Word origins

• sagariThe stiffened silk fronds inserted in the front of a mawashi.
• sagemonoAny kind of carrying container hung from one's belt or sash (in Japan), such as a coin purse, tobacco pouch, or pillbox.
• saibaraA genre of accompanied vocal Japanese court music that existed during the Heian period in the Nara and Kyoto regions.
• saiko-komonThe chief advisor of the oyabun in the yakuza.
• SakagawaA surname from Japanese.
• SakaharaA surname from Japanese.
• SakasakiA surname from Japanese.
• SakashitaA surname from Japanese.
• sakatottariA kimarite, counter to a tottari, in which the attacker frees the arm being barred and forces his opponent to fall forward.
• SakazakiA surname from Japanese.
• sakazukiA Japanese cup for drinking saké.
• sakéRice wine; a drink made from filtered fermented rice.
• SakikoA female given name from Japanese.
• SakimuraA surname from Japanese.
• sakokuThe isolationist foreign policy of Japan between the 1630s and 1866, in which entry to and exit from Japan were severely restricted.
• sakugaIn Japanese animation (anime), a sequence of noticeably higher quality, used to highlight a particularly important scene.
• SakurajimaIts eponymous giant white radish (“桜島大根”), cultivated nearby since at least the 18th century.
• -samaAppended to a person's name or nickname to convey honour and respect.
• SamejimaA surname from Japanese.
• -sanHonorific ending used to indicate that a person is Japanese, talking with a Japanese, or treated like a Japanese.
• Sanbō KōjinThe Japanese god of fire, the hearth, and the kitchen.
• sandanmethe division of sumo wrestlers above jonidan and below makushita
• sangakuA geometrical problem or theorem on a wooden tablet, placed as an offering at a Japanese shrine.
• sanguAn ethnic group based in the Usangu Plain of Chunya District of Mbeya Region, Tanzania.
• sanmaA variant of riichi mahjong adapted for three players
• sanmaiA construction method for Japanese-style blade steels, usually sandwiching a hardenable steel in a taco of flexible steel, that is forge-welded together, leaving a hardenable edge steel and flexible spine steel, for single-edged blades.
• sanpakuThe presence of visible white space (sclera) above or below the iris of the human eye, traditionally supposed in China and Japan to indicate physical or mental imbalance.
• SanseitoA Japanese ultraconservative, right-wing populist political party.
• sanshinA three-stringed instrument of Okinawan origin, the precursor to the shamisen.
• sanshoAny of the three special prizes awarded at the end of a basho.
• sanshokuA yaku awarded for winning a hand with one sequence of the same numbers in each suit.
• sansukeA male bathhouse worker who assisted the bathers.
• sanukiteAn andesite characterized by orthopyroxene as the mafic mineral, andesine as the plagioclase, and a glassy groundmass.
• sanyakuAny of the three highest ranks of sumo wrestler: komusubi, sekiwake and ozeki, together with the honorary title of yokozuna.
• saruboboA Japanese amulet in the form of a red doll without a face, traditionally made for grandchildren or as a charm to ensure a good marriage.
• sarugakuA form of Japanese theater popular during the 11th to 14th centuries.
• SaruwatariA surname from Japanese.
• sasanquaA camellia, Camellia sasanqua, native to China and Japan.
• sashichigaia decision by the shimpan to overturn the decision of the gyoji
• sashikoA Japanese form of decorative reinforcement stitching (or functional embroidery), traditionally used to reinforce or repair garments.
• satoyamaA border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land in Japan.
• sedokaA particular kind of Japanese poem, composed of two sets of 5-7-7 syllables.
• seigen jikanThe time allocated for the shikiri rituals before the beginning of each bout.
• SeiheiA male given name from Japanese.
• seiroganA trademark for a pharmaceutical drug marketed in Japan, sold as gastrointestinal medication (especially as an antidiarrhoeal), whose main active ingredient is wood creosote.
• SeiyuhontoA political party in Japan, active from 1924 to 1927.
• SeiyukaiA major political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan, founded in 1900.
