Awaji Island

The biggest island in the Inland Sea of Japan. As big as Ramree Island. Its elongated shape is similar as well.

Breechclout

It's called "fundoshi" in Japanese. One of classical underwear for men. The most widespread type came from Ecchu (now Toyama Prefecture). A fundoshi has gotten obsolete after World War II. Still you can buy it in a department store.

Chinese Lion

Japanese call it "karajishi" which means Tang's lion because an image of this cat came from China long ago. It is rather accurate to call it an imaginary animal as a lion isn't indigenous in both China and Japan. Many traditional artists preferred its image as a motive of various pictures and drawing. It was often designed in a combination with peony flowers.

Hara-kiri

A way of suicide by disembowelment with a short sword, and a supreme apology only allowed for samurai. Indeed, a helper standing beside the doer gave him a finishing blow by hacking his neck with a long sword far before his suicide completed. This ritual gave the doer honor to some extent and let him save his face though it was anyway a death penalty. The helper didn't hack his head off completely. In this point, hara-kiri differed from a common decapitation which saved no honor. It was abused during the wartime and caused many tragedies.

Noh

A traditional, theatrical performance consisting of singing and dancing with an accompaniment. It hardly uses a set piece or a backdrop. Masked actors in splendid costumes perform a drama in serene ways and emphasize describing their inside rather than a story itself.

Noodles

Most notable among Japanese noodles are "udon" and "soba." Both are essential elements for the food culture of this country. A recipe of udon is as follows: Add salt water to flour, and knead thoroughly. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin. Slice into thin slabs, and boil to eat. To make soba, you have to add buckwheat flour, white of an egg, and grated yam into the flour before kneading.

Phoenix

A legendary bird regarded as sacred in China. It has a fore body of a giraffe, a hind body of a deer, a neck of a snake, a tail of a fish, a bill of a fowl, a shell of a turtle, and wings in five colors. Its structure is so complicated to an incoherent degree that artists often take a simpler Western image when they have to depict it now.

Rice Ball

A notable example of Japanese fast-foods. Though its origin dates back to the ancient period almost unknown, it's still so popular that you can get it even in convenience stores. A typical rice ball is made in a triangle or a cylinder of boiled rice seasoned with salt, and usually it is sprinkled with sesame or wrapped in a sheet of seaweed at a finishing touch. Fillings are rich in variety: A pickled plum, salmon flakes, cod roe or others. However, soldiers in battlefields could afford to make it by only rice in many cases if they were lucky to have something to eat.

Rice Hulling

Rice has to be threshed and cleaned before boiling to eat. A soldier in a battlefield used to hull rice in an 1.8 liters bottle or a steel helmet with a wooden stick.

Soda Pop

With some reason unknown, it came over to Japan at first with a name of "lemonade." It was corrupted and called "Ramune" after that. Sold in a distinctive glass bottle with a marble inside as a stopper. Such a thing is barely met with nowadays.

Tabi

A kind of traditional socks. It contains all footwear made with a split between the big toe and the second toe. There are many varieties from elegant socks made by silk fabrics to heavy-duty boots described in the manuscript. Koreans derogatorily call Japanese "Pig Toe" because those putting tabi on allegedly look so for their eyes.

Tokugawa Period

Also known as the Edo period. Ieyasu Tokugawa won the battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and put an end to turbulent times. In 1603, he established the government as a shogun in Edo. The Tokugawa period lasted till 1867 when Yoshinobu Tokugawa, his descendant, returned his political power to the Emperor. Japan was relatively in peacetime during this samurai government.

Warring State Period

After the Onin War in 1467, the Muromachi government lost its political power. Many newly risen war lords overthrew countries of traditional feudal lords under the government one after another and competed for dominance each other. Thus Japan entered the period of turbulent civil wars until Nobunaga Oda got hold of Kyoto the capital in 1568, which led to political unification.

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