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 furoshiki    
 　   What do you think it is that we have drawn on the left?  A kind of patterns?  Anything to decorate?  Or anything  material   to draw in a picture ?   Oh, no!  It's a furoshiki. Haven't you ever heard that, huh?  To older people  it is   (or used to be)  very useful for carrying something small. The  bigger ones will not do. Lately you seldom see the  people walking in the streets ,with the furoshiki  holding in their single hand or both hands.  What is furoshiki   like? All right. Let's learn more about furoshiki .   It is a large square of silk, cotton, hemp or other cloth used for wrapping and carrying things.  Most are larger than a large table napkin, with dimensions roughly equal to the longer side of a full-sized sheet of newspaper. They are still very popular, since they are light and easily folded when not in use.
      The original use of the furoshiki was for carrying one's toilet kit to the local public bath, and for spreading out on the floor in the baths. This is shown by the name - furo ('bath') and shiki ('laying out').  Up to about thirty years ago, expensive furoshiki made of high-quality material with beautiful designs were popular as presents, and were carried by women as an elegant accessory to kimono.

tempura                              
       Tempura is very popular dish not only in Japan but also throughout the world. What is tempura? Tempura consists of fish, meat, vegetables and other ingredients, which are blended in a flour-and-water batter and fried. This method of cooking was introduced to Japan by Jesuit missionaries in the sixteen century, and one explanation of the name is that it derives from the word 'tempora', meaning a period in which, following Catholic practice, meat was not eaten. Our ancestors observed the missionaries frying vegetables during these periods and copied them, calling the new style of cooking tempura.
       Sesame oil or salad oil is usually used for frying tempura, and it is eaten after dipping into a broth based on soy sauce. Deep-frying food without batter is known as kara-age ('empty-frying').   

 sushi
　　Sushi has become known in the U.S.A. and Europe as a typical Japanese food along with tofu, sukiyaki and other dishes. The rice for sushi is made by flavoring steamed rice with vinegar, mirin (a sweet sake used as a
seasoning) or other condiments. This is then formed into bite-sized oblongs with various toppings (nigirizushi),
stuffed into pouches of fried tofu flavored with soy sauce and sugar (inarizushi), mixed with sliced boiled vegetables (gomokuzushi) or used in other ways. The one factor common to all the different types of sushi is the use of the specially-flavored sushi rice.

sakura
    The emblem of the Japanese Imperial Household is the chrysanthemum, although the kiri, or Paulownia, was also used in Chinese style. From the Edo Era onward, however, the heart and mind of the Japanese people came to be represented by the sakura, or cherry blossom, now regarded as the national flower.
    In the traditional poetic forms known as waka and haiku, the word tsuki (moon) is understood to refer to August, or autumn in general, while the word hana (flower) refers to the cherry blossom. The custom of holding open-air parties beneath the cherry blossoms (a pastime known as hanami) is as popular as ever.
The falling of the cherry blossoms, scattering and vanishing away together at the height of their beauty and  brilliance, is likened to the dying moments of a samurai and is revered as symbolizing  the Japanese spirit.

karaoke
   Karaoke, which literally means 'empty orchestra', is backing music without the lyrics or the Japanese version of
"music minus one". The karaoke boom started long time ago, when people began using microphones to sing popular songs to taped backing music at parties. Sales of the tapes rocketed, and now the pastime is practiced in nightclubs, at home and at social gatherings all over the country. Karaoke clubs, whose sole purpose is for the members to meet and enjoy karaoke, have formed in many years, and amateur singing has become a new social phenomenon.
    There is a historical background to the karaoke phenomenon; since the Edo Era, it has been customary for guests at at parties to take turns to sing, dance or provide some other form of entertainment, and this no doubt has made it easy for people to take to karaoke so readily.

hashi
    Hashi, or chopsticks, have been used since ancient times in Japan and referred to in eighth-century literature. Archaeologists have found proof that the ancient Japanese used to bend pieces of bamboo and use them as pincers, and these probably developed into the chopsticks used today. Since the forks used in Western countries were originally two-pronged, these bamboo pincers may have been the forerunner of both forks and chopsticks.
    Ancient chopsticks were made of plain unpainted wood, but most chopsticks today are made of lacquered wood or materials such as plastic. Chinese-style ivory chopsticks are used infrequently, and Korean silver chopsticks are hardly used at all.

