History lesson words words

609 words, in あいうえお order.

• 相沢忠洋あいざわただひろ Aizawa Tadahiro (found the Iwajuku stone tools in 1946)
• 間にあいだに while
• 青森あおもり Aomori (city, prefecture)
• 赤土あかつち red clay
• 安芸あき Aki (former province located in the west of present-day Hiroshima Prefecture)
• 秋田あきた Akita (city, prefecture)
• アク抜きあくぬき removing the bitter taste (from nuts and vegetables)
• あぐら sitting cross-legged
• 朝日あさひ morning sun
• 葦あし common reed (Phragmites australis)
• アシナヅチあしなづち Ashinazuchi, the old father of Kushinada-hime
• 葦原中国あしはらのなかつくに Japan
• 味つけあじつけ seasoning
• アスファルトあすふぁると asphalt
• あぜ ridge between rice fields
• アニミズムあにみずむ animism
• アマテラスあまてらす Amaterasu, the sun goddess
• 天岩戸あまのいわと Heavenly Rock Cave
• 天安河原あまのやすのかわら Ame-no-Yasu-no-Kawara, the heavenly riverbed where the gods met
• 天の浮橋あめのうきはし the Floating Bridge of Heaven
• アメノウズメあめのうずめ Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess who danced at the Heavenly Rock Cave
• アメノオシホミミあめのおしほみみ Ame-no-Oshihomimi, child of Amaterasu, father of Ninigi
• アメノコヤネあめのこやね Ame-no-Koyane, the god who recited the prayers
• アメノタヂカラオあめのたぢからお Ame-no-Tajikarao, the strong god who pulled Amaterasu out
• アメノトリフネあめのとりふね Ame-no-Torifune, god who went down with Takemikazuchi
• 天沼矛あめのぬぼこ heavenly jeweled spear
• 天の詔琴あめののりごと Ame no Norigoto, Susanoo's magic koto (zither)
• アメノホヒあめのほひ Ame-no-Hohi, the first envoy, who served Ōkuninushi
• アメノミナカヌシあめのみなかぬし Ame-no-Minakanushi, the first god to appear in the Kojiki
• アメノワカヒコあめのわかひこ Ame-no-Wakahiko, the second envoy, killed by his own arrow
• アメリカ人あめりかじん American person
• 粟あわ foxtail millet
• 淡路島あわじしま Awaji Island, the first of the islands born
• 編布あんぎん cloth plaited from plant fiber (angin)
• 安産あんざん easy childbirth
• 壱岐いき Iki (former province located on Iki Island in present-day Nagasaki Prefecture)
• 生き返るいきかえる to revive
• 生大刀いくたち sword brimming over with life force
• 生弓矢いくゆみや ikuyumiya, Susanoo's 'life bow and arrows'
• イザナギいざなぎ Izanagi, the male god who made the land with Izanami
• イザナミいざなみ Izanami, the female god who made the land and died giving birth to the fire god
• イシコリドメいしこりどめ Ishikoridome, the goddess who made the mirror
• 石匙いしさじ stone knife (Jomon-period tool, shaped like a rice spoon)
• 石皿いしざら stone dish (grinding slab)
• 石包丁いしぼうちょう stone harvesting knife
• 石槍いしやり stone spear
• 伊豆諸島いずしょとう the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo
• 出雲いずも Izumo (former province located in the east of present-day Shimane Prefecture)
• 出雲大社いずもたいしゃ Izumo Taisha, the great shrine in Shimane linked with Ōkuninushi
• 板付遺跡いたづけいせき Itazuke site (Fukuoka
• 一億いちおく one hundred million
• 一年間いちねんかん (period of) one year
• 一行いっこう party
• 一本いっぽん one (long object)
• イツセいつせ Itsuse, elder brother of Iwarebiko, died of an arrow wound
• 五伴緒いつとものお Itsutomo no O, the five attending gods who went down with Ninigi
• 遺伝子いでんし gene
• 糸魚川いといがわ Itoigawa, a city in Niigata Prefecture and a source of jade
• 稲作いなさく rice farming
• 稲佐の浜いなさのはま Inasa Beach in Izumo, where Takemikazuchi met Ōkuninushi
• 因幡いなば Inaba (former province located in the east of present-day Tottori Prefecture)
• 猪いのしし wild boar
• イノシシいのしし wild boar
• 芋いも potato
• 壱与いよ Iyo, girl who became queen after Himiko
• 射るいる to shoot (an arrow)
• 入れ替わるいれかわる to change places
• 岩宿遺跡いわじゅくいせき Iwajuku site (Gunma
• 岩手いわて Iwate (prefecture)
• イワナガヒメいわながひめ Iwanagahime, 'Rock-long Princess', Konohanasakuyahime's elder sister
• 印綬いんじゅ (ribbon of) an official seal
• 鵜う cormorant (Phalacrocoracidae spp.)
