping combat communism in japan. Because he had money and also had a kickass spy network all across china from when japan ran china, he was chosen as America's guy. He helped establish the LDP, as well as helped his yakuza buddies fill the power vaccum left by the destruction of Hirohito's regime. He's largely credited with helping them systematically infiltrate every aspect of commerce.

岸 信介 -- former Prime minister Kishi Nobusuke- went from a class A war criminal to Prime Minister in just 9 years!! Go LDP! In return for the USA springing him out of Hirohito's-Best-Friend-jail , he signed a treaty allowing US army guys to stay in japan longer. So at least he's a really loyal double-crosser. Plus, he took CIA money to fight the communists in the 50s, and paid the money to Yakuza to do the dirty work. Punch-line? Homey is the grandfather of the current prime minister!

Juzo itami -movie director. made a bunch of films that satirized contemporary Japanese society, including Minbou no onna, which made fun of gangsters in particular. they said his death was a suicide.

Manabu Miyazaki - author of the book TOPPAMONO, available in english. It's the autobiography of a communist Yakuza turned journalist and muckraker. Someone at a bar told me he is also a "double-triple-informer."


ai aoyama - I can't think of any American to even compare her to. Maybe Dr. Laura? She started out as a professional dominatrix, then spun that into a career as a self-help book author somehow, and from there it was a natural step to a hypnotherapy-plus-s/m business (to relieve depression). From there, she went to North Korea on a diplomatic mission. Not that anyone asked her to, she just went. Her book is called utsu ni makenaide (only available in Japanese).



MOB STUFF

暴力団 -- Bouryokudan - (literally, violence groups). The official newspaper and government term for yakuza. Also useful for you, if you think they are within hearing distance.

yakuza slang tutorial page! it seems to be for people who, if not fluent, can at least read hiragana.

Ryohei uchida - old school late 1800s yakuza guy who helped establish foundations of modern gangs. Such as the Black Dragon Society. 黒竜会 (kokuryukai) . . . . if you even talk about this, people will flip out. HOW THE FUCK DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT?? This works best if you are like hella young such as an exchange student.

Yamaguchi-gumi --Largest syndicate in Japan. Their Tokyo affiliate is called yamaken-gumi. I'm no expert on this ,so for information about other groups, such as Inagawa-kai and Sumiyoshi-kai. . . let's go back to Wikipedia.


サラ金Sarakin - loan sharks


闇金Yamikin -other loan sharks


ミンボー minbou - regular old western-style extortion.


総会屋 -- Sokaiya - - the famous "corporate extortion," where mobsters who own like five shares of Sony demand money, "Or else we'll show up at the shareholders' meeting and tell everyone about the CEO's mistress!!" the usual method of getting money, is to "ask" corporate executives to "subscribe" to a magazine that costs like a million dollars. Can I get one of the magazines used??? email me!!
Links to corporate extortion scandals. and more of same.

地上げ屋 -- Jiageya - real estate crime. If a big development is planned near Grandma's house, her property's value will increase vastly. So the mob makes her sell it to them, and they sell it to the developers at the inflated price.



POLITICAL SCANDALS


財政投資　　　 -- Zaisei Toushi often shortened to ZAITO in Japanese. In English ,we call it the second budget. Or sometimes, Fiscal investment and loan program AKA -FLIP. There. That wasn't too hard, was it?

Oh yeah, what it IS. It's a assload of money. Mostly coming from the post office, which doubles as a bank. So you get a million normal Japanese depositing their life savings in this Postal Bank, and then unelected unaccountable secret government people get to use that money as they see fit. In theory the ZAITO is a flexible and fast way for the government to respond to financial crises and even out economic bumps. In practice, as you can imagine, it's a way for the unelected unaccountable secret government people to get fast and flexible broads and snort out cocaine bumps. Koizumi promised to reform the system, but didn't. basically if they stopped doing the bank the economy would collapse. Because -and get this - A lot of the ZAITO money goes to bailing out failing banks and companies, that have been similarly looted by OTHER unaccountable crooked beauracrats. So, there is that. Or so says Karl van Wolferen, a writer for Time Asia.