kimono
    The various kinds of Japanese traditional dress, for both men and women, are referred to by the general term Kimono. Thus the Japanese word kimono has a much broader meaning than the adopted English word "kimono", which usually refers to the brightly-patterned, wide-belted garment which has become so well-known abroad.
    Since kimono is expensive and ill-suited to an active lifestyle, Western skirts, suits and other clothes are commonly worn in Japan, and the only type of kimono widely used in everyday life is the nemaki, a thin printed cotton or flannel kimono used as a sleeping garment. Many people wear kimono on formal occasions such as weddings or funerals, and many young people wear them at graduation ceremonies or coming-of-age ceremonies. Since few people except for geisha and waitresses at traditional restaurants wear kimono at other times, it is not very common to see people wearing kimono in the streets.
    Western-style clothes are called yofuku, short seiyofuku ('Western clothes')  

kabuki
    Together with Noh and Kyogen, Kabuki is one of Japan's best-known classical performing arts. It first appeared at the beginning of the Edo era and developed into its final form towards the end. There are no actresses in Kabuki; the  female parts are played by actors called onnagata As theaters featuring revolving stages and trapdoors were developed, scripts and acting techniques were perfected, and Kabuki became a popular entertainment indispensable to the life of the people in the three major cities of Edo, Osaka and Kyoto.
   Kabuki deals with a wide variety of subject mater and includes period pieces based on classical literature and legend, plays drawn from the everyday life of the times, and dance plays. The ideas it treats are mainly moralistic ones such as loyalty, filial piety, and the conflict between giri (obligation) and ninjo (human feelings), so it also served as a form of moral education for the common people. Fashion was also set by the clothes and possessions of well-known actors.
    Actors had traditionally been discriminated against as a somewhat inferior class, but in the Edo era they received better treatment both economically and socially, and many became celebrities. Acting was handed down within particular families, and some, such as the Ichikawa, Onoe and Ichimura families, have continued to pass on the role of Kabuki actor from father to son right down to the present day.
    The word 'Kabuki' consists of three characters meaning 'song', 'dance' and 'acting skill', but it was originally derived from the word 'katamuki', meaning 'leaning'. This was because it was regarded as an eccentric form of theater when it was first introduced and was described as leaning towards injustice and unrighteousness.
   Ningyo Joruri (which later developed into Bunraku), was a form of puppet play which developed in parallel with Kabuki. Since its plots and structure were similar to those of Kabuki, the same scripts were often used for both.
    Kabuki and Ningyo Joruri were tremendously popular and were the two main theatrical arts in the Edo era. 

sukiyaki
   Sukiyaki is a well-known Japanese dish consisting of thinly-sliced beef cooked together with tofu, leeks and other ingredients in a broth made from soy sauce, mirin (sweet rice wine), sugar and other seasonings. It is usually eaten from a large nabe (cooking pot) placed in the center of the table. For nearly a thousand years, the Japanese did not eat meat, but the custom was introduced from the West after the Meiji Restoration and rapidly became popular throughout the country. Sukiyaki is now one of Japan's most typical dishes. The custom of sharing food from a single large pot has been common in Japan since olden times. In farmhouses, people would cook fish and vegetables in a pot hanging from a hook over the hearth, and everyone would help themselves from it. Sukiyaki is eaten in the same style.
    Delicious-tasting Kobe and Matsuzaka beef, specially developed for sukiyaki and soft enough to be torn with chopsticks, have become internationally famous.

koinobori
    At Tango no Sekku, the Boys' Festival on 5th May, cloth or paper streamers in the shape of carp, called koinobori, are flown from tall bamboo poles erected outside people's homes. A long pennant is usually flown from the top of the pole.
    The reason why carp are chosen as the decorations on this occasion is that, being strong fish capable of leaping up waterfalls, they symbolize the strong men that parents hope their boys will become. Some of the streamers are as much as ten meters long, and they are a familiar sight on the skyline in May.

