ai 合 Harmony, accord.
aikido 合気道 Japanese unarmed martial art; literally, the Way (do) of harmonizing (ai) with your opponent’s spirit (ki).
akirame 諦め Resignation.
arasoi 争い Strife.
ashigaru 足軽 Foot soldier.
bado 馬道 Horsemanship.
bakufu 幕府 Samurai government under a shogun.
bodo 棒道 The Way of the staff.
budo 武道 The Way of life of the samurai warrior.
buke 武家 Warrior families.
bunbu ryodo 文武両道 The united Ways of the pen and the sword.
bushi 武士 Elite Samurai.
bushi no toryo 武士の頭領 Warrior chieftain.
bushido 武士道 The Samurai code of conduct.
chado 茶道 The Way of tea.
chi 氣 Chinese equivalent of Japanese ki.
chikara 力 Physical strength.
Chushingura 忠臣蔵 Story of the forty-seven ronin.
daido 大道 A principle that operates in all things; life principle.
daimyo 大名 Lord.
daisho 大小 Two swords worn by the samurai, one long and one short.
debana-o-kujiki 出鼻をくじき To defeat in opening seconds.
debana-waza 出鼻技 Attacking at the start.
do 道 Way.
dojo 道場 Training hall; literally, Way (do) place (jo).
doryoku 努力 Endeavor, to make an effort.
fudoshin 不動心 Immovable mind.
gen 幻 Illusion.
gi 技 Technique.
giri 義理 Duty.
Go 碁 A popular Japanese board game.
gunpai 軍配 Large metal fans carried into battle on which was inscribed information pertinent to the conduct of the battle.
Gunpaisha 軍配者 Keepers of gunpai, strategists.
hakarai 計らい Suppression.
hara-kiri 腹切り Honorable death of suicide; also called seppuku.
iaido 居合道 Sword-drawing.
iaidoka 居合道家 Practitioner of iaido.
isagi-yoku 潔く The art of dying well; being fully prepared to die.
isshin 一心 One mind; singlemindedness.
iwao no mi 巌の身 “Rock body.”
jodo 杖道 The Way of the stick.
joriki 静力 The power of concentration.
ju 柔 Flexible adaptation.
judo 柔道 Hand-to-hand martial art based on flexible adaptation.
juttedo 十手道 The Way of the truncheon.
ka 家 Suffix meaning practitioner of, as in aikidoka.
kakuto bugei 格闘武芸 Fighting techniques.
kamae 構え Battle stance; posture.
kan 勘 Intuition.
kan-ken 勘見 Two eyesights. Ken is “looking,” kan is “seeing into,” or intuition.
karate 空手 Unarmed martial art originating in Okinawa; literally, “empty” (kara) “hand” (te). There are wide differences among the more than seventy types of Japanese karate, but all involve sparring and grappling techniques and atemi, blows delivered to vulnerable parts of the body.
kataki-uchi 敵討ち Revenge, vendetta.
katana 刀 Long sword.
katchu 甲冑 Battle armor.
katsujin no ken 勝人の剣 Samurai striking art of taking advantage of an opponent’s moves.
katzu 渇 Battle shout.
ken 剣 Sword.
ken no sen 剣の線 Strategy of attack.
ken no shinzui 剣の真髄 Real goal of swordsmanship.
kendo 剣道 Swordsmanship; the Way of the sword.
kengo 剣豪 Expert swordsman.
ki 気 Energy; spirit; aura; vitality; breath; life force; inner strength.
ki ken tai no ichi 気剣体の一致 “The complete unity of the mind, heart and body with the sword.”
ki o mitasu 気を満たす “Fill yourself with ki.”
kobo-itchi 攻防一致 Principle that choice of strategy depends on the situation.
koiguchi 口 Open slot of the scabbard.
kotsunen nenki 忽然念気 A sudden illumination.
kufu 工夫 Struggling, wrestling and grappling with something until a way out is found.
Kung Fu Literally meaning mastery; commonly used as a general term for all Chinese martial arts.
kushin 苦心 Pains, efforts, to work hard.
kyojitsu ten kan ho 虚実転換法 Presenting falsehood as truth; deception.
kyudo 弓道 Archery; the Way of the bow.
makoto 誠 Sincerity; putting everything into an act, without reservation.
marui 丸居 Circular motion.
meijin 名人 Master of a Way.
metsuke 目付け “Eye attachers”; spies.
Minamoto 源 Family of warriors; enemies of the Taira.
misai no ichinen の一念 Trace of thought.
Mokuteki hon’i 目的本位 “Focus on your purpose”.
mo chih chu’u Acting (going ahead) without hesitation.
musha-shugyo 武者修行 Training in warriorship.
mushin 無心 No-mindedness; without thought.
naginatado なぎなた道 Halberd fighting.
naiki 内気 Doctrine of ki.
nei-kung Inner power (Chinese term).
nukazu ni sumu 抜かずに済む Settling disputes “without pulling out the sword”.
oji-waza 応じ技 “Receiving techniques”; counterattack strategy.
ronin 浪人 Samurai no longer in the employ of a master; literally, “wave men.”
ryoku 力 Physical power.
ryu 流 School of a martial Way.
samurai 侍 Warrior.
sanchin Breathing exercises.
seikou 成功 A success.
seiryoku zenryo 勢力全量 Maximum efficiency with minimum effort.
seishi o choetsu 生死を超越 A state “beyond life and death.”
seiza 正座 Sitting-kneeling position.
seppuku 切腹 Honorable death of suicide; also called hara-kiri.
shikake-waza 仕掛け技 Offensive attack techniques.
shin 心 Mind, heart.
shinjin 真人 “The real you,” the true person.
shinjutsu 心術 “The skill of the mind and heart.”
sho 将 Captain.
shogun 将軍 Samurai monarch.
shuchu-ryoku 集中力 Concentration of all one’s power on one point.
sodo 槍道 Spearsmanship. The Way of the spear.
sohei 僧兵 Well-trained warrior monks.
sono-mama そのまま Things as they really are, “suchness.”
Sonshi 孫子 Japanese translation of the name Sun Tzu, a Chinese military theorist highly regarded by the samurai.
suki 隙 A gap of space between objects; in warriorship, an opening that can be taken advantage of.
suki o mitsukeru 隙をみつける To take advantage of an opening (suki) in the opponent’s defense.
tai no sen 対の戦 Counterattack.
tai ten Also tanden, tai-tien, seika tanden; the one point; the body’s center of gravity, two inches below the navel.
taiken 体験 “Body knowledge.”
taira 平 Family of warriors; enemies of the Minamoto.
taisho 大将 General.
Taoism 道教 A Chinese philosophy of living.
teppo 鉄砲 Firearms.
tessendo 鉄扇道 Use of the war fan (tessen).
Tokimune 時宗 A regent of the Hojo family (1251-84).
tomaranu kokoro 止まらぬ心 “A mind that knows no stopping.”
tomaru 止まる Stopping, abiding.
toraware 捕らわれ “Caught.”
uchi-ne 射ち根 The art of throwing arrows.
uchiotoshi-waza 打ち落とし技 Striking down an opponent when he is out of balance.
uji 氏 Clan.
ushin 有心 “The mind conscious of itself.”
waza 技 Striking technique.
yaburu 破る Fighter who lacks perfected technique but possesses spirit and courage.
yotsu te o hanasu 四つ手を放す “To release four hands.”
yugamae 弓構え Bow-holding posture.
zan-totsu 斬突 “Close and strike,” the tactics of the samurai.
zanshin 残心 “Remaining mind.”
Zen 禅 A Japanese form of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism; “the religion of the samurai”.