天下り　 -- Amakudari - lit. "descent from heaven". Americans have lobbyists. Japanese have Amakudari. Basically it is the American,"guy in charge of the EPA is visited on his first day by a toxic waste lobbyist, who says "Dood, I used to work for the EPA, making 20,000 a year. Then I retired at 35 and now I work for Pollution Incorporated, making TEN TIMES AS MUCH. If you don't enforce the EPA rules and don't rock the boat, there is a job like that waiting for YOU when you retire." And then the EPA guy dutifully lets industry lobbyists write environmental legislation that he passes on to congress for the next 20 years, then he retires and gets a cush job working for crooks," kind of system.

But in Japan, they are more efficient than us lazy westerners so they basically eliminate lobbyists altogether, and beuracrats routinely go to work directly for polluters like 3 days after they retire. Because their post-government jobs are so filthy rich and festooned with hookers who have been dunked in cocaine and Porches full to the dashboard with Moet and panties, these ex-beuracrats are called Descended from Heaven.



財務省 - Zaimushou - (Finance Ministry) The zaimushou is a major shareholder in Japan Tobacco, 日本たばこ　,a multinational corporation which owns the Japanese rights to RJR, Winston, Camel, and Salem. This is why smoking is so widespread in Japan - because the government makes money off of it! This is a classic example of zaibatsu.


財閥Zaibatsu - large business conglomerates. Naturally, every country has them, and many are much more corrupt than Japan. Having said that, though, the particular WAY in which big business, government, and Yakuza work together at all levels, is very Japanese, as the following example will show.


Dango - a very Japanese way of bidding for contracts. Most popular in the construction industry, but done in other lines of work as well. Basically, Andy owns property and wants to build a factory. So he says, "Who wants to build this factory for me I will pay them lots of bucks."

In response, Billy, Catherine, Dave, Ed, and Francois show up and say, "OK we all want that contract!" and here the Dango system comes into play. Instead of the client deciding who to hire based on wacky Western ideas like best-service-for-least-money, Dango means that Billy Catherine Dave and Ed will have a secret meeting and fix the bidding: "Hey, Dave got the contract last time, so this time we'll give it to Billy. Then next time Catherine, ok guys?"

To grease the Dango wheels, the winner (in this case Billy) has to pay some money to the losers to keep them afloat until the next rigged bid. In most cases this is not as obvious as big filthy piles of cash, but it's done by inflated subcontracts. Like, for instance Billy will pay Dave $50,000 to install the lightswitch in Andy's building.

In many ways, Dango is the most illuminating form of Japanese corruption. Because it makes the seemingly-contracitory Japanese cartel system (a weird combination capitalism and socialism) so easy to see. And make no mistake - japan is hella communistical, I guess it is their legacy of Confucian, "the group comes before the individuals" mentality combined with good-old-fashioned Western "bling bling." The best of both worlds! All the insiders in a given industry form a shadowy cabal and cooperate to screw the consumers! Haha, stupid consumers!

Anyway this process is described at length in Manabu Miyazaki's TOPPAMONO.

another example of the influence of zaibatsu . . .
土建福祉国家 -- doukafukushikouka , the Construction Welfare State
Alex kerr, in his book DOGS AND DEMONS bitches about this better than I can. Buy it. Basically the thesis is, after WWII, Macarthur said Japan is not allowed to have an army. So the power vaccum was filled by the Construction industry. Which makes sense given that USA bombed japan a lot and shit needed to be built. But, much like the military-industrial complex in the US, the doukan fukushi kokka is an addiction.

Here is how addiction works in the US--The arms industry makes a lot of money. Politicians want the money so they vote for wasteful contracts (remember the $2000 toilet seat cover?) and in return they get "campaign contributions" as well as making jobs for their constituents. It wastes money but the industry has too much political clout to be stopped. Plus if we DID stop, hella people would be out of work. So, thus, addiction. Substitute "construction" for "arms" and "amakudari" for "campaign contributions" (and, I guess "war on the environment" for "war against Panama and Grenada") and you've got japan. This is why there are rivers way out in the middle of nowhere with like 6 bridges within the space of one mile, and why entire mountainsides in the middle of fucking national parks have been cemented over "to prevent erosion."


Tobashi - accounting gimmick where, say, your bank makes a "loan" to some extortionist, or to your buddy from the golf range, or some dude you got hella hammered with at the hostess bar last night. Million bucks? Sure, why not. The loan is never repaid, but, financial genius that you are, you create a shell company called "FakeyMcShamCo." And you sell that bad loan to FakeyMcShamCo for like 10,000 bucks. (because in theory, if FakeyMcShamCo collects interest on the loan, they make a profit, which is why sometimes people do legitimately pay real money for loans which are let's face it, negative money, even if it makes your head hurt to think about the logic involved). Anyway, your million dollar loss is now a ten thousand dollar gain! And you can keep doing this like over and over, until A) someone actually wants to take real money out of your now-empty bank, b) real estate prices go down, or c) you drop dead from fukujoshi.