• 宇迦の山うかのやま Mount Uka, where Ōkuninushi was told to build his palace
• ウガヤフキアエズうがやふきあえず Ugayafukiaezu, son of Hoori, father of Emperor Jinmu
• ウケイうけい ukei, a pledge-divination: an outcome is declared in advance and the will of the gods is judged by whether it comes true (in the Kojiki pledge, by the gods who are born)
• 宇佐うさ Usa, a place in northern Kyushu on the way east
• 兎神うさぎがみ the hare god
• 臼うす mortar
• 宇陀うだ Uda, a place in Nara
• 内側うちがわ inside
• 腕輪うでわ bracelet
• 産屋うぶや birthing hut
• 海幸彦うみさちひこ Umisachihiko, 'sea-catch prince', name of Hoderi the fisher
• 海辺うみべ beach
• ウムギヒメうむぎひめ Umugi-hime, a shell goddess who healed Ōkuninushi
• 占いうらない fortune-telling
• 漆うるし East-Asian lacquer
• 江戸時代えどじだい Edo period (1603-1868 CE)
• 大型竪穴住居おおがたたてあなじゅうきょ large pit dwelling
• 大型掘立柱建物おおがたほったてばしらたてもの large post-set building
• 大きくなるおおきくなる to grow up
• 大きさおおきさ size
• 多くおおく many
• オオクニヌシおおくにぬし Ōkuninushi, the great god of Izumo and the land
• 大国主神おおくにぬしのかみ Okuninushi
• 大阪おおさか Osaka
• オオナムヂおおなむぢ Ōnamuji, the early name of Ōkuninushi
• 太安万侶おおのやすまろ Ō no Yasumaro, the court official who wrote down the Kojiki
• 大神神社おおみわじんじゃ Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara, which worships Ōmononushi
• オオモノヌシおおものぬし Ōmononushi, the shining god worshipped on Mount Miwa
• 大森おおもり Ōmori (surname)
• 大森貝塚おおもりかいづか Ōmori Shell Mound (Tokyo
• 大八島おおやしま Ōyashima, 'the eight great islands', an old name for Japan
• オオヤビコおおやびこ Ōyabiko, a god of the land of Ki who helped Ōnamuji escape and sent him to Susanoo (Kojiki)
• オオヤマツミおおやまつみ Ōyamatsumi, mountain god, father of the two princesses
• 大湯環状列石おおゆかんじょうれっせき Ōyu Stone Circles (Akita)
• 大喜びおおよろこび great joy
• 大笑いおおわらい great laughter
• 岡本太郎おかもとたろう Okamoto Tarō (artist who praised Jōmon pottery)
• 岡山おかやま Okayama (city, prefecture)
• おかゆ rice porridge
• 隠岐おき Oki (former province located on Oki Island in present-day Shimane Prefecture)
• 沖縄おきなわ Okinawa
• 淤岐島おきのしま Okinoshima, the island where the hare was stranded (its location is uncertain
• 桶おけ wooden bucket
• おける in
• お米おこめ (husked grains of) rice
• お供えおそなえ offering
• 追っ手おって pursuers
• お寺おてら temple
• 落とし穴おとしあな pit trap
• 斧おの axe
• オノゴロ島おのごろじま Onokoro Island (in Japanese mythology, the island formed by drops of water falling from the heavenly jeweled spear)
• 男之水門おのみなと Ono-minato, the harbor in the land of Ki where Itsuse died (Kojiki)
• お話おはなし story
• おぼれる to struggle in the water
• 思いおもい thought
• オモイカネおもいかね Omoikane, the wise god of Takamagahara who made the plan
• 蚕かいこ silkworm (Bombyx mori)
• 海水かいすい seawater
• 貝塚かいづか shell heap
• 海面かいめん sea level
• 貝輪かいわ shell bracelet
• 火焔型土器かえんがたどき flame-type pottery (Niigata, Middle Jōmon)
• 顔かお face
• 案山子かかし scarecrow
• 書き留めるかきとどめる to write down
• かき混ぜるかきまぜる to mix
• 鍵穴かぎあな keyhole
• カグツチかぐつち Kagutsuchi, the god of fire
• 神楽かぐら kagura (Shinto music and dance)
• 囲いかこい enclosure
