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185 entries · The right word and its short definition, with the articles that unpack it.
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72 micro-seasons
Japanese poetic division of the year into seventy-two periods of about five days each.
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AKB48
Giant Japanese idol group that pioneered the 'idols you can meet' concept.
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Akihabara
Tokyo district that is the global hub of otaku culture, anime goods and electronics.
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Akō incident
The 1701-1703 affair in which the lord of Akō was condemned, sparking the 47 Rōnin's revenge.
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Anime
Japanese animation, from feature films to TV series, often adapted from manga.
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Banchan
Array of small side dishes served alongside a Korean meal.
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Bandai
Japanese toy and model-kit giant, maker of Gunpla kits.
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Battle manga
Shōnen subgenre driven by fights and tournaments, like Dragon Ball or Naruto.
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Beatmania
Konami arcade rhythm game that launched the DJ-style music-game craze.
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Bemani
Konami's music-game division behind Beatmania, Dance Dance Revolution and others.
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Black Day
Korean day on April 14 when singles eat black jajangmyeon noodles.
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Black Ships
Western warships, led by Commodore Perry in 1853, that forced Japan to reopen.
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Blind box
Mystery box whose contents are unknown until opened, driving modern collecting culture.
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Bukatsu
Japanese after-school club activities, central to student life and discipline.
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Bullet hell
Shoot 'em up subgenre flooding the screen with bullets to dodge, the Western name for danmaku.
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Bushidō
Moral code of the samurai, valuing honor, loyalty, courage and self-discipline.
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Cardcaptor Sakura
Beloved magical-girl series by the studio CLAMP.
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Chanoyu
Japanese tea ceremony, the codified art of preparing and sharing matcha.
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Chéngyǔ
Fixed Chinese expressions of four characters, often condensing a story or a moral.
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Chinese hot pot
Communal Chinese fondue where meats, vegetables and noodles cook in a shared simmering broth.
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Chinese zodiac
Cycle of twelve animals tied to years, the basis of Chinese astrology.
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Chūshingura
Genre of plays and films retelling the legend of the 47 Rōnin.
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City pop
Glossy Japanese pop of the late 1970s-80s, evoking urban nightlife and seaside leisure.
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CLAMP
Japanese all-women manga collective of four artists, known for works like "Cardcaptor Sakura."
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Comiket
Huge twice-yearly Tokyo fair where doujin creators sell self-published manga and games.
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Commodore Perry
U.S. Navy officer who pressured Japan into ending its seclusion in 1853-1854.
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Concept café
Themed café offering an immersive world, of which the maid café is the best-known.
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Confucianism
Moral and social thought stemming from Confucius, shaping hierarchy and duty across East Asia.
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Cosplay
Hobby of dressing up as characters from manga, anime or games.
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Cup no Fuchiko
Tiny office-lady figurine designed to perch on the rim of a cup, a gachapon hit.
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Daigo Umehara
Legendary Japanese fighting-game player, known for the 'Evo Moment 37' comeback.
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Danmaku
'Bullet curtain': dense patterns of projectiles that define bullet-hell shooters.
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Danshari
Japanese decluttering philosophy: refuse, discard and detach from excess belongings.
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Dejima
Artificial island in Nagasaki, Japan's only window onto Europe during the closure.
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Dōjin
Self-published, fan-made work; doujin games are sold outside the commercial industry.
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Dragon Ball
Akira Toriyama's hit manga that set the template for the modern battle shōnen.
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Edo period
Era of peace under the Tokugawa shoguns (1603-1868), the height of samurai society.
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Edomae sushi
Style of sushi born in Edo (Tokyo), based on fresh fish prepared to be eaten right away.
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Evo Moment 37
Famous 2004 Street Fighter comeback by Daigo Umehara, a milestone of esports history.
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Five Elements
Chinese theory linking wood, fire, earth, metal and water to explain the world's cycles.
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Fruits Basket
Hit Japanese manga and anime whose story draws on the Chinese zodiac.
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Furoshiki
Japanese square cloth folded and knotted to wrap and carry objects, a zero-waste tradition.
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Futōkō
Japanese term for prolonged school refusal or absenteeism by students.
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Future funk
Upbeat offshoot of vaporwave built from chopped, danceable city pop samples.
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Gacha
Video-game mechanic of paying for random virtual rewards, named after capsule-toy machines.
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Gachapon
Vending machine dispensing toys in capsules, and the toys themselves; named for its turning sound.
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Game Freak
Japanese video game studio, developer of the core Pokémon series.
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Games Done Quick
Major charity speedrunning event series broadcast worldwide.
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Gashapon
Bandai's trademark spelling of gachapon capsule-toy machines.
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Genshin Impact
Blockbuster free-to-play game whose gacha system funds its open world.
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Gensōkyō
Fictional secluded land where the Touhou Project's stories and characters live.
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Grendizer
Gō Nagai mecha series that became a cultural phenomenon in France and beyond.
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Gundam
Japanese science-fiction franchise built around piloted giant robots, or "mecha."
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Gunpla
Plastic model kits of the robots from the Gundam saga.
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Hallyu
The "Korean Wave": the global spread of South Korean pop culture (k-pop, k-dramas, film).
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Hangul
Korean alphabet created in the 15th century, designed to be easy for everyone to learn.
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Hayao Miyazaki
Co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of its most beloved films.
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Hello Kitty
Sanrio's kawaii character, a small white cat that became a global icon of cuteness.
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Henshin
'Transformation': the iconic sequence where a hero or magical girl changes form.
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Hideko Yamashita
Japanese author who coined danshari, the decluttering philosophy.