尖閣諸島 -- senkaku islands, currently run by Japan, that China wants back.


北方領土　 -- ho-pouryoudo. other islands - which Russia runs, that Japan wants back. Guess which islands are super important to right-wingers? I mean instead of bitching about the ho-pouryoudo, why don't they go on a vacation to Senkaku?

m-fund . unlike amakudari or zaito, most Japanese people don't know about the m-fund. In fact I have no idea what they even call m-fund in Japanese. Probably エムファンド。 But it is one of the coolest conspiracies since the masonic/pope/mafia / Banco Ambrosiano scandal in the 80s. Seriously, the M-fund: Lost Philipine gold, the CIA, yakuza, Macarthur, and bilions upon billions of yen, all belonging to nameless masters of the ruling LDP party. fuck yeah! sort of like if someone randomly gave Trent Lott the entire US budget. Here ya go, big guy. Orignally it was a combination of Hirohito's stolen Asian gold plus CIA money, which was doled out by the Yankees to help LDP and their mob buddies fight the communists in Japan. (Japan: small country right between USSR and Mao's China). but Nixon gave control of the money to Japanese politicians, and then communism broke, so now the LDP has like 500 billion dollars lying around. What the hell??

oh shit, i just found this. Japan Policy's Research Institute's "working paper #11"

The M-Fund is reported to have been the cause of several political murders. Many people in Japan believe that former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was murdered, the victim of deliberate poisoning rather than a digestive upset as reported to the press. According to these widely circulated reports, Sato's death occurred at the height of a contest with Kakuei Tanaka for control over the M-Fund. The dispute was, ultimately, settled and a major scandal averted by the payment from the Fund to Sato's widow of a huge death-benefit of 300 billion yen.

In more recent times (former prime minister) Mr. Takeshita's assistant, Mr. Aoki, supposedly a suicide, is said to have been assisted by persons having a vital interest in preserving the secrecy of the M-Fund. In the days before his death, Aoki, who was known to have detailed knowledge of the Fund's operations, made the mistake of telling several friends that the Recruit scandal was a minor matter compared to another scandal that was about to become public through his impending testimony.

No idea if it is true, but again, my point is wouldn't it be fun to bring this up with your host family over dinner?

"Hey, host Dad, pass the wasabi. By the way, was Sato assassinated by Tanaka's LDP ninjas?"

ok, on to the more "normal" scandals. . .



the Recruit Company . . . .as mentioned in the quote above, is the Japanese version of Enron (i.e. little company gets highly-placed government connection and suddenly becomes huge company rich on government contracts, until it explodes from greed and costs the taxpayers a million billion bucks).

Locheed - this scandal , involving an American arms company, toppled a fucking prime minister!!

Fuck it, back to wikipedia's PAGE OF JAPANESE POLITICAL SCANDALS. it has those two above plus many more. Can you believe there is a whole page of nothing but scandals? How crazy is that? Oh, wait. Nevermind.


君が代 -- Kimigayo - national anthem. It is associated with WWII militarism, so there is an ongoing dispute where teachers and students won't stand up for it in school.

天皇誕生日 -- Showa holiday - emperor hirohito is mostly referred to in japan as showa. Last year, Nov. 3d, his birthday, was made a national holiday. Can you believe that shit? Imagine if germany. . . OK, OK, never mind. Anyway, if you ask most Japanese what the hell is up with that, they'll say, oh, nov. 3 is GREEN DAY. Not anymore it isn't. but I guess naming a day after a native tyrant rather than a foreign pop band kind of makes sense. But still, if they REALLY want to honor the emperor, why don't they ichiokugyokusai?

北ちょせんによる　ラチ被害者。 -- kita chosen ni yoru rachi higaisha. kidnapping of Japanese civilians by the dozens by north korea. Oh boy. NK spies just snatch unsuspecting Japanese civilians off the damn street. Unlike most of the stuff on this list, I think Japanese people WANT foreigners to know about this. But it is still really awkward, so I'm printing it anyway.

