Word origins

• jiseiA poem traditionally composed on one's deathbed in Japan.
• jitoA medieval steward of territory in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates.
• Jodo ShinshuA popular school of Buddhism, founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran.
• JōetsuA city in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
• jojifukuA fashion style of adults dressing in a little girl-esque aesthetic.
• jojutsuSynonym of jodo (“Japanese martial art using a short staff”).
• jokamachiA Japanese castle town.
• jonidanThe division of sumo wrestlers above jonokuchi and below sandanme, containing the highest number of rikishi.
• jonokuchiA member of the lowest division of sumo wrestlers (below jonidan) to which new recruits are promoted after their first tournament.
• joseiA class of manga written for an older female audience.
• jōyō kanjiAny of the kanji in a list of common kanji prepared by the Japanese government.
• J-popJapanese pop music influenced by Western genres.
• juhyouSynonym of snow monster.
• jujutsukaA practitioner of any type of jujutsu/jujitsu martial arts, except judo.
• jukujikunA Japanese word whose kanji spelling conveys the meaning based on the individual characters, but whose reading is not directly related to the spelling.
• junshiIn medieval Japan, the practice of vassals committing seppuku (ritual suicide) upon the death of their lord.
• jun-yushoThe second-place position, behind yusho, at the end of a basho; often shared by more than one rikishi.
• JurōjinThe Japanese god of longevity. One of the seven gods of luck.
• juryo-kakuthe rank of gyoji who officiates a bout involving a rikishi from the juryo division
• kabochaA variety of Japanese winter squash, from species Cucurbita maxima.
• kabosuThe juicy citrus fruit of Citrus sphaerocarpa, often used in Japanese food. It is grown primarily in Ōita Prefecture.
• KabukichoA district of Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kantō, Japan; an entertainment, gambling, and red light district.
• kabureA form of schistosomiasis caused by infection with Schistosoma japonicum.
• kachi-koshia majority of wins in an honbasho; reflects positively on the rikishi's ranking
• kadobanAn ozeki who is in danger of demotion
• kadomatsuA traditional decoration consisting of pine boughs and other plant cuttings placed in pairs in front of a home for Japanese New Year.
• Kagi chartA style of financial chart, mostly independent of time, used to track price movements and make decisions on purchasing stock.
• kagoAn open and suspended Japanese style of sedan chair.
• kagurabueA kind of transverse bamboo flute with six or seven holes from Japan.
• KagutsuchiThe Japanese god of fire, son of Izanagi and Izanami and brother of Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukuyomi and Ōyamatsumi; he burned his mother to death while being born.
• KaguyaThe protagonist of 赫映姫の物語 (Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, “The Tale of Princess Kaguya”), a mysterious girl from the moon, discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant.
• kaibunA form of Japanese palindrome.
• kaigai nikiAn overseas (non-Japanese) person in a primarily Japanese livestream.
• kaijinA fictional humanoid monster as a typical antagonist in tokusatsu media.
• kainahineriA kimarite in which the attacker locks one of his opponent's arms with both arms, then twists him down.
• kainic acidA heterocyclic dicarboxylic acid isolated from certain red algae; used as an anthelmintic in Japan.
• kairo cancerA cutaneous condition caused by hydrocarbon-fueled heat exposure from coal-fired clothing warmers.
• kaisekiA style of Japanese cuisine involving a series of small, intricate dishes; a tasting menu
• kaitenSynonym of sushi train.
• kaizoA philosophy of game design distinguished by very high difficulty levels and hidden traps that can only be solved by repeated deaths and trial and error, especially associated with romhacks of Super Mario games.
• kajikiBlue marlin (Makaira nigricans)
• KajinKagutsuchi, the Japanese god of fire.
• Kajishinthe Japanese god of the forge, metalcraft, and blacksmithing
• KakegawaA city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
• kakegoeMelodramatic calls from an audience in kabuki theatre or as part of call-and-response singing in Japanese folk music.
• kakemonoA vertical Japanese scroll painting.
• kakenageA kimarite in which the attacker hooks one leg under those of his opponent, raises the hooked leg up and back forcing the opponent up and over.