• 橿原かしはら Kashihara in Nara, where Jinmu built his palace
• 桂かつら katsura tree
• 窯かま kiln
• 鎌かま sickle
• 竈山かまやま Kamayama, in the land of Ki, where Itsuse was buried (Kojiki)
• 神々かみがみ gods
• カミムスヒかみむすひ Kamimusuhi, one of the first three gods
• カムヤマトイワレビコかむやまといわれびこ Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko, the Kojiki name of Jinmu
• 甕棺墓かめかんぼ jar-coffin grave
• 亀ヶ岡遺跡かめがおかいせき Kamegaoka site (Aomori
• 仮面かめん mask
• 仮面の女神かめんのめがみ Goddess with a Mask, a National Treasure dogū found in Nagano
• 加茂岩倉遺跡かもいわくらいせき Kamo-Iwakura site (Shimane), where 39 dōtaku were found
• からす crow (Corvus spp.)
• 烏からす crow
• 狩りかり hunt
• 狩るかる to hunt
• 考え方かんがえかた way of thinking
• 環濠かんごう (circular) moat
• 環濠集落かんごうしゅうらく moated settlement (Yayoi period)
• 漢書かんじょ Hanshu, Chinese history of the Han dynasty
• 環状集落かんじょうしゅうらく ring-shaped settlement
• 環状列石かんじょうれっせき stone circle
• 貫頭衣かんとうい simple type of clothing consisting of a large piece of cloth with a hole in the middle for the head
• 漢委奴国王かんのわのなのこくおう 'King of the Na country of Wa under Han', inscription of the gold seal
• 羅摩ががいも kagaimo, a vine whose seed pod served as Sukunabikona's boat
• 合掌土偶がっしょうどぐう praying dogū, a National Treasure found in Aomori
• 蒲がま common cattail (Typha latifolia)
• 紀元きげん era
• 紀元前きげんぜん BC
• キサガイヒメきさがいひめ Kisagai-hime, a shell goddess who healed Ōkuninushi
• 鬼道きどう kidō, Himiko's spiritual art (often explained as shamanism)
• 杵きね mallet
• 紀の国きのくに Ki no Kuni, old name of the Wakayama area
• 牙きば fang
• 吉備きび Kibi, old region (Okayama), where Iwarebiko stayed eight years
• 九州きゅうしゅう Kyushu
• 九州説きゅうしゅうせつ theory that Yamatai was in Kyushu
• 九州北部きゅうしゅうほくぶ northern Kyushu
• 旧石器時代きゅうせっきじだい Paleolithic era
• 京都きょうと Kyoto
• 清めるきよめる to purify
• 切り取るきりとる to cut off
• 金印きんいん golden stamp (archeol)
• 近畿きんき Kinki region
• 近畿説きんきせつ theory that Yamatai was in the Kinki region
• 近畿地方きんきちほう Kinki region (incl. Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Mie and Shiga prefectures)
• 金属器きんぞくき metal ware
• 魏ぎ Wei
• 魏志ぎし the history of Wei
• 杭くい stake
• クエビコくえびこ Kuebiko, the scarecrow god who knew Sukunabikona's name
• 草那芸の大刀くさなぎのたち Kusanagi no Tachi, the great sword found in the serpent's tail
• 草薙剣くさなぎのつるぎ Kusanagi sword
• クシナダヒメくしなだひめ Kushinada-hime, the girl Susanoo saved and married
• 屈葬くっそう crouched burial
• クニくに kuni, an early small state of Yayoi Japan
• 国生みくにうみ kuniumi, the 'birth of the land' (making the islands)
• 国々くにぐに countries
• 国づくりくにづくり nation building
• 国譲りくにゆずり kuniyuzuri, 'the yielding of the land' by Ōkuninushi to the heavenly gods
• 熊くま bear
• 熊野くまの Kumano, mountain region on the Kii Peninsula
• クラゲくらげ jellyfish
• くらべ comparison
• 暗闇くらやみ darkness (blind)
• 栗くり Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata)
• クリくり Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata)
• くり抜くくりぬく to hollow out
• 鍬くわ hoe
• 鍬先くわさき hoe blade
• ぐるぐる round and round