MEDICAL SCANDALS

Although japan is a rich and technological country The Pill was not legal here until fucking 1999??? Compared with the 1960s in USA. Why? Because of the typical "shadowy-cartel-of -beuracrats-and-corporations-who went-to-a-top-university-together" system. . . although in this case the corporations were medical associations, not Big Pharma. Apparently they had decided to keep Japan in the Dark Ages in order to bolster the charging-1000-bucks-for-an-abortion industry. Sorry, I don't have a funny vocabulary word here. I just wanted to point out something fucked.

シモン病　眩暈 -- SHIMONbyou (smon disease)- Caused by the side effects of the chemical chinoform, over 11,000 went paralyzed or blind between 1955 and 1970. And all they wanted was to stop their diarrhea.

緑十字社　 -- midorijuujisha. Green-cross - bought aids tainted blood knowingly with help from the international trade ministry. Over 2,000 hemophiliacs infected with aids.

minamatabyou. (minamata disease) In the 50s and 60s, in the port city of Minimata, mercury poisoning caused hella people to get deformed and have deformed babies, and just suffer. All levels of japanese society , from crooked doctors, crooked newspapers, crooked beuracrats, mayors, and crooked cops, worked in lockstep. . . to terrorize the victims and call them liars and complainers! There's your saving face again. Yakuza thugs brought in to beat up shareholders who complain .


DISCRIMINATION


immigration bureau's snitch site. This is something I bet George Bush or George Ashcroft wish they'd thought up: A website where Japanese can anonymously snitch on immigrants. Like you! Especially awesome is the part where the "reason for snitching" drop-down menu includes such options as "fear" and "no reason."


部落民 えた、ひにん - Burakumin and the eta-hinin - you have probably read about them already, in a real book. Along with the ethnic Ainu, the burakumin and the eta-hinin are the low-caste groups that have historically been persecuted. Burakumin are people working at jobs considered "dirty" by Shintoism, but eta-hinin are more like people that are hated on for being born to the wrong ethnic group. FYI, these terms are kind of like the n-word, so you shouldn't really say them directly. However, if you say "burakumin sabetsu" (prejudice against the burakumin) this is considered not offensive.



Koseki -- the family register, where marriages, births, deaths are recorded. Unless one of the parents is an immigrant, in which case it doesn't count. This is important because, if a Japanese guy gets a foreigner pregnant, the baby legally has no father. Thus, no child support, no inheritance, and the child is NOT a Japanese citizen! (link (halfway down page))

Conversely, if a Japanese lady has a baby with a foreigner in a foreign country, say, france, she can bounce on the guy, kidnap the kids and take 'em back to japan, and the Japanese government will say fuck you to the guy if he tries to see his own kids. This might sound normal given how messy divorces are, but actually most countries DO have a process to adjudicate such disputes. This is because most democracies have signed the Hague convention on international child abduction - japan won't sign it

Not surprising considering that it's got the worst human-trafficking record out of all the developed nations. Well except Russia of course. But Russia is broke.



GENERAL SOCIETY-IS-COMING-TO-AN-END STUFF


Hikikomori - this word started to be popular around 2000 to describe young people who refused to leave their house. This is not agorophobia. For instance, they might go out at night to buy food. They were not afraid to be outdoors per se, they just were afraid to participate in society. I mean, for years and years. And the longer you do it, the more of a loser you feel like, so the more you are afraid of people judging you, so the more you refuse to leave your anime-and-used-ramen-container-infested life-hole.

Ijime - bullying. Not like wedgies or getting your milk money took. Japanese bullying has driven more than a thousand children to suicide. The hatred of anyone "outside the group" combined with the cultural ethic of "if something bad happens, ignore it," allow groups of kids to deliberately target a random kid for destruction, and the rest of the school just looks on, or even joins in because they are afraid they'll be next on the shit-list. The schools cover it up because of that awesome Asian concept of "saving face." Did I mention how much I hate face?

It starts in kindergarten with kids being isolated and shunned. Not suprisingly kids denied the chance to develop social skills then become easy targets in elementary school. At the other end, bullying ties neatly into mob activity, with wanna-be gangstas extorting junior high school kids with organized beat-downs, and even passing part of their earnings on to their mob bosses.