• KakeyaA surname
• kakezoriA kimarite in which the attacker, with his head under one of his opponent's arms, takes an inside grip on the opponent's mawashi and twists him over a leg while driving his head into the opponent's side to force him over backwards.
• kakiagetempura made with mixed vegetable strips, sometimes with shrimp or squid, and formed into small round fritters
• kakiemonJapanese porcelain wares featuring enamel decoration.
• kakizomeThe first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year.
• kakkeberiberi
• Kakure KirishitanA member of the Japanese Catholic Church during the Edo period who went underground after the Shimabara Rebellion in the 1630s.
• kamabokoAny of various processed seafood products made from surimi, in which whitefish is pureed, formed into loaves, and steamed until firm.
• kamadoA traditional Japanese wood- or charcoal-fired earthen vessel used as a stove or oven.
• kamaitachiA Japanese yōkai (supernatural being), taking the form of a weasel with sharp claws, and believed to ride dust devils.
• KamikawaA surname from Japanese.
• KamisatoA surname from Japanese
• kamishibaiA traditional Japanese form of storytelling using picture scrolls, revived in the twentieth century by travelling showmen.
• kamishimothe haori and hakama as a set; especially, one using a sleeveless haori with flared shoulders worn by certain samurai during the Edo Period.
• kamoiThe upper rail on which a Japanese room divider runs.
• Kamo Rivera river in Kyōto Prefecture, Japan, a tributary of the Yodo River
• kampakuAn Japanese imperial regent or chief advisor.
• kampyoDried shavings of calabash used in Japanese cuisine.
• kanjin-sumoThe historic form of sumo that developed into the modern sport.
• kanrekiA traditional 60th birthday celebration among Japanese people.
• kanrininA custodian
• KanrojiA surname from Japanese.
• KanteiThe official residence of the prime minister of Japan.
• kantenagar
• kanto-shoA special prize for fighting-spirit; one of the sansho prizes.
• KanumaA city in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
• kanzashiAn ornamental hairpin; hair ornament.
• kanzuriA Japanese cooking paste made from red chili, rice malt, yuzu and salt
• kappamakihosomaki sushi with a cucumber filling
• karaageJapanese or Korean food that is dipped in flour and then deep-fried, typically made from boneless chicken.
• karadaAn intricate rope structure tied around the body.
• KarafutoJapanese name for Sakhalin (island in Russia)
• karajishiA guardian lion figure found in Chinese and Japanese art.
• karasumiDried salted mullet roe, a Japanese delicacy.
• kariginuAn open-sleeved, round-collared Japanese robe, originally worn as a hunting costume by the nobility.
• karoshiDeath, such as from heart attack or stroke, brought on by overwork or job-related stress.
• kashikoiwise, especially in the context of Japanese culture.
• KashiwabaraA surname from Japanese.
• katakiriboriA Japanese sword-making technique employing a chisel at two different angles.
• katashiroA traditional Japanese paper doll, used as a talisman to perform a certain form of self-purification.
• katasukashiA kimarite in which the attacker forces his opponent down by placing his hands on the opponent's shoulder blade (one inside and one outside) and pulling him down and forward while backing away.
• katautaA particular kind of Japanese poem, having a 5-7-7 meter and forming half of an exchange of two poems.
• KatōA city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
• katsudonA Japanese dish of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments.
• katsuoSynonym of skipjack tuna.
• katsuogiA short log used as decoration in Japanese and Shinto architecture, placed at right angles to the ridgeline of a roof.
• kawachibunaThe Japanese white crucian carp, Carassius cuvieri.
• kawarimiA ninja technique relying on misdirection to quickly switch the ninja’s body with something that can be mistaken for it, such as a dummy, a mannequin, or another body.
• kawazugakeA kimarite in which the attacker hooks his opponent's leg from the inside, pulls it forward and across his own body, taking him over backwards.
• kayakujutsuIn Japanese martial arts, the use of firearms, gunpowder and explosives, especially by ninja.
• kedaniA mite of species (Trombicula akamushi), found in Japan.
• KegonSynonym of Huayan (“form of Buddism”).
• keikakuA plan, particularly a devious or complicated one.