soroban
    The soroban, or abacus, is a traditional calculating instrument consisting of beads strung on wires in a frame. It is held in one hand while the beads are moved with the fingers of the other hand to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
    The soroban was introduced to Japan from China in the thirteenth century; by the Edo era, the three basic subjects forming the curriculum of popular education were yomi, kaki, soroban ('reading', 'writing' and the 'abacus'). Everyone going to school was taught how to read and write letters, account books and other written materials, and how to use the soroban. During the past thirty years, the soroban has gradually been replaced by the electronic calculator, but the soroban is quicker and easier for simple calculations and is still widely used. There are many soroban schools, an official testing and certification system, and an annual all-Japan soroban contest.

yakitori
    The cheap and popular dish known as yakitori is made by placing small pieces of chicken on a bamboo skewer, dipping this in a sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sugar and other ingredients, and grilling it over charcoal. The same method of cooking is also applied to pork meat and to chicken and pork liver, also known as yakitori. It is a popular snack as an accompaniment to shochu, sake and other drinks, and many people go to a yakitori-ya for an evening of drinking, eating and socializing
    Since yakitori consists of meat and vegetables cooked on skewers, it is related to the shish kebab of the Near East. Hunters in the Edo Era would probably have cooked their meat over a fire out in the wild, and the eating of chicken in this way in Japan appears to be a development of this.

instant ramen
    Ramen were Chinese noodles introduced to Japan by ex-servicemen returning home from China at the end of the Second World War. They were originally cooked in a broth made from pork bones, but the cooking method gradually became adapted to Japanese tastes, and versions using miso and many other flavourings and ingredients were developed.
    When the instant food industry started to grow about thirty years ago, vacuum-dried instant ramen were put on sale. Instant ramen is now sold all over Japan and in many other countries.

sento
    Up till about thirty years ago, many houses did not have their own baths, and people would go with soap and towel to their local sento, or public bath. There they could enjoy a good bath in a huge communal tub with a spacious washing area.
    In the Edo Era, people would relax after their bath with a cup of green tea or a game of shogi (Japanese  chess), and the sento was a popular place for socializing and the exchange of gossip.

gaijin
    Although this word means 'foreigner', i.e., anyone who does not possess Japanese nationality, people tended to use it in a limited sense to refer to Caucasians only, excluding foreign nationals of  Japanese extraction, Chinese, Koreans, Indians and other Asians. This is probably a relic of the Meiji Era, when the ruling elite used the word totsukuni (=gaikoku, or 'foreign country') to refer specifically to Europe and the U.S.A  Nowadays, the word gaijin is being used more and more to refer to all non-Japanese, regardless of race or origin.

origami
    In the traditional craft of origami, or paper-folding, a single sheet of paper is cleverly folded to make the shapes of birds, animals, flowers, boats and other objects. Originally, paper was folded for use in Shinto and other religious ceremonies to decorate religious objects, but this developed into a popular children's pastime in the Meiji Era and was taught as part of the art curriculum at schools.
    Various kinds of colored paper are used, and the hobby is enjoyed by a wide range of people today.
    One custom which has increased in popularity recently is the making of origami cranes joined together with thread to form long chains. Known as senbazuru, these paper birds are given as presents symbolizing good luck or recovery from illness. 

tenno
   Tenno, the Emperor, the symbol of Japan, performs affairs of state as laid down in the Constitution, i.e., the appointment of the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the convocation of the Diet, and the reception of foreign ambassadors and ministers. Although regarded as the head of state for the purposes of diplomatic protocol, he has absolutely no political authority.
    The Emperor lives in the Imperial Palace in the center of Tokyo. Twice a year, at New Year and on the Emperor's Birthday, part of the palace is opened to the public and the Emperor makes a public appearance.
    Historically, the Emperor system was established in the fourth or fifth century A.D., and Japan was unified under Imperial rule in the seventh century. From the ninth and tenth centuries, actual political power was held in turn by the Fujiwara, Minamoto, Ashikaga and Tokugawa families, while the Emperor continued to be the religious and spiritual symbol of Japan.

