Word origins

• naked apronAn apron worn over a person's naked body.
• nakigeA Japanese visual novel of a genre characterized by melodramatic plots intended to move the player to tears.
• nakodoA matchmaker who serves as a go-between in the process of an omiai arranged marriage.
• namahageA demon-like being in Japanese folklore, portrayed by men in ogre masks and traditional straw capes during a New Year's ritual of admonishing badly-behaved children.
• namasuA Japanese dish consisting of thinly sliced uncooked vegetables and meat or seafood, marinated in rice vinegar.
• namekoPholiota microspora; a type of edible mushroom used in Japanese cookery
• NamikoA female given name from Japanese.
• nanoriA Japanese reading of a kanji character that is used for names of people or places, but that is otherwise a non-standard reading for that character.
• nantaimoriThe practice of serving sashimi or sushi on the naked body of a man.
• nantenThe nandina or heavenly bamboo.
• nanukayami feverleptospirosis
• narezushiA traditional form of fermented sushi.
• narutomakiA type of kamaboko (蒲鉾), a cured fish surimi product made in Japan. Prepared in loaves or rolls, then sliced and added to dishes as a garnish.
• National DietThe national legislature of Japan.
• negihamaA type of sushi, yellowtail and scallion.
• negimakiA Japanese dish of broiled strips of beef marinated in teriyaki sauce and rolled with scallions.
• nekketsushounen media with great focus on fighting and friendship; battle shonen
• nekodamashiThe act of clapping the hands in order to distract one's opponent.
• nekomimiCat ears.
• NendoAn individual Nendoroid figure.
• net café refugeeA homeless person in Japan who do not own or rent a residence (thus having no permanent address) and sleeps in 24-hour Internet cafés or manga cafés.
• newhalfA trans woman.
• niboshiJapanese dried infant sardines, used in snacks and as seasoning for soup stocks and other foods.
• nichonagea kimarite in which the attacker places a leg in front of his opponent's leg, at the knee, then sweeps back with his leg and pulls the opponent forward over the leg.
• nigaribittern: the liquor remaining after halite (common salt) has been harvested from saline water (brine), used as a coagulating agent in the manufacture of tofu.
• nigirizushinigiri sushi
• nigorobunaA freshwater ray-finned fish (Carassius auratus grandoculis), a wild subspecies of goldfish endemic to Japan, its habitat limited to Lake Biwa and environs.
• nihongapaintings made in a traditional Japanese style, typically executed with brushes on washi paper or silk
• nihoniumThe synthetic transactinide chemical element with atomic number 113.
• NihonjinronA genre of texts that focus on issues of Japanese national and cultural identity and how Japan and the Japanese should be understood.
• NiigakiA surname from Japanese.
• NiijimaA surname from Japanese.
• NiiyamaA surname from Japanese.
• NijubashiThe iron bridge to the Kokyo.
• nikkeijinA nikkei; a Japanese immigrant or descendant not resident in Japan.
• nikujagaA Japanese dish of meat, potatoes and onion stewed in sweetened soy sauce.
• nikumanA (Japanese) baozi with meat filling; a Chinese steamed stuffed bun with meat.
• niku-nukiA method of preserving both the shell and the body intact, by using hot water on a live specimen to separate the two.
• nimaigeriA kimarite in which the attacker kicks away the opponent's ankle while throwing or twisting him onto his side.
• nimonoAny of various stewed dishes in Japanese cuisine.
• ningyoiteAn orthorhombic-disphenoidal mineral containing calcium, cerium, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and uranium.
• ninjatoA straight-bladed short sword, commonly appearing in works of fiction as a weapon of the shinobi in feudal Japan.
• NiphonHonshu, the largest island of Japan.
• niramiaiThe staredown between sumo wrestlers before a match.
• NishikoriA surname from Japanese.
• NishimoriA surname from Japanese.
• NishinoomoteA city in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
• NishizumiA surname from Japanese.
• nitsukeA Japanese technique of simmering food, especially fish, in a strongly-flavoured soy sauce with sake or mirin.
