Word origins

• korokkeA Japanese dish of chopped meat, seafood, or vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce, rolled in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried.
• koshikudakeA situation in which a rikishi accidentally falls over, his opponent thus winning.
• koshinagea kimarite in which the attacker turns his opponent while pulling him onto his hips then straightens his knees and throws him over and onto his back
• kotatsuA knee-high table with a heater inside which is used with a coverlet during winter.
• kotehineriA kimarite in which the attacker locks his opponents arm at the biceps then twists him around and down.
• kotenageA kimarite in which the attacker wraps his arm around that of his opponent and, when it is locked near the elbow, turning away from him.
• kozogamiJapanese tissue.
• kubihineriA kimarite in which the attacker wraps one hand around his opponent's neck and grips his arm with the other; he then forces his opponent down by twisting his neck.
• kubinageA kimarite in which the attacker wraps one arm around his opponent's neck then turns and throws him.
• kubisagariA chronic endemic disease of Japan, characterized by dimness of vision, diplopia, ptosis, and paralysis of certain muscles.
• kuchisabishiiThe tendency or desire to eat due to boredom, loneliness, stress, etc. rather than hunger.
• kudanA yokai with the head of a human and the body of a bovine.
• kuisagaruA technique in which a wrestler lowers his centre of gravity and pushes his opponent out of the ring
• KujiKuji (a city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan).
• kukichaA Japanese tea blend made from stems, stalks, and twigs.
• KumadaA surname from Japanese.
• KumagawaA surname from Japanese.
• KumagayaA city in Saitama prefecture, Japan.
• KumakawaA surname from Japanese.
• KumakuraA surname from Japanese.
• KumasawaA surname from Japanese.
• KumataniA surname from Japanese.
• KumayamaA surname from Japanese.
• KumazawaA surname from Japanese.
• kumazemiA cicada, Cryptotympana facialis, from subtropical eastern Asia, that makes a particularly loud noise
• KunashirThe southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, disputed between Japan and Russia.
• KunikoA female given name from Japanese.
• KunimitsuA male given name from Japanese.
• kun-yomiA reading of a kanji that is not derived from the kanji's original pronunciation borrowed from Chinese
• KurayoshiA city in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.
• KurimotoA surname from Japanese.
• KurobaneA surname from Japanese.
• kuroboshiA loss in a bout
• kuromakuIn Japan, an éminence grise or secret decision-maker.
• kuromidoA Japanese alloy of copper with a small amount of arsenic.
• kuromitsuA Japanese sugar syrup, similar to molasses, but thinner and milder, typically made from unrefined muscovado sugar.
• kurumaA prawn of species Marsupenaeus japonicus.
• kurumayaA Japanese rickshawman.
• KurusuA surname from Japanese.
• kusarigamaA Japanese martial arts chain weapon that consists of a kama (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle), on a length of kusari (metal chain) with a heavy fundo (iron weight) at the end; a chain sickle.
• kusarigamajutsuThe Japanese martial art of wielding the kusarigama.
• kushikatsuA Japanese dish of deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables.
• kusogeunenjoyable or otherwise poorly-made video game.
• kuudereA calm, aloof, reserved fictional character (usually a girl) who has a hidden soft side, especially for a love interest.
• KuwazuruA surname from Japanese.
• kuzumochiMochi cakes made of kudzu powder or from Lactobacillales-fermented wheat starch, a speciality dish local to certain wards of Tokyo, served chilled and topped with kuromitsu and kinako.
• kuzushijiAn ancient Japanese cursive script.
• kwazokuA Meiji-era Japanese noble, one who would formerly have been classed as a samurai or a daimyo.
• kyabakuraA kind of Japanese club where hostesses are paid to entertain and drink and talk with customers.
• kyarabenA style of elaborately arranged bento which features food decorated to look like people, characters from popular media, animals, and plants.