• 群馬ぐんま Gunma (prefecture)
• 気多けた Keta, a cape in Inaba where the hare was found
• 研究者けんきゅうしゃ researcher
• 芸術家げいじゅつか artist
• 後期こうき second half
• こうした such
• 荒神谷遺跡こうじんだにいせき Kōjindani site (Shimane), where 358 bronze swords were found
• 高地性集落こうちせいしゅうらく hilltop settlement (western Japan)
• 神津島こうづしま Kōzu Island, an Izu island and a source of obsidian
• 皇帝こうてい emperor
• 後半こうはん second half
• 光武帝こうぶてい Emperor Guangwu of Later Han
• 国宝こくほう national treasure
• 黒曜石こくようせき obsidian
• こけ moss
• 古事記こじき Kojiki
• 骨角器こっかくき bone tool
• 骨針こつしん bone needle
• コトシロヌシことしろぬし Kotoshironushi, son of Ōkuninushi who agreed to yield the land
• こねる to knead
• このため because of this
• コノハナサクヤヒメこのはなさくやひめ Konohanasakuyahime, 'Blossom Princess', wife of Ninigi
• 木の実このみ fruit of a tree
• 古墳こふん ancient burial mound
• 古墳時代こふんじだい Kofun period (of Japanese history, 250-538 CE)
• 米粒こめつぶ grain of rice
• 後漢ごかん Later Han dynasty (China, 25-220 CE)
• 後漢書ごかんじょ Hou Hanshu, Chinese history of the Later Han dynasty
• 五十ごじゅう fifty
• 五百ごひゃく 500
• 最大さいだい biggest
• 佐賀県さがけん Saga prefecture (Kyushu)
• 鮭さけ salmon (Salmonidae spp.)
• 佐渡さど Sado (former province located on Sado Island in present-day Niigata Prefecture)
• さや scabbard
• 晒すさらす to expose
• サルタビコさるたびこ Sarutabiko (also read Sarutahiko), the shining god who guided Ninigi
• 三回さんかい three times
• 三国志さんごくし Records of the Three Kingdoms
• 三種の神器さんしゅのじんぎ Three Sacred Treasures
• 三十さんじゅう thirty
• 三千さんぜん three thousand
• 三内丸山さんないまるやま Sannai-Maruyama (short form of the site name)
• 三内丸山遺跡さんないまるやまいせき Sannai-Maruyama site (Aomori
• 三人さんにん three people
• 三年さんねん three years
• 雑穀ざっこく assorted grains
• 残念ながらざんねんながら I'm afraid to say
• 潮しお tide
• シオツチしおつち Shiotsuchi, the god of the tides who helped Hoori
• 潮干珠しおひるたま shiohirutama, the tide-ebbing jewel
• 潮満珠しおみつたま shiomitsutama, the tide-filling jewel
• 鹿しか deer
• 志賀島しかのしま Shikanoshima, island in Fukuoka where the gold seal was found
• 四国しこく Shikoku
• 静岡しずおか Shizuoka
• 静岡県しずおかけん Shizuoka prefecture (Chūbu area)
• 史跡しせき historic site
• したい want to do
• 次第にしだいに gradually
• 指導者しどうしゃ leader
• 科野国しなののくに Shinano no Kuni, old name of Shinano (Nagano)
• 島根県しまねけん Shimane prefecture (Chūgoku area)
• しめ縄しめなわ rope used to cordon off consecrated areas or as a talisman against evil
• 遮光器土偶しゃこうきどぐう "goggle-eyed" clay figure
• 集落しゅうらく settlement
• 首長しゅちょう chief
• 称号しょうごう title
• 白肩津しらかたのつ Shirakata no Tsu, harbor where Iwarebiko fought Nagasunehiko
• 虱しらみ louse (esp. a sucking louse)
• 試練しれん trial
• 親魏倭王しんぎわおう Shingi Wa-ō, 'King of Wa, friend of Wei', title given to Himiko in 239
• 地面じめん ground
• 十三じゅうさん thirteen
• 十七じゅうしち seventeen
• 従者じゅうしゃ attendant
• 重要文化財じゅうようぶんかざい important cultural property
• 十六じゅうろく sixteen
• 術じゅつ art
• 縄文じょうもん Jomon period
• 縄文海進じょうもんかいしん Jōmon transgression (period of higher sea level)
• 縄文犬じょうもんけん Jōmon dog (small hunting dog)
