Chapters (57)

arigatō gozaimasu	thank you very much
bushido	the Way of the Warrior – the samurai code
Butokuden	Hall of the Virtues of War
Daimyo	Japanese feudal lord
daishō	the pair of swords, wakizashi and katana, that are the traditional weapons of the samurai
Dim Mak	the Death Touch
gaijin	a foreigner, outsider (derogatory term)
hakama	wide-legged Japanese trousers
hamon	the visual pattern on a sword as a result of tempering the blade
haori	a jacket
hashi	chopsticks
hatamoto	honorary rank in the direct service of the Shogun or Regent
kagemusha	a shadow warrior
kamon	family crest
Kanojo o tebanasu!	Let her go!
kanzashi	a hairpin
katame waza	grappling techniques
katana	a long sword
kenjutsu	the Art of the Sword
ki	energy flow or life force (Chinese: chi or qi)
kiai-jutsu	the art of the kiai (shout)
kimono	traditional Japanese clothing
kissaki	the tip of the sword
kunoichi	a female ninja
kyusho	a pressure point
manriki	a short chain weapon with two steel weights on the ends
mempō	protective metal mask covering part or all of the face
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo	Buddhist chant
Nikyo	a wrist lock (second technique, or second teaching)
ninja	a Japanese assassin
ninjatō	a ninja sword
ninjutsu	the Art of Stealth
Niten Ichi Ryū	the ‘One School of Two Heavens’
obi	a belt
ryumon ki	dragon’s gate point
sakura	the cherry-blossom tree
samurai	a Japanese warrior
saya	a scabbard
sensei	a teacher
seoi-nage	shoulder throw
shakujō	a Buddhist ringed staff
shinobi	another name for a ninja, literally a ‘stealer in’
shinobi shōzoku	the clothing of a ninja
Shisha no Nemuri	the Sleep of the Dead
shuriken	a metal throwing star
taijutsu	the Art of the Body (hand-to-hand combat)
tantō	a short knife
Tasukete! Abunai!	Help me! Danger!
tsuba	hand guard
ukemi	falling techniques
waki-gamae	a fighting stance in kenjutsu
wakizashi	a short sword
wako	Japanese pirates
ya	arrow
yubitsume	a Japanese ritual to atone for offences by means of cutting off one’s own little finger (literally ‘finger shortening’)
yumi	a bow
yūrei	Japanese ghost

Japanese names usually consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name, unlike names in the Western world, where the given name comes before the family name. In feudal Japan, names reflected a person’s social status and spiritual beliefs. When addressing someone, san is added to that person’s family name (or given names in less formal situations) as a sign of courtesy, in the same way that we use Mr or Mrs, for example, in English; for higher-status people, sama is used. In Japan, sensei is usually added after a person’s name if they are a teacher, although in the Young Samurai books a traditional English word order has been retained. Boys and girls are usually addressed using the suffixes kun and chan respectively.

Acknowledgements