• kyogenA form of traditional Japanese theatre, once performed alongside noh as a comic intermission.
• lake of WadaAny of three disjoint connected open sets of the plane or open unit square with the counterintuitive property that they all have the same boundary.
• Land of the Rising SunJapan (a country in Asia).
• level upTo raise to the same level or status; to improve so as to make as good as others.
• lithium-ion batteryA form of rechargeable battery containing lithium compounds, but not elemental lithium, used in many consumer electronics devices.
• live houseA music venue featuring live music.
• lolibabaAn old woman (or supernaturally aged female being) with the body of a loli.
• lost decadeA period of economic stagnation, originally referring to Japan in the 1990s (later extended to the 2000s and sometimes the 2010s).
• mabikiThe Japanese practice of killing non-firstborn sons.
• madakeTimber bamboo (Phyllostachys bambusoides)
• maebariA type of strapless Japanese loincloth used as a female underwear garment that covers the genitals.
• maegashiraThe highest salaried rank of sumo wrestler, below komusubi and above juryo; the lowest rank in the makuuchi division.
• maemitsuA grip on the front of the mawashi
• maezumoThe unofficial rank of beginners etc.
• magatamaA curved bead from the Jōmon period in Japan, made from a variety of different gemstones.
• magewappaA traditional Japanese form of steam-bending woodcraft.
• magical boyA stock character in Japanese anime and manga, a young boy with superhuman abilities who must fight evil.
• magical girlIn Japanese anime and manga, a young girl with superhuman abilities who is called upon to fight evil.
• majokkoA magical girl.
• make-koshia majority of losses in a honbasho; reflects negatively on the rikishi's ranking
• maki-eA style of Japanese lacquerware made with gold or silver sprinkled on wet lacquer.
• makikaeA quick change from an overarm to an underarm grip on the opponent's mawashi
• makimonoA type of Japanese hand scroll which unrolls horizontally, or laterally on a flat surface.
• makiotoshiA kimarite in which the attacker throws his opponent by twisting him towards his own inside hand.
• makisuA bamboo mat used in preparing rolled sushi and other Japanese foods.
• makiwaraA padded post used for hitting practice in karate.
• makizushiRolled sushi.
• makunouchiA Japanese lunch box, usually containing small portions of a variety of foods.
• makurakotobaA pillow word
• makushitaThe third highest division of professional sumo wrestling, below juryo; the lowest division at which a salary is paid.
• makuuchi dohyo-iriA group ring-entering ceremony performed by all members of the makuuchi division, except the yokozuna, after the juryo bouts.
• makuuchi-kakuThe gyoji who referees bouts involving a rikishi from the makuuchi division.
• mamacharia women's city bicycle, a kind of everyday urban utility bicycle with a front basket and a rear rack
• mama-sanA mother, in Japan or East Asia.
• maneki-nekoA common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner.
• manpo-keiA kind of pedometer.
• manzaiA traditional Japanese form of double-act stand-up comedy, with deliberate misunderstandings, puns and other wordplay.
• marimoA rare form of the filamentous green alga Aegagropila linnaei, resembling large green velvety balls.
• martial artAny of several fighting styles which contain systematized methods of training for combat, both armed and unarmed; often practiced as a sport, e.g. boxing, karate, judo, silat, wrestling, or Muay Thai.
• marumageA round knotted hairstyle traditionally worn by married women in Japan.
• masagocapelin roe
• MasateruA male given name from Japanese.
• masu-sekiThe expensive seats, holding four people, on the ground floor of the arena.
• matagiTraditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture.
• matatabiSpecies of plant of the genus Actinidia, family Actinidiaceae
• matawariA form of exercise in which a rikishi sits on the ground with his legs wide apart, then lowers his torso to touch the ground between his legs.
• MatayoshiA surname from Japanese.
• MatsukawaA surname from Japanese.
• MatsumoriA surname from Japanese.
• MatsusakaA surname from Japanese.