• 縄文時代じょうもんじだい Jōmon period (ca. 14000-1000 BCE)
• 縄文人じょうもんじん Jomon people
• 縄文土器じょうもんどき straw rope-patterned ancient Japanese pottery
• 縄文のビーナスじょうもんのびーなす Jōmon Venus, a National Treasure dogū found in Nagano
• 人骨じんこつ human bones
• 神武天皇じんむてんのう Emperor Jinmu, the legendary first emperor
• 神武東征じんむとうせい Jinmu tōsei, Emperor Jinmu's eastern expedition from Kyushu
• 水路すいろ waterway
• 数十すうじゅう dozens
• 数百すうひゃく several hundred
• 須賀すが Suga, the place in Izumo where Susanoo built his palace
• 鋤すき spade
• 少なくなるすくなくなる to lessen
• スクナビコナすくなびこな Sukunabikona, the tiny god who helped Ōkuninushi make the land
• スサノオすさのお Susanoo (deity, younger brother to Amaterasu)
• スズすず tin (Sn)
• スセリビメすせりびめ Suseribime, Susanoo's daughter and Ōkuninushi's wife
• 炭すみ charcoal
• すり石すりいし grinding stone
• すりつぶす to mash
• 州羽の海すわのうみ the sea of Suwa (Lake Suwa), where Takeminakata yielded
• 製塩土器せいえんどき salt-making pottery
• 青銅せいどう bronze
• 青銅器せいどうき bronze ware
• 精霊せいれい spirit
• 世界遺産せかいいさん World Heritage (cultural, natural, etc.)
• 石鏃せきぞく flint arrowhead
• 石斧せきふ stone axe (ax)
• 石棒せきぼう stone rod (used in rites)
• 石器せっき stone tool
• 千年せんねん a thousand years
• 前漢ぜんかん Former Han dynasty (China, 206 BCE-9 CE)
• 前期ぜんき first term
• 前方後円墳ぜんぽうこうえんふん keyhole-shaped tumulus
• 早期そうき early stage
• 草創期そうそうき initial stages
• 供えるそなえる to offer (to gods or the dead)
• その間そのかん in the meanwhile
• その後そのご after that
• その先そのさき beyond that point
• その中そのなか in it
• そのよう that kind of
• それなら if that's the case
• 続縄文時代ぞくじょうもんじだい Zoku-Jōmon (Epi-Jōmon) period: the culture of Hokkaido and nearby areas after the Jōmon, from about the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD, running parallel to the Yayoi and Kofun periods in Honshu
• 鯛たい sea bream (Sparidae)
• 大珠たいしゅ large jade bead
• 大切な人たいせつなひと loved one
• タカクラジたかくらじ Takakuraji, man who brought the sword to the army at Kumano
• 高さたかさ height
• 高千穂たかちほ Takachiho in Kyushu, where Ninigi came down
• 高杯たかつき stemmed dish
• 高天原たかまがはら Takamagahara
• タカミムスヒたかみむすひ Takamimusuhi, one of the first three gods
• 高床倉庫たかゆかそうこ raised floor storehouse
• 宝物たからもの treasure
• 筍たけのこ bamboo shoot
• タケミカヅチたけみかづち Takemikazuchi, mighty god sent to win the yielding of the land
• タケミナカタたけみなかた Takeminakata, son of Ōkuninushi who fought Takemikazuchi
• 田下駄たげた field clog (wooden board for walking in mud)
• 助け合うたすけあう to help each other
• 太刀たち tachi
• 竪穴住居たてあなじゅうきょ pit dwelling
• 楯築墳丘墓たてつきふんきゅうぼ Tatetsuki mounded tomb (Okayama)
• タマノオヤたまのおや Tamanoya, the god who made the string of jewels
• 民たみ people
• 大地だいち earth
• 打製石器だせいせっき chipped stone tool
• 地上ちじょう surface world
• 父ちち father
• 中期ちゅうき middle period
• 中国ちゅうごく China
• 朝鮮半島ちょうせんはんとう Korean peninsula
• 貯蔵穴ちょぞうけつ storage pit (esp. Jomon to Yayoi periods)
• 地理志ちりし geography section (of the Hanshu)
• 使いつかい errand
• 使い方つかいかた how to use
• 使えるつかえる to be usable
• 次につぎに next
• 搗くつく to hull (rice, barley, etc.)
