List of English words of Japanese origin

Words of Japanese origin have entered many languages. Some words are simple transliterations of Japanese language words for concepts inherent to Japanese culture, but some are actually words of Chinese origin that were first exposed to English via Japan.

Arts

anime: アニメ, Japanese animation
baren: 馬連、馬楝, a tool used in wood printing
bonsai: 盆栽, "tray gardening"; the art of tending miniature trees (see the unrelated word "banzai" below)
bokeh: (from ぼけ, boke), subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of an image projected by a camera lens
haiku: 俳句, a very short poem consisting of three lines of 5, 7, and 5 morae (not syllables as commonly thought) each; see also tanka below
ikebana: 生花, flower arrangement
kabuki: 歌舞伎, a traditional form of Japanese theatre
kakemono: 掛け物, a vertical Japanese scroll, of ink-and-brush painting or calligraphy, that hangs in a recess on a wall inside a room
karaoke: カラオケ, "empty orchestra"; entertainment where an amateur singer accompanies recorded music
koto: 琴, a traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan, resembling a zither with 13 strings
makimono: 巻物, a horizontal Japanese hand scroll, of ink-and-brush painting or calligraphy
manga: 漫画, comic books
netsuke: 根付, a toggle use to tie the sash of a kimono also to attach small items such as inro and kinchaku: sometimes beautifully carved.
noh: 能, a major form of classical Japanese musical drama
origami: 折り紙, artistic paper folding
otaku: オタク or おたく or ヲタク, a geeky enthusiast, especially of anime and manga
renga: 連歌, "renged poetry"; a form of Japanese collaborative poetry
senryu: 川柳, a form of short poetry similar to haiku
shakuhachi: 尺八, Japanese bamboo flute
shamisen: 三味線, a three-stringed musical instrument, played with a plectrum
sumi-e: 墨絵, Japanese black ink painting
taiko: 太鼓, a big drum
tanka: 短歌, "short poetry"; an older form of Japanese poetry than haiku, of the form 5-7-5-7-7 morae (not syllables; see also haiku above)
ukiyo-e: 浮世絵, a type of woodblock print art or painting
waka: 和歌, a genre of Japanese poetry, often refers to tanka

Military and martial arts terminology

Aikido: 合気道, a "blending" art similar to judo
banzai: 万歳 "ten thousand years"; a blessing for Emperors (see the unrelated word "bonsai" above)
bokken: 木剣, a wooden sword used a training weapon
budo: 武道, Japanese martial arts (lit. "martial arts")
bushido: 武士道, "way of the warrior"
dojo: 道場, a training hall for the martial arts
hara-kiri: 腹切り (=seppuku)
honcho: (from 班長, hancho, team leader or class chairperson)
Judo: 柔道, a martial art, a sport and a philosophy developed from jujutsu (see below), lit. "soft way"
jujutsu: 柔術, a variety of close combat fighting systems (see article), lit. "soft skill"
kamikaze: 神風, refers to Japanese World War II suicide pilots in English; in Japanese, refers to strong winds that twice scuppered Mongol attempts to invade the archipelago in the 13th century
Karate: 空手, lit. "empty hand": a Japanese weaponless martial art which emphasises striking techniques (i.e. punching and kicking)
kata: 型, detailed patterns of defense-and-attack movements used by many traditional martial arts
katana: 刀, the Japanese longsword (or Japanese swords in general)
Kendo: 剣道, the martial art of Japanese swordsmanship, lit. "sword-way"
ninja: 忍者, a stealthy warrior and assassin, lit. "shinobi practitioner" (see also shinobi below)
nunchaku: ヌンチャク, a martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or thong
randori: 乱取り, in martial arts, free-style practice or sparring, often specifically multiple-attacker freestyle, lit. "messy striking"
ronin: 浪人, a name given to masterless samurai during the feudal period of Japan, lit. "vagrant person"
sai: a dagger, with two long, unsharpened projections attached to the handle
samurai: 侍, a common term for a warrior in pre-industrial Japan (see also bushi, above)
seppuku: 切腹, ritual suicide by disembowelment (lit. "cutting the abdoment"; see also harakiri, above)
sumo: 相撲, a form of wrestling
wakizashi: 脇差, a traditional Japanese sword, similar to but shorter than a katana, together with which it was often worn

Writing system

The 4 Japanese writing systems are comprised of: kanji, hiragana, katakana, and romaji.