• noboriA type of Japanese banner, originally used to identify waring factions, but now used as advertising etc.
• NobuhisaA male given name from Japanese.
• nodachiA large-sized Japanese longsword, having a long handle suitable for multiple two-handed grip positions.
• nodomeA crossing hitch, as used in Japanese rope bondage.
• nodowaA thrust at the opponent's throat.
• nogakuSynonym of noh (“Japanese music drama”).
• nohkanA transverse flute used to accompany Japanese noh theater.
• nomikaiA Japanese drinking party for coworkers, often held in a restaurant.
• nommunicationThe Japanese social custom of going out for drinks after work with one's colleagues.
• NorichikaA male given name from Japanese.
• norimakiRolled sushi made with nori seaweed; a form of makizushi.
• norimonoAn enclosed Japanese palanquin.
• noritoA liturgical text or ritual incantation in Shinto, usually addressed to a specific kami.
• Northern TerritoriesA group of islands administered by Russia, claimed by Japan.
• noshiA form of ceremonial origami, consisting of white paper folded with a strip of dried abalone or meat, and expressing good wishes or good fortune.
• nozawanaA Japanese leaf vegetable, often pickled.
• Nozawaonsen-muraA village in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
• nuigurumiA stuffed toy, (especially) a small one depicting an anime-style character in chibi proportions.
• nuikatsuBringing nuigurumi along on outings.
• nurikabeA Japanese logic puzzle with a rectangular grid of squares, some of them numbered; the solver is challenged to fill in a subset of squares (under certain constraints) such that each numbered square finally indicates the number of unfilled squares contiguous to it.
• nuruA Japanese form of body-to-body massage in which the masseur and client are both nude and coated in a gel traditionally made from nori seaweed.
• nyotaimoriThe practice of serving sashimi or sushi on the naked body of a woman.
• obakeA ghost or apparition in Japanese folklore.
• obangAn old Japanese gold coin.
• obijimeA thin rope attached to an obi.
• ochokoSynonym of choko (“handleless cup for saké”).
• odachiA long, large Japanese sword.
• odangoA Japanese sweet round dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour), eaten off a stick. Related to mochi.
• off vocalThe instrumentals.
• ofudaA type of talisman or amulet issued by a Shinto shrine.
• OfudesakiThe main scripture in Tenrikyo.
• ogonoriAn edible seaweed (Gracilaria spp.).
• ohaguroThe Japanese custom of blackening the teeth with a solution of iron filings and vinegar, especially popular between the Heian and Edo periods, from the 10th century until the late 19th century.
• oibaraSeppuku of a retainer at the time of his master's death.
• oicho-kabuA traditional Japanese gambling game similar to baccarat and the Korean game seotda, played with kabufuda or hanafuda cards, where the goal is to achieve a hand scoring as close to 9 points as possible.
• oichomageThe elaborate hairstyle, resembling a gingko leaf, worn by sekitori during bouts and on ceremonial occasions.
• ojimeA Japanese carved bead worn between the inrō and netsuke.
• ojousamaA rich girl.
• okamaA gay man, in the context of Japanese culture, especially one who is effeminate or cross-dresses.
• okamisanThe wife of a stablemaster who oversees all activities except coaching
• ŌkawaA city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
• okimonoA Japanese ornament or decorative object.
• OkinotorishimaAn island of Japan, properly two rocks on a coral reef atoll
• okiyaThe lodging-house of a geisha.
• OkochiA surname from Japanese.
• ōkubi-eA Japanese bust portrait.
• OkudairaA surname from Japanese.
• ŌkuninushiThe Japanese god of nation-building, farming, business, and medicine, as well as love and good love matches.
• Ōkuninushi-no-mikotoThe Japanese god of nation-building, farming, business, and medicine, as well as love and good matches.
• okuriashiA situation in which a rikishi accidentally steps out of ring whilst carrying his opponent out, his opponent thus winning.
• okuridashiA kimarite in which the attacker drives his opponent out from behind.