If you live in Japan, chances are a lot of your friends either were bullies or the victims of bullies. Either way, the ghosts of it will affect them for the rest of their lives. In my experience, the symptoms of somone bullied to almost the point of suicide are, an inability to look at you in the eye, and a nervous laugh, and continually belittling themselves.


SUPER FREE -- the most infamous of Waseda University's systematic rape gangs. Shinichiro Wada, the leader, organized dance parties. Apparently lots of women wanted to go, becuase Waseda guys are all going to be rich and successful. But the parties were just a pretext for giving certain women roofies and liquor and dragging them into back rooms for systematic rape, and they did parties like this over and over again before one of their victims actually went to the police. In japanese, the gang's name is often shortened to suu-furi


自殺サイト　　 - jisatsu saito... Internet suicide clubs. like Myspace for suicidal people. Plenty of people want to die but don't have the guts to do it. These websites exist to facilitate group suicide, as in, "Together if we try we can do it." People plan specific dates and times to do it. Because, you know, Japan loves a team effort.


Which brings us to 自殺　－－　SUICIDE. Japan's legendary high suicide rate. The UN 2003 world suicide chart shows Japan second to ex-USSR countries like Russia, Latvia, Rmania, etc. for male suicide, but it is FEMALE suicide where Japan really shines -- leaping past ALL the former Soviet repbulics, to land #2 in the world, right behind Sri Lanka. Ladies, maybe it is not an OK idea go to Sri Lanka?

教育ママ　 -- Kyouiku mama - education mama. sort of a Stage Mom (the kind of much hated showbiz pushy mom that puts their kid on a sitcom at 8 years old, steals their money, and the kid has a rap sheet as long as your arm by 19). All kinds of weird antics are attributed to kyoiku mamas. how much is just sexist rumor, and what is fact, I don't know. But it is a good topic to bring up with Japanese friends.

佐川一政　 -- Issei sagawa -Japan's most famous cannibal.in 1981while studying in Paris, he ate a lady. Like full-on, Ed Gein-style, body-parts-scattered-around-the-apartment-in-various-states-of-having-been-cooked. He got busted but for some reason got out on a technicality. Now he's a sort of fucked celebrity, and people read his books.

Tsutomu miyazaki - cannibal, child molester, murderer. Not to be confused with the famous communist terrorist of the same name. or the communist-yakuza-snitch. Or, for that matter, the beloved director of My neighbor Totoro.

Shonen A. Kobe 1997. a 14 year old cut a kid's head off and left it at the school gate with a note in his mouth. In his note, taunting the police, he used "Sakakibara Saito" as an alias. In the newspapers because of his young age he was referred to as Shonen a. (John Doe A).

Kotaro Yoshisato . . . most people don't know his name. but if you say "Asakasa okashi shougakusei shoji yuukai jiken" (the elementary school kidnapper from asakasa) then you will get a reaction. A lot of Japanese people think he was running a pedophile prostitution ring to government types. While this might seem like irresponsible gossip, the following passage from a Japan Times article makes me fearful and queasy.

Two years (before the kidnapping case), Saitama Prefectural Police investigated the man, identified as Kotaro Yoshisato, on suspicion of illegally selling pornographic videos, the sources said. At that time, however, police were unable to establish a case due to a lack of evidence.

So, yeah, they just let him and his list of shadowy influential customers go. Hmm.


援交狩り -- Enkogari - the old-fashioned "badger game." Schoolgirl prostitutes post ads, guys respond to those ads, only to get mugged and lectured by the schoolgirl's boyfriends.


as　おやじ狩り -- oyaji gari (old man hunting) - is a related crime; basically the same thing without the sex. just finding some random old guy, kicking him down and standing in a circle around him taunting him, and kicking him again, until you and your douchebag friends get bored.


コインロッカーベビー "coin locker babies." A 1970s phenomenon where unwed teen mothers would leave their babies in. . . .man, fuck this.

水子霊場 -- Mizu-ko reijo - literally, "water baby soul cemetary." Mizu-ko is the traditional term for a dead unborn baby - whether a miscarriage or abortion. Women who feel terrible about having a mizu-ko can go to a Bhuddist priest and pay for a ritual where the priest concerates a small child-sized statue to their baby, where the ghost can hang out (rather than following the mother around haunting her). You can see literally thousands of these mizu-ko reijos around Japan.

過労死　 - Karoshi. The famous "Death from overwork" syndrome.