hiragana: 平仮名, a Japanese syllabary, one of the four Japanese writing systems
kana: 仮名, a general term for hiragana and katakana
kanji: 漢字, Chinese characters used in Japanese, one of the four Japanese writing systems
katakana: 片仮名, a Japanese syllabary, one of the four Japanese writing systems
romaji: ローマ字, the Roman alphabet; the writing of the Japanese language in Roman characters

Domestic items

fusuma: 襖, sliding vertical rectangles which redefine spaces within a room, and act as doors
futon: 布団, a type of mattress that makes up a Japanese bed
shoji: 障子, a translucent rice paper screen with a wooden frame, used as a room divider or door
tatami: 畳, traditional Japanese flooring, made of woven straw

Clothing

geta: 下駄, a pair of Japanese raised wooden clogs worn with traditional Japanese garments, such as the kimono
happy coat, happi coat: 法被 a traditional Japanse workware (unniform) overcoat.
kimono: 着物, a traditional full-length robe-like garment still worn by women, men and children
obi: 帯, a wide belt which is tied in the back to secure a kimono
tabi: 足袋, traditional Japanese socks, with a separation between the big toe and other toes
yukata: 浴衣 or ゆかた, a kind of casual kimono, literally "bath clothing", consisting of one big piece of cloth with two wide sleeves
zori: 草履, sandals made from rice straw or lacquered wood, worn with a kimono for formal occasions

Culinary

adzuki, azuki bean: あずき or 小豆, type of bean grown in eastern Asia and the Himalayas, used in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cuisines, usually served sweet
bento: 弁当, a single-portion takeout meal, box lunch
daikon: 大根, a kind of white radish
dashi: 出汁, a simple soup stock considered fundamental to Japanese cooking
edamame: 枝豆, soybeans boiled whole in the green pod and served with salt
enokidake, enoki mushroom: 榎茸, long, thin white mushrooms, used in Japanese and Chinese cuisines
fugu: 河豚 or フグ, the meat of the toxic pufferfish, must be prepared by specially trained chefs by law. Also means pufferfish itself.
ginkgo: 銀杏 or ぎんなん, a gymnospermous tree (Ginkgo biloba) of eastern China that is widely grown as an ornamental or shade tree and has fan-shaped leaves and yellow fruit (the word is derived from 17th Century Japanese 銀杏 ginkyō)
gyokuro: 玉露, expensive specially harvested green tea
gyoza: ギョーザ or 餃子, Japanese name for Chinese dumplings, jiaozi (jiǎozi); may also be called pot stickers in English if they are fried
hibachi: 火鉢, a small, portable charcoal grill
hijiki: 鹿尾菜, a type of edible seaweed commonly found on rocky coastlines
kaki: 柿, Japanese persimmon
kombu: 昆布, dried kelp, which can be eaten or used as dashi
matcha: 抹茶, powdered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony
mirin: 味醂, an essential condiment of the Japanese cuisine, a kind of rice wine similar to sake with a slightly sweet taste
miso: 味噌, a thick paste made by fermenting soybeans with salt
mizuna: 水菜, an edible plant, with flavor akin to the mustard plant
mochi: 餅, the Japanese variant of Chinese rice cake
nappa, napa cabbage: 菜っ葉, Chinese cabbage, (in Japan, it is a generic term for leaf vegetables.)
nori: 海苔, food products created from the seaweed laver by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking.
ramen: ラーメン, the Japanese version of Chinese noodle soup
sake: 酒, an alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice
sashimi: 刺身, a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of the freshest raw seafoods thinly sliced and served with only a dipping sauce and wasabi.
satsuma: (from 薩摩 Satsuma, an ancient province of Japan), a type of mandarin orange (mikan) native to Japan
shabu shabu: しゃぶしゃぶ, a meal where each person cooks their own food in their own cooking pot from an assortment of raw ingredients
shiitake mushroom: 椎茸, an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree
shoyu: Japanese soy sauce
soba: 蕎麦, thin brown buckwheat noodles
soy: from shoyu 醤油
sukiyaki: すき焼き or スキヤキ, a dish in the nabemono-style (one-pot), consisting of thinly sliced beef, tofu, konnyaku noodles, negi, Chinese cabbage (bok choy), and enoki mushrooms among others
sushi: 鮨 or 鮓 or 寿司, a dish consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients such as raw fish, raw or cooked shellfish, or vegetables
tamari: たまり, liquid obtained by pressing soybeans
tempura: 天麩羅, classic Japanese deep fried batter-dipped seafood and vegetables
teriyaki: 照焼き or テリヤキ, a cooking technique where fish or meat is being broiled in a sweet soy sauce marinade
tofu: 豆腐 bean curd. Although the word is originally Chinese, it entered English via Japanese.
udon: 饂飩, a type of thick wheat-based noodle
umami: 旨味 or うま味, the taste sensation produced by some condiments such as monosodium glutamate; a basic flavor in sea weed (昆布 kobu)
umeboshi: 梅干, pickled ume
wakame: 若布, a type of edible kelp, often used in miso soup (Japan), miyeok soup (Korea), and salads
wasabi: 山葵 or わさび, a strongly flavoured green condiment commonly known as Japanese horseradish
yakitori: 焼き鳥, a type of chicken kebab