keigo
    In polite Japanese, there are three types of honorific expression, or keigo. One type is the polite style used by the speaker towards the listener; a second type is the honorific style used when referring to a third person, and the third is the humble style used towards oneself. For example, the plain expression "ame ga furu" ('it is raining') is expressed in polite form as "ame ga furimasu", showing respect towards the listener. The sentence "sensei ga kuru" ('the teacher is coming') might be expressed in polite form as "sensei ga kimasu", but this, while showing respect towards the listener, would not show respect towards the teacher mentioned in the sentence. If expressed as "sensei ga korareru" or "sensei ga irassharu", this would show respect towards the teacher, but not towards the listener. The forms "sensei ga koraremasu" and "sensei ga irasshaimasu" show respect towards both the listener and the teacher.
    Humble language is used to elevate the status of the listener by humbling oneself or anything associated with oneself; for example, the word gusai ('my wife') is made up of the character sai (meaning 'wife') and the character gu, which literally means 'foolish'. When presenting someone with a gift, one may describe it as tsumaranai mono, which literally means 'a worthless thing'.
    One of the most complicated aspects of keigo is the variety of terms of address, including the many dozen personal pronouns such as watashi and ore ('I') and anata, kimi and omae ('you'). It is a strictly observed custom for people lower in seniority to address their superiors by rank or title, while seniors address their juniors by name or by one of the many words for 'you'. Company employees, offspring and pupils respectively will address their president as shacho ('company president'), their father as otosan ('father') and their teacher as sensei ('teacher'), but a company president will never address a junior as shain ('company employee'), and a father will not address his son as musuko ('son').
    Recently, however, the use of keigo has gradually become simplified, and the rules are not as strictly as they used to be. 

kotatsu
    This traditional heating device consists of a wooden frame with a quilt over the top, underneath which is placed a small charcoal brazier. People sit around this with their legs under the quilt. Since the heat is kept in by the quilt, only a very small amount is needed to keep everyone warm, making the kotatsu highly economical. The wooden frame is called a yagura, and a square top is often placed on this over the quilt, allowing the kotatsu to be used for dining or studying. Modern kototsu use a special electric bulb instead of charcoal and have even become popular in Kyushu, in southern Japan, where the traditional ones were never used.

pachinko
    This extremely popular pastime is a kind of vertical pinball game, with steel balls about one centimeter in diameter being shot up from an aperture at the lower right of the board and falling down through a pattern of pins to the outlet chute at the bottom. For every ball falling into one of the holes on the way, the player receives extra, and any accumulated at the end of play can be exchanged for prizes.
    Recent pachinko machines have replaced the manual ball flicking device with a motorized one operated by a simple lever. Many different kinds of prizes are offered, ranging from paperback books and magazines to household goods and food; and packed pachinko parlors, sometimes with hundreds of machines, can be found all over Japan.
   Pachinko became popular along with mah-jongg at the end of the Second World War, and is now played by a large proportion of the population.

banzai
    On occasions of celebration or when a group is seeing someone off (e.g. when a couple is going off on honeymoon or a company employee is leaving to take up a new post), it is the custom in Japan to raise both arms above the head three times, shouting "Banzai" each time. This custom started in the Meiji Era as the Japanese version of the Western 'three cheers', and became very popular with the rise of nationalism from the end of the nineteenth century onwards.
    At parties or receptions, one of the more important people present usually takes the lead, saying "So-and-So Company Banzai" or "Mr. So-and-So Banzai; everyone then performs the banzai cheer in unison.
    The "Hip, hip, hooray" of the Western 'three cheers' is still widely used by cheerleaders at sports matches, in the form (for example) "Fure, fure Waseda" ("Hooray, hooray for Waseda")

hachimaki
    A hachikaki is a strip of cloth placed round the head and tied at the back to form a headband. In the past, it had religious connotations and was used at religious ceremonies, but it has since become widely adopted as a sweatband by manual workers and as an aid to concentration by students cramming for examinations or others engaged in intense intellectual activity. Hachimaki became famous in the Second World War, when they were widely used with the Rising Sun emblem displayed at the front. This "hinomaru hachimaki" became known all over the world when the novelist Mishima Yukio wore one during his suicide by seppuku (hara-kiri).
    Many people still wear hachimaki when gearing themselves up for an intense effort; usually, they use a tenugui, or hand towel, for the purpose. The athlete Yoshioka Takanori made himself the subject of amusement when he wore one to run the hundred meters at the 1932 Los Angels Olympics, but now athletes all over the world wear headbands.