• 筑紫つくし Tsukushi (provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo in northern Kyushu)
• ツクヨミつくよみ Tsukuyomi, the moon god
• 作り方つくりかた style of building
• 対馬つしま Tsushima (former province located on Tsushima Island in present-day Nagasaki Prefecture)
• 紡ぐつむぐ to spin
• つらら icicle
• 釣り針つりばり fish hook
• 連れ戻すつれもどす to bring back
• 定住ていじゅう settlement
• 鉄器てっき ironware
• 鉄鉱石てっこうせき iron ore
• テナヅチてなづち Tenazuchi, the old mother of Kushinada-hime
• 天てん sky
• 天孫降臨てんそんこうりん the descent of the sun goddess's grandson to earth (Japanese myth)
• 東京とうきょう Tokyo
• 貴いとうとい precious
• 東北とうほく Tohoku
• 東北地方とうほくちほう Tōhoku region (northernmost six prefectures of Honshu)
• 通り道とおりみち passage
• 特別史跡とくべつしせき Special Historic Site
• 常世の国とこよのくに distant country
• 常世の長鳴鳥とこよのながなきどり the long-crowing birds of the eternal land (roosters)
• 閉じこもるとじこもる to shut oneself away
• トチとち horse chestnut (Japanese horse chestnut)
• 鳥取とっとり Tottori (city, prefecture)
• 十握剣とつかのつるぎ Totsuka sword, ten-fist blade
• 灯すともす to light (a lamp)
• トヨタマヒメとよたまひめ Toyotamahime, daughter of Watatsumi, wife of Hoori
• 渡来人とらいじん people from overseas, especially from China and Korea, who settled in early Japan and introduced Continental culture to the Japanese
• 鳥髪とりかみ Torikami, a place in Izumo where Susanoo came down
• 鳥浜貝塚とりはまかいづか Torihama shell mound in Fukui Prefecture, where dugout canoes were found
• 獲れるとれる to be caught (fish, game)
• 登呂遺跡とろいせき Toro site (Shizuoka), a Yayoi rice-farming village
• トンボとんぼ dragonfly
• 銅戈どうか bronze dagger-axe
• 銅鏡どうきょう bronze mirror
• 洞窟どうくつ cave
• 銅剣どうけん bronze sword
• 同時にどうじに coincident with
• 銅鐸どうたく bell-shaped bronze vessel of Yayoi period
• どうにも (not) in any way
• 銅矛どうほこ bronze hoko
• 土器どき earthenware
• 土偶どぐう earthen figure
• どのよう what kind
• どんぐり acorn
• ない to not exist
• ナウマンゾウなうまんぞう Palaeoloxodon naumanni (extinct species of elephant)
• 長い間ながいあいだ long time
• 長さながさ length
• ナガスネヒコながすねひこ Nagasunehiko, local chief who fought Iwarebiko
• 長野ながの Nagano (city, prefecture)
• 長持ちながもち long-lasting
• 泣き声なきごえ crying voice
• 鳴き声なきごえ cry
• なくす to lose
• 投げ入れるなげいれる to throw into
• 奴国なこく Country of Na (a country that existed within Japan during the Yayoi period)
• 浪速なにわ Naniwa (former name for Osaka region)
• 名のるなのる to give one's name
• 名乗るなのる to give one's name as
• 菜畑遺跡なばたけいせき Nabatake site (Karatsu, Saga
• 奈良なら Nara (city, prefecture)
• ナラなら oak (konara and mizunara oaks, trees that bear acorns)
• 均すならす to make even
• ならば if
• 縄目なわめ cord marks (pattern made by pressing rope into clay)
• 何千なんぜん many thousands
• 何年なんねん how many years
• 新潟にいがた Niigata
• 新嘗祭にいなめさい ceremonial offering to the deities by the Emperor of newly-harvested rice
• 逃げ帰るにげかえる to scurry home
• 西日本にしにほん western Japan
• 二重にじゅう double
• 煮炊きにたき cooking
• ニニギににぎ Ninigi, grandson of Amaterasu who came down to rule the earth