Shinju - love suicide


密告　 -- -- Mi-koku - secret information. As in, mi-kokusha (informer) or mi-koku suru. (to snitch)

Different Manga Styles

Neko Cutie Images

Japanese Glossary M to R

• mangaka: an author of manga
• megami: goddess
• minna: everybody
• monogatari:story
• moshi moshi:hello. Used only when picking up the phone
• namida:tears
• neko: cat
• ningen: human being
• o: king
• obaasan: grandmother
• ohayo: informally, good morning.
• ojiisan: grandfather
• okaasan: mother
• oneesan/oneechan: sister
• oni: malicious spirits
• oniisan: brother
• onna: woman
• onsen: hot springs
• otaku: a fan. In Japan, the term carries a negative connotation since it refers to people whose social life is nonexistent due to their hobby, be it anime or something else. In western cultures, most anime fans refer to themselves as otaku, which isn't strictly true.
• otoko: man
• otousan: father
• ronin: historically, a vagabond samurai. Nowadays also used for people who fail university exams.
• ryu: dragon

10 Interesting Facts about Japan

1. There are 127 million people living in the Japan

2. Japan is nicknamed the “Land of the Rising Sun”.
3. Japanese Sake is made from fermented rice, and usually served warm
4. There are over 200 volcanoes in Japan
5. In Japan, snowmen are made of two large snowballs, not three.
6. There are more than 1,600 temples in Kyoto.
7. Japan’s Haiku poetry is the shortest in the world, consisting of only three lines.
8. The fortune cookie dates back to Kyoto, Japan during the 19th century.
9. The Japanese constitution includes an article completely renouncing war and aggression.
10. Under Japanese law, Kobe beef can only come from Hyogo Prefecture.

Glossary of Anime Terms

Baka
The Japanese word for "idiot" or "fool".

Bishounen "beautiful young man" / Bishoujo "beautiful girl"
This term is very rarely used outside of anime. "bishounen" is usually only applied to very feminine, swishy male anime characters.

Chibi
"chibi" literally means "midget" and refers to anything small and cute.In anime, "chibi" refers to the super-deformed style of drawing. Characters with huge heads and itty bitty little bodies.

Cosplay
Short for "costume play". Dressing up as your favorite characters.

CG
Computer Graphics, or refering to anything in anime that is drawn digitally with 3D models.

Dojinshi
Literal meaning: same things, different people.
Fan produced itmes from similar storylines, especially fan drawn manga. Dojinshi is pretty much legal in Japan as it shows the makers of official manga how popular their work is. Fan works range from hand-made photocopies stapled together into booklets to the professionally bound works.

Ecchi
"is the Japanese pronunciation of the English letter "H", which in turn stands for "hentai". It means anything perverted, overly sexual, etc. Always in a negative context.

Fanfic
A story written by fans that involves characters from an existing anime series. Usually written in installments and published on the internet, the content ranges from continuations of the official story to improbable situations to erotica.

Fan Service
Anything used to please the audience that has nothing to do with the show. In anime, this is a "code word" for things like panty shots, close up of busts, etc. usually when the audience is predominately male.

Fansub
Fan-subtitled. The only way to find a translation of many less popular titles as well as surprising ones is through fansubbing. Generally, fansubbed items are distributed by copying freely, so poor quality copies are common. It is considered unethical and illegal to fansub a show which is being commercially translated.

Hentai
Refers to anything perverted, erotic, or sexual, always in a negative context. Words both as an adjective and a noun. Something can be described as "hentai," and you can also simply call someone a "hentai."

Hime "Princess"
This is a name suffix, added to the ends of names. (Ex: Mononokehime = Princess Mononoke). If used alone as a noun, not attached to a name, the term is usually "himesama" or "ohimesama."

Henshin
To transform.
This term generally refers to animes or manga that has characters transforming into their magical alter ego. (Ex. Sailormoon)

J-pop
Japanese popular music.

Japanimation
A term used to refer to Japanese animation.

Kawaii "cute"
Literally, "kawaii" means defenseless/pathetic, but these days refers to anything dripping of cuteness. Also used for "cute" as in "cute girl/boy.". It is common for American anime fans to overuse this word. If you are male, please realize that this makes you sound comically swishy.

Kodomo
Literally means child. In the anime world, this term refers to anime or manga that is specifically created with children under the age of 10 in mind. Some popular kodomo anime titles are Doraemon and Anpanman.