meishi
    It is usual practice in Japan to offer one's meishi, or name card, when meeting someone for the first time. In addition to one's name, meishi are usually printed with the name of one's company or organization, one's official job title, and the organization's address and its telephone, telex and facsimile numbers. Some cards also carry a company logo.
    Most meishi are printed in black Chinese characters in white or cream card. Recently, many people have the same information printed in the Roman alphabet on the reverse of the card.
    There is no distinction as found between the calling cards and business cards used in Europe and the U.S.A, since the nineteenth century; the same meishi is used on both social and business occasions.
   Meishi are sometimes used in place of a letter of introduction. In this case, a note introducing the bearer is written on the card.       

koto
    The koto, or Japanese harp, is a stringed instrument originally introduced from China in the eighth or ninth century. It is made of wood, is about 180 centimeters long by 30 centimeters wide, and has thirteen strings. The sound is created by plucking the strings with three fingers of the right hand, to which plectra are fitted.
    Along with the biwa (Japanese lute), the koto has a far longer history than another popular stringed instrument, the  shamisen. However, although the biwa has fallen from popularity recently, the koto is widely studied along with the tea ceremony and flower arrangement as one of the accomplishments  a young lady should have. In the Edo Era, the shamisen was regarded as being for the wives and daughters of townsmen or merchants, while the koto was for the wives and daughters of samurai, and this class distinction remains to a certain extent today.  It is quite common to see a young lady in kimono playing the koto at occasions of celebration, and learning the instrument is also a popular club activity at university.   

shamisen
    This three-stringed musical instrument was introduced into mainland Japan from the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) in or about the sixteenth century. The original instrument was made from snakeskin stretched over a sounding box and was called jabisen (written with the Chinese characters for 'snake', 'skin', and 'line'); in mainland Japan, the snakeskin was replaced by catskin and the name changed to shamisen (written with the characters for 'three', 'flavor' and 'line'). The shamisen is used to accompany classical song and dance, and to provide the background music to kabuki and bunraku plays. It can be played with the fingers, but is more often plucked with a tortoiseshell or bone plectrum.

geisha
    By the nineteenth century, "Fujiyama" (its proper name is Fujisan, or Mt. Fuji) and "geisha girls" had become fixed in Western people's minds as symbols of Japan. However, the idea of the "geisha girl" as an entertainer-cum-prostitute is very different from the image of the geisha held by most Japanese.
    From the seventeenth century on, the profession of the geisha was entertaining by dancing and singing, and was carried on by men. Female geisha appeared in the eighteenth century and performed a similar function by serving and entertaining guests with dancing and singing at banquets. Modern geisha have continued the tradition and are called to the Japanese-style restaurants known as ryotei to amuse the guests at private parties. The image of the geisha is thus a long way from that of a prostitute.

demae
    The delivery service known as demae, in which local restaurants will deliver sushi, ramen, soba and other simple meals to customers' houses, is still widely available in Japan. The meals are served in china plates or bowls which used to be carried in a wooden box known as okamochi; now they are delivered in a special shock-absorbing tray on the back of a scooter of motorbike. The price of the meal includes the delivery charge, and no tip is needed, making this a very popular service.　

nara
    Nara was the capital of Japan before Kyoto, and the remains of the ancient Nara Era capital, called Heijokyo, are in the process of being excavated. The city of Nara developed on the south-east side of Heijokyo, and boasts many of Japan's oldest wooden buildings and Buddhist images. These include many old temples such as Todaiji, with its huge wooden Buddha; Horyuji, a temple out in the suburbs with a famous wooden hall called Yakushido; and Toshodaiji.
   Along with Kyoto, Nara escaped the bombing during the Second World War, and the old quarter retains many relics of bygone days. With Kyoto, it is Japan's most visited tourist city.