Government and politics

daimyo: 大名, "great names"; the most powerful Japanese feudal rulers from the 12th century to the 19th century
Mikado: 帝, a dated term for "emperor"; specifically for the Emperor of Japan
Shogun: 将軍, the title of the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era
Tenno: 天皇, the Emperor of Japan
tycoon: 大君, "great prince", a title of the Shogun, later applied to wealthy business leaders
zaibatsu: 財閥, a "money clique" or conglomerate

Religion

bonze: (from 凡僧 bonsō), a Buddhist monk
kami: 神, the Japanese word for any sort of god or spirit
koan: 公案, a paradoxial story or statement used during meditation in Zen Buddhism
satori: 悟り, enlightenment in Zen Buddhism
Shinto: 神道, the native religion of Japan
torii: 鳥居, traditional Japanese gates commonly found at the gateway to Shinto shrines
zazen: 座禅, sitting meditation; literally "seated concentration"
Zen: 禅, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism

Other

Akita: 秋田 (from 秋田犬, akitainu or akitaken), the Akita Inu, a breed of huge Japanese dog
bukkake: ぶっかけ, a specific kind of pornography which originated in Japan (although in Japanese the word is not necessarily sexual)
ekiden: 駅伝, long-distance relay, road race
gaijin: 外人, an outsider or a foreigner in Japanese (gaikokujin 外国人 is a more polite form)
geisha: 芸者, traditional Japanese artist-entertainers
go: 碁, a strategic, two-player board game based on capturing territory
hikikomori: ひきこもり or 引き篭り lit. "pulling away, being confined," i.e.. "acute social withdrawal"
Imari: 伊万里, Japanese porcelain wares (made in the town of Arita and exported from the port of Imari, particularly around the 17th century)
juku: 塾, cram schools
kaizen: 改善, literally "improvement"
kakiemon: 柿右衛門, Japanese porcelain wares featuring enamel decoration (made in Arita, using the style developed in 17th century by 酒井田柿右衛門 Sakaida Kakiemon)
keirin: 競輪, a type of track cycling competition which originated and continues in Japan; keirin has also become a summer olympics event and a world championships event sanctioned by the UCI
koi: 鯉, Western usage: ornamental varieties of the common carp (but in Japan this just means "carp" -- the ornamental variety are called "nishikigoi" 錦鯉)
kudzu: 葛 or クズ, a type of Japanese vine; cultivated in Japan, viewed as a weed in the West
moxa: もぐさ or 艾, mugwort or cotton wool or other combustible material, burned on skin during moxibustion
moxibustion: (from moxa + (com)bustion), an oriental medicine therapy which involves the burning of moxa (see above)
pachinko: パチンコ, a device used for gambling and is related to pinball machines
rickshaw: (from 人力車, jinrikisha), a human-pulled wagon
sayonara: さようなら the Japanese term for "goodbye"
sensei: 先生, the Japanese term for "master", "teacher" or "doctor". It can be used to refer to any authority figure, such as a schoolteacher, professor, priest, or politician.
shiatsu: 指圧, a form of massage
Shiba Inu: 柴犬, the smallest of the six original and distinct Japanese breeds of dog
shinkansen: 新幹線, high speed rail in Japan
shogi: 将棋, a Japanese strategic board game similar to chess, sometimes called Japanese chess
skosh: (from 少し, sukoshi), a small amount
sudoku: 数独, a number placement puzzle, also known as Number Place in the United States.
tanuki: 狸, the Japanese name for the animal, Nyctereutes procyonoides, known as a raccoon dog in English
tsunami: 津波, literally "wave in port"; a tidal wave
tsutsugamushi: ("insect disease" = scrub typhus)
urushiol: (from うるし, a plant that gives a skin rash on contact) a chemical substance found in poison-ivy, used to make "Japanned" lacquer ware
yakuza: やくざ, Japanese organized crime groups