Japanese Vocabulary

Chapters 1-5

1.  Haole- White skinned Hawaiian. Papa’s worried enough about what the Hawaiians think of us, and what the haoles think of us.(p.2)

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3.  Ojii-chan- Family nickname for grampa. “Grampa got the flag out again.” “Ojii-chan. He is Ojii-chan.” “Same thing,” I mumbled.(p.3)

4.  Kimpatsu- Japanese for “yellow haired”. Billy was kimpatsu- with yellow hair.(p.3)

5.  Confonnit- Japanese mild swear word. Actually means “confound it”. This phrase is used to express helplessness or dismay. “Confonnit”, Grampa said. “Kuso.” “Oooo, Grampa”, I said. “No need to talk nasty.”(p.5)

6.  Kuso- Japanese mild swear word. “Confonnit”, Grampa said. “Kuso.” “Oooo, Grampa”, I said. “No need to talk nasty.”(p.5)

7.  Issei- first generation Japanese immigrant. But then, Grampa was issei, first generation Japanese immigrant and looked at things in a different way. (p.5)

8.  Hana-kuso- booger. The two of them slouched off into the trees like a couple of cocky sailors down on Hotel Street. (p.11)

9.  Furoshiki- a silky scarf. Under my bed wrapped in a silky furoshiki scarf, and wrapped in a burlap bag, was Grampa’s treasure –the family katana or samurai sword. (p.30)

10. Katana- samuai sword. Under my bed wrapped in a silky furoshiki scarf, and wrapped in a burlap bag, was Grampa’s treasure –the family katana or samurai sword. (p.30)

11. Batsudan- Family “altar”. “What’s all that? Who’s in that picture?” he said, nodding over to the family batusdan, a black boxlike thing with doors that opened into a small stage. (p.32)

12. Sake- Japanese rive wine. One day when Grampa was in a dreamy mood because his friend, Charlie, had given him a bottle of sake, Japanese rice wine, he told me the story of how Papa and Mama met. (p.39)

13. Itadakimasu- Japanese prayer/blessing for food. “let’s eat.” “Itadakimasu”, I said, and Billy looked up. “It’s what you say before you eat,” I said. (p.44)

14. Gochisoh-sama- Prayer/blessing at the end of the meal. It means you are done eating. “Gochisoh-sama.” Billy stood up, half of the rice still on his plate. “It means you’re done eating,” I said. (p.45)

15. Ii-na-Good. “Ii-nah, Good, nah?” Papa said. (p.50)