• seizaA traditional formal way of sitting in Japan, by kneeling with the legs folded underneath the thighs and the buttocks resting on the heels, with ankles turned outward.
• SekigawaA surname from Japanese.
• sekihanA Japanese dish of rice boiled with red beans.
• sekitoriA rikishi, of rank juryo and above, who draws a salary.
• sekiwakeA sumo wrestler ranked below ozeki and above komusubi.
• senryūA haiku-like poem of up to 17 syllables that is usually humorous or satirical.
• senshurakuThe last day of a fifteen-day tournament, always on a Sunday.
• sentōA Japanese bathhouse.
• sergalA fictional open species of extraterrestrial, ovoviviparous, anthropomorphic creatures with slick, muscular furred bodies, digitigrade legs, and a distinctive elongated pointy shark-like muzzle; a popular fursona species.
• sesshinA period of intensive zazen meditation in a Buddhist monastery.
• SetogawaA surname from Japanese.
• SetoguchiA surname from Japanese.
• setokaA cultivar of tangor (tangerine/orange hybrid, Citrus reticulata × Citrus sinensis).
• SetsubunA Japanese festival on the last day before spring.
• sewaninA retired wrestler who assists at a stable.
• shabu-shabuA Japanese dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables, cooked piece by piece in hot water at the table by the diners.
• shakubukuto proselytize; to convert (someone) to one's religion
• shamojiA flat paddle used in Japanese cuisine to stir and serve rice and to mix vinegar into the rice for sushi.
• shantenThe minimum number of tiles a player must draw to form a winning hand.
• shiaiA judo competition.
• shiba inuA dog of a small, agile Japanese breed originally used for hunting.
• shibazukeA type of Japanese eggplant pickle.
• shibireA gene found in Drosophila, its homolog of the dynamin gene.
• ShibukawaA city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan.
• Shichi-Go-SanA Japanese rite of passage festival celebrating children at the ages of three, five, and seven years old.
• shichimiA Japanese spice mixture based on coarsely ground red chili pepper.
• shichimi togarashiShichimi.
• shichirinA lightweight, portable Japanese charcoal grill.
• ShigekoA female given name from Japanese.
• ShigemitsuA transliteration of the Japanese surname 重光
• shihon-bashiraThe four pillars that support the tsuriyane over the sumo ring; in modern practice removed for better television coverage.
• shii treeA tree, Castanopsis cuspidata, native to southern Japan and southern Korea.
• shikiiThe lower rail on which a Japanese room divider runs.
• shikimiThe tree Illicium anisatum.
• shikirithe preparation time before a sumo bout during which the rikishi try to gain a psychological advantage by intense staring (niramiai) and when salt is ceremonially thrown (kiyome-jio)
• shikiri-senThe two enamel lines, embedded in the dohyo, behind which the rikishi crouch in preparation for the tachiai.
• shikishiA small card or paper board for drawing sketches, writing poetry, autographs, etc. on, often having a square shape and gilded border.
• shikkenA member of the Hōjō clan who served as regent of the shogunate, from 1199 to 1333, during the Kamakura period.
• shikonaThe wrestling name of a rikishi, normally derived from his heya, place of birth etc.
• ShimabaraA surname from Japanese.
• ShimaharaA surname from Japanese.
• shimaidona threesome including two women who are sisters
• ShimakawaA surname from Japanese.
• shimapanstriped panties
• ShimauchiA surname from Japanese.
• shimekomiThe silk mawashi worn by sekitori for competition.
• shimenawaA length of straw that lines the ring (used as ritual purification in shinto)
• shimewazaA chokehold in judo.
• ShimojiA surname from Japanese.
• shimotsukareA Japanese dish typically made of salmon head simmered with vegetables, soybeans, deep-fried tofu skins, and rice pulp from fermented saké.
• shimpanthe four judges, sitting at each cardinal point
• shindeshia young rikishi recruit, not yet professional
• shine muscata cultivar in the muscat family of grapes made by crossing Akitsu-21 and 'Hakunan' (Vitis vinifera)