• 日本語にほんご Japanese language
• 日本中にほんじゅう throughout Japan
• 日本人にほんじん Japanese person
• 日本列島にほんれっとう the Japanese islands
• 鶏にわとり chicken
• ネズミ返しねずみがえし rat guard
• 根の堅州国ねのかたすくに underworld
• 根の国ねのくに underworld
• 眠らせるねむらせる to put to sleep
• 野原のはら field
• 野焼きのやき open-fire firing (of pottery, without a kiln)
• 祝詞のりと Shinto prayer
• 剥がれるはがれる to come unstuck from
• 白兎神社はくとじんじゃ Hakuto Shrine, a shrine of the white hare in Tottori
• 恥をかくはじをかく to be embarrassed
• 機織りはたおり weaving
• 蜂はち bee
• 八本はちほん eight (long thin things)
• 母はは mother
• 刃物はもの edged tool
• 梁はり beam
• 抜歯ばっし tooth extraction
• 晩期ばんき the last stage
• 稗ひえ barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta)
• 稗田阿礼ひえだのあれ Hieda no Are, the person said to have memorized the stories
• 東日本ひがしにほん eastern Japan
• ヒキガエルひきがえる toad (esp. the Japanese toad, Bufo japonicus)
• 低めひくめ on the low side
• 翡翠ひすい jade
• 左目ひだりめ left eye
• 一晩ひとばん one night
• 人々ひとびと people
• 肥の河ひのかわ Hi no Kawa, a river in Izumo (usually identified with the Hii River)
• 罅ひび crack
• ひび割れるひびわれる to crack
• 卑弥呼ひみこ Himiko, queen of Yamatai (3rd century)
• 姫ひめ princess
• 百余国ひゃくよこく more than a hundred countries
• 氷河時代ひょうがじだい ice age
• ヒルコひるこ Hiruko, the first child of Izanagi and Izanami, set adrift on the sea
• 比礼ひれ hire, a cloth scarf with magic power
• 貧富の差ひんぷのさ disparity of wealth
• 深鉢ふかばち deep (clay) pot
• 葺くふく to roof (a house with some material)
• 福井ふくい Fukui (city, prefecture)
• 福岡ふくおか Fukuoka
• 福岡市博物館ふくおかしはくぶつかん Fukuoka City Museum
• 復元ふくげん restoration
• 副葬品ふくそうひん grave goods
• ふせる to turn over (face down)
• ふっくら plump and soft
• 布都御魂ふつのみたま sword of Takemikazuchi
• フトダマふとだま Futodama, the god who stretched the sacred rope
• 踏み鳴らすふみならす to stamp one's feet
• 降り続くふりつづく to continue to rain or snow
• 墳丘墓ふんきゅうぼ tomb embedded in a Yayoi period barrow
• 平安へいあん peace
• 平地住居へいちじゅうきょ flat-ground house
• 蛇へび snake
• 方形周溝墓ほうけいしゅうこうぼ square-ditch burial mound
• ほおずき ground cherry (Physalis alkekengi var. franchetii)
• ホオリほおり Hoori, youngest son of Ninigi, the mountain-hunter Yamasachihiko
• 矛ほこ halberd-like spear
• ホスセリほすせり Hosuseri, second son of Ninigi
• 細長いほそながい long and narrow
• 北海道ほっかいどう Hokkaido
• ホデリほでり Hoderi, elder son of Ninigi, the sea-hunter Umisachihiko
• 彫りほり carving
• 本格的ほんかくてき full-scale
• 本州ほんしゅう Honshū (largest of the four main islands of Japan)
• 本土ほんど mainland
• 紡錘車ぼうすいしゃ spindle base
• 卜骨ぼっこつ fortune-telling using animal bones
• 母乳ぼにゅう mother's milk
• 勾玉まがたま magatama
• 纒向遺跡まきむくいせき Makimuku site (Nara), often discussed in the Yamatai debate
• 磨製石器ませいせっき ground stone tool
• 松の木まつのき pine tree
• 繭まゆ cocoon
• 丸木舟まるきぶね dugout canoe
• マンモスまんもす mammoth (esp. the woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius)
• 右目みぎめ right eye
• 禊みそぎ purification ritual
• 溝みぞ ditch
• 緑色みどりいろ green
• 実りみのり ripening (of a crop)