Lemon
mature content
This is not a Japanese term. It is a word invented by American anime fans to refer to anime and fan fiction with sexual content.

Lolita
A term used for hentai involving children. Lolita comes from the book Lolita in which a forty some year old man falls in love with a fourteen year old girl. Lolita hentai is popular among men in Japan.

Lime
Usually refers to fanfic that hints that a couple had sex.

Manga
Japanese comics
As of 1998, over 54% of all bound printed matter published in Japan was manga, with nearly 2.8 billion volumes printed annually. Manga is much more popular than anime in Japan. Almost all anime starts as manga, gains a following, and is then converted to anime. Note that "manga" is printed, "anime" is animated. The two terms cannot be interchanged.

Mecha
Big robots in anime.
This is not a Japanese term. It was invented originally by American anime fans to describe the big robots found in anime. Ironically, the term has caught on in Japan, and now some anime actually uses the term as well.

Megami-sama
A goddess. "megami" literally means "female god." "sama" is an honorary suffix usually attached to the end.

Manga-ka
A term used for a manga artist. Manga-ka is a difficult and much desired job in Japan unlike comic artists.

OAV
Stands for original animation video. Not part of a tv series, but not a movie.

Otaku "obsessive fan"
This is a dangerous word. It has been adopted by American anime fans to mean any sort of anime/manga fan. Some even use it with pride. Note that in Japan, "otaku" is a very very harsh insult. It is reserved only for people who never leave their houses (which is what otaku literally means), because they are too frightened of people. No hygeine, no people skills, no motivation, and usually very perverted and disgusting. Use with great care outside of America.

OST
Original SoundTrack - Soundtrack albums for the music in anime series.

OVA
A long, made for TV version of an anime series, usually 1-2 hours long. Occasionally seen on television, but usually released straight to video or DVD.

Omake
This term means "extra" in Japanese. In anime terms it usually refers to the silly stories, author notes, and alternative scenes found at the end of an anime series or manga.

Ronin
The Japanese term for a samurai without a master. Basically, they wandered around looking for work as a hired sword, and have a sort of cool, "lone gunslinger" image. Can also be used to describe students taking exams to a university. (ex. Keitaro from Love hina, Godai from Maison Ikkoku)

Regional Codes
A general DVD term, Regional Codes can be used to prevent the playback of certain discs depending on the geographical area it is played in. These codes were placed after various studios and home video companies supported these codes as a required part of current DVD standards. In doing so, they hoped to better control how DVD titles were exported to other countries. Regional codes can usually be found on the back of DVD packages inside the Regional Coding globe logo with the region number on it. In some cases, the Regional Code is spelled out.

The following is the regional breakdown.

Region 1 (R1) - The United States, United States territories, and Canada
Region 2 (R2) - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, and Greenland
Region 3 (R3) - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Hong Kong
Region 4 (R4) - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean
Region 5 (R5) - Russia, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6 (R6) - China

Raw
n the anime world, "raw" is the common term used for unsubbed anime.

Seiyuu
The Japanese voice actors/actresses in anime. This may include singers.

Shounen-ai
Boy love.
This term refers to anime or manga that deals with relationships between two male characters. It is generally thought of as being less explicit than yaoi. Examples may include Gravitation or Yami no Matsuei.

Yaoi
Any content that has boy-boy situations. Homosexual content.

Yuri
Literal meaning: lily.
In the anime world, this term is the equivalent of yaoi but for girls. In other words, it refers to anime/manga with girl-girl situations.

Categorization:

Josei
(n.) young woman.
Demographic indicator for anime and manga aimed at young women. One of the rarest forms of anime, a large proportion of josei anime/manga appears to fall under the category of "yaoi".

Shoujo
(n.) daughter; young lady; virgin; maiden; little girl.
Demographic indicator for anime and manga aimed at girls. However, among Western fans, it is often misinterpreted to mean "an anime with the stylistic qualities usually associated with shoujo".

Shounen
(n.) boys; juveniles.
Demographic indicator for anime and manga aimed at boys. The most obvious and common example of shounen is "fighting" anime, where extremely powerful warriors duke it out amongst each other with various forms of martial arts and superpowers.

Seinen
(n.) youth; young man.
Relatively uncommon in the west due to the emphasis on the male teen market, "seinen" is a demographic indicator for anime and manga aimed at a young adult male (college-aged) audience. They are intended for a more mature audience.