janken
    Japanese play the game of janken as a game in its own right or whenever they need to decide on an order of play for any activity. This game is equivalent to the children's game of "scissors, paper, stone", in which two outstretched fingers represent scissors, an open hand represents paper, and a clenched fist represents stone. Scissors beat paper, paper beats stone, and stone beats scissors The game can be played by a number of players, the losers dropping out each time until only the winner is left.
    Janken originally came to Japan from China, but there were many similar games, such as tohachiken, in the Edo Era. In this game, which had the same rules as janken, the village headman would beat the hunter, the hunter would beat the fox, and the fox would beat the village headman. This was a very popular game, with tournaments held, even among adults.

Hiroshima
    The city of Hiroshima, about 350 km west of Osaka, became known throughout the world as the first city to suffer a nuclear attack after an atomic bomb was dropped on it in August 1945 by the U.S. air force. The cenotaph and the many memorials commemorating the bombing in the city center attract large numbers of visitors.
    In the Meiji Era, Hiroshima was the site of the Imperial Headquarters  during the wars with China and Russia, and developed as a military city along with the nearby port of Kure.
    Near Hiroshima is the island of Miyajima with its famous shrine, Itsukushima Jinja. This shrine is one of the 'three most beautiful sights of Japan' along with Kyoto's Ama-no-Hashidate and Sendai's Matsushima.

Kyoto
    Kyoto was the capital of Japan until the end of the Edo Era. The site of the former Imperial Palace and detached palace, it was also a center for various religious groups, and has a large number of temples belonging to the Shinshu, Zenshu and other Buddhist sects. Since Kyoto, along with Nara, was spared during the bombing of Japan by the U.S. air force in the Second World War, it has many other well-known places of historical interest.
    Its University and other educational institutions are second only in number to those of Tokyo; and with its nishijin-ori cloth, kyoyaki pottery and other famous products, it plays an important role in the cultural life of Japan.
    Nowadays, all trains heading towards Tokyo are called 'up trains' (nobori), while all those going away from it are 'down trains' (kudari); when Kyoto was the capital, all movement towards it was described as 'up' and all movement away it was described as 'down'. 

aisatsu
    The most common aisatsu (greetings) exchanged when people meet are "Ohayo" ("Good morning"), "Konnichiwa" ("Hello") and "Konbanwa" ("Good evening"); and the most common way of saying goodbye is "Sayonara". When meeting someone for the first time, greetings such as  "Hajimemashite" (How do you do") or "Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu" ("Pleased to meet you") are used. When saying goodbye, it is also common to say "Otosan ni yoroshiku" (Please give my regards to your father") or "Okasan ni yoroshiku" (Please give my regards to your mother")
    When excusing oneself, e.g. when passing closely in front of someone at a social gathering, the phrase "Shiturei shimase" or "Gomennasai" is used. "Suminasen" is also frequently heard. All these expressions are equivalent to the English "Excuse me" or "Sorry".
    Many other set greetings are used in Japanese, but one of the most versatile is the word domo. By itself ("Domo"), or doubled ("Domo domo"), it can be used to mean "Hello", "Sorry", "Long time no see", or even "Goodbye". Many people say that this is the first word anyone studying Japanese should learn.        

nemawashi
    Nemawashi, or 'root-biding', is the process of informal discussion that takes place at a company or other group before a resolution is introduced at a formal meeting.　Its purpose is to ensure that the resolution will be passed smoothly, without any confrontations or heated disputes. Although the essential purpose of a public meeting is to allow the participants to exchange opinions and debate the issues freely, the Japanese have always preferred their decisions to be unanimous, and it is regarded as prudent to achieve a consensus of opinion before the meeting and thus avoid any differences or discord afterwards. Because of this custom, many formal meetings in Japan are held simply to place the official seal of confirmation on a resolution which has already been effectively decided.
    The word nemawashi is a horticultural term describing the binding of the roots of a large tree in preparation for transplanting . First, the soil is excavated around the roots, then the smaller roots are cut, and finally, the main roots are bound with straw rope so that the tree can be moved easily without damage.  The term is used as a metaphor for the coordination and adjustment of opinion in a company or other organization.