• 見張るみはる to keep watch
• 美保の岬みほのみさき Cape Miho, in Izumo, where Sukunabikona arrived
• 耳飾りみみかざり earring
• 宮みや shrine
• 三輪山みわやま Mount Miwa in Nara, sacred mountain of Ōmononushi
• 昔々むかしむかし long ago
• ムカデむかで centipede
• 麦むぎ wheat
• 椋の木むくのき Aphananthe oriental elm (Aphananthe aspera)
• 向ヶ岡貝塚むこうがおかかいづか Mukōgaoka shell mound (Tokyo
• 宗像三女神むなかたさんじょしん the Three Goddesses of Munakata, born from Susanoo's sword
• 宗像大社むなかたたいしゃ Munakata Taisha, the shrine of the three goddesses in Fukuoka
• 女神めがみ goddess
• めぐらす to enclose (with)
• 持ち出すもちだす to bring up
• 物見やぐらものみやぐら watchtower
• 籾もみ unhulled rice
• 桃もも peach (Prunus persica)
• モースもーす Edward S. Morse (American zoologist who excavated the Ōmori Shell Mound)
• 矢板やいた sheet pile
• 八百万の神やおよろずのかみ the eight million gods
• ヤカミヒメやかみひめ Yakami-hime, the princess of Inaba
• 焼き物やきもの pottery
• 八雲立つやくもたつ Yakumo tatsu, the opening words of the poem called the first waka
• 八尺瓊勾玉やさかにのまがたま Yasakani no Magatama
• 八塩折の酒やしおりのさけ Yashiori no Sake, the very strong, many-times-refined sake
• 矢じりやじり arrowhead
• 八十神やそがみ many gods
• 八咫烏やたがらす Yatagarasu
• 八咫鏡やたのかがみ Yata no Kagami
• 山口やまぐち Yamaguchi (city, prefecture)
• 山幸彦やまさちひこ Yamasachihiko, 'mountain-catch prince', name of Hoori the hunter
• 邪馬台国やまたいこく Yamataikoku
• ヤマタノオロチやまたのおろち Yamata no Orochi
• 大和やまと Yamato
• 山内清男やまのうちすがお Yamanouchi Sugao, scholar who built the Jōmon pottery sequence
• 山の神やまのかみ mountain god
• 弥生やよい Yayoi (period)
• 弥生式土器やよいしきどき Yayoi-style pottery (the first name of Yayoi pottery)
• 弥生時代やよいじだい Yayoi period (from about the 10th century BCE by recent radiocarbon dating, c. 300 BCE in older books, to about the mid-3rd century CE)
• 弥生人やよいじん Yayoi people
• 弥生町やよいちょう Yayoi-chō (district in Bunkyō Ward, Tokyo, where Yayoi pottery was first found in 1884)
• 弥生土器やよいどき Yayoi pottery
• 槍やり spear
• やり方やりかた way of doing
• やり直すやりなおす to do over
• 弓矢ゆみや bow and arrow
• ゆらゆら swaying gently
• 吉野よしの Yoshino, mountain region in Nara
• 吉野ヶ里遺跡よしのがりいせき Yoshinogari site (Saga), a huge Yayoi moated village
• 吉野ヶ里歴史公園よしのがりれきしこうえん Yoshinogari Historical Park
• 黄泉よみ land of the dead
• 黄泉の国よみのくに land of the dead
• ヨモツシコメよもつしこめ the Yomotsu-shikome, demon-like women of Yomi
• 黄泉比良坂よもつひらさか Yomotsu-hirasaka, the slope at the border of Yomi
• 楽浪郡らくろうぐん Rakurō Commandery (Chinese outpost on the Korean Peninsula)
• 陸続きりくつづき being joined by land
• 漁りょう fishing
• 霊れい spirit
• 炉ろ furnace
• 楼観ろうかん watchtower
• 老夫婦ろうふうふ old couple
• 和歌わか waka
• 若者わかもの young people
• 分かれ目わかれめ fork
• 倭国大乱わこくたいらん Great Disorder of Wa (late 2nd century, recorded in the Hou Hanshu)
• 倭人わじん Japanese person
• 倭人伝わじんでん Wajinden, the passage on the Wa people
• わたす to ferry across (e.g. a river)
• ワタツミわたつみ Watatsumi, the god of the sea
• 和邇わに wani, a sea creature in old myth, often understood as a shark
• 笑い声わらいごえ laughter