| Japanese Word | Simple Explanation [Etymology] [trdn]→trade name |
| A | |
| abukumalite | [Abukuma (a plateau in Fukushima Prefecture) + -lite] |
| abura-bozu | a large fish of the northern Pacific |
| abura-haye | a Japanese cyprinoid fish |
| aburachan seed | [abura (oil) + chan (pitch)] |
| aburagiri | a thung (oil) tree |
| adsuki (bean) | → adzuki |
| adzuki (bean), azuki | a dark red edible bean |
| ahyu | → ayu |
| ai | → ayu |
| aikido | a Japanese art of self-defence |
| aikuchi | a dagger, a dirk |
| Aino | → Ainu |
| ainoko | a person of mixed blood |
| Ainu | an indigenous Caucasoid people of Japan |
| akabo | a hand-baggage porter at a Japanese railway station |
| akaganeite | [aka (red) + gane < kane (metal) + -ite] |
| akahara | a Japanese cyprinoid fish |
| akamatsu | [aka (red) + matsu (pine)] |
| akamebuku | same as kitamakura |
| akamushi (mite) | tsutsugamushi mite |
| akebi | an eastern Asiatic vine |
| Akebia | ← akebi, a small genus of woody vine |
| akeki | hiba arborvitae |
| akenobeite | [Akenobe (a district of western Japan) + -ite] |
| Akita (dog) | [Akita (a district of northern Japan) + dog] |
| ama | a woman diver |
| amado | one of a set of shutters on the outer side of a Japanese house |
| amakudari | the entry by retired bureaucrats into private companies |
| amanori | the laver |
| Amaterasu(-Omikami) | the Sun-Goddess, the central deity of Shinto |
| ame | a dextrose or glucose manufactured from rice paste |
| amemasu | a trout |
| Amida | Amitabha, one of the five Buddhas |
| Amidism | [Amida (Amitabha) + -ism] |
| Amidist | [Amida (Amitabha) + -ist] |
| anago | a conger eel |
| andon | a paper-framed lamp |
| ansu | an apricot |
| aogiri | the sultan’s parasol |
| aoi tsuba | a kind of Japanese sword-guard |
| Aoyama’s fluid | after Fumio Aoyama, 20th century Japanese anatomist |
| aragoto | a play featuring exaggerated posture, makeup, and costume |
| arakawaite | [Arakawa (a mine in Akita Prefecture) + -ite] |
| arigato | Thank you very much. |
| arisaka (rifle) | after Col. Nariakira Arisaka (1852-1915) |
| Arita (ware) | [Arita (a town on the island of Kyushu) + ware] |
| Atari Democrat | [atari (success, hit) + democrat] |
| Atari Socialism | [atari (success, hit) + socialism] |
| Atarize | [atari (success, hit) + -ize] |
| Atom Boy | [trdn] |
| aucuba, A- | a well known hardy evergreen shrub |
| aucuba green | a light olive that is greener and stronger than citrine |
| aucuba mosaic | a mosaic of the potato and other plants of the family Solanaceae |
| awabi | an abalone, an ear shell |
| Awaji ware | a coarse stone-ware made in Awaji Province |
| Awata ware | pottery and porcelain made at Awata, near Kyoto |
| ayu, ahyu, ai | a small salmonlike anadromous fish of Japan |
| Azuchi-Momoyama (era) | from 1568 to 1600, a period of Japanese art |
| azuki (bean) | → adzuki |
| bai | yellow sands blown in the air 霾 |
| baishu | bribery |
| bai-u | (a season of) rainfall in early summer |
| baka (bomb) | a Japanese rocket-propelled bomb-carrying airplane guided by a suicide pilot in World War II |
| Bakanae Disease | [baka (idiot) + nae (young rice plant)] |
| bakufu | the government of the shoguns, the Shogunate |
| Bakumatsu | the last days of the Shogunate |
| bancha (tea) | coarse Japanese tea |
| bandaite | [Baindai (a volcano on Honshu Island) + -ite] |
| Banko pottery, | a thin Japanese ware, named after Nunami Banko, the original |
| Banko-ware, b- | maker |
| banzai (interj.) | [ban (ten thousand) + zai < sai (years)] |
| banzai (n.) | a shout or cheer used by the Japanese in greeting the emperor |
| banzai attack | US slang, a reckless desperate mass attack |
| banzai charge | US slang, a reckless desperate mass attack |
| Banzai Cliff | US slang |
| banzai party | US slang |
| banzuke | a list of sumo wrestlers |
| baren | a pad used in wood block printing |
| basho | a sumo tournament |
| bashofu | a fabric woven from the fiber of the plantain |
| beddo, betto | a rolling bed installed in love hotels |
| Beef Bowl | [trdn] |
| bekko | tortoise shell |
| bekko-ware | a kind of pottery anciently made in Japan, imitating tortoise-shell |
| beni | a hardy shrub cultivated for its late summer bloom |
| benimasu | [beni (red) + masu (salmon)] |
| Benihana of Tokyo | [trdn] |
| Benten | the goddess of fortune and happiness |
| bento | a lunch, a box lunch |
| Betamax | a proprietary name for the videocassette format developed by Sony |
| bettaku | a second house |
| betto (1) | a small pony carriage |
| betto (2) | → beddo |
| Bishamon, b- | [< Beishamon-ten (the god of treasure)] |
| biwa | a 4-stringed Japanese lute |
| biwa | a loquat |
| Bizen ware | fine, hard, unglazed pottery made in Okayama Prefecture (formerly Bizen Province) |
| Boecho | the Defense Agency |
| bomban-wa | ← komban-wa, good evening |
| Bon | a Buddhist festival held annually in August to honour the dead |
| bon en kai | a year-end party |
| Bonin Islands | Ogasawara Jima [bonin < bunin < munin (unmanned) + islands] |
| boninite | [bonin + -ite] |
| bonsai | (the technique for cultivating) a potted plant or small tree |
| bon-seki | a miniature landscape of sand and stones |
| bonso | a Buddhist monk of Japan |
| bonze, bonzee, bonzi | a Buddhist monk of Japan [probably < French bonze < Portuguese bonzo < Japanese bozu] |
| bonzery, bonzary | [bonze + -ery] |
| bonzess | a female bonze [bonze + -ess] |
| bonzian (adj.) | [bonze + -ian] |
| bote | a deep-bodied shiner, found in the waters of Japan |
| bu | an old Japanese rectangular coin made of silver |
| bu | a Japanese unit of length equal to 0.1 inch |
| bucho | the head director |
| budo | military arts |
| Bugaku, b- | a stately classical court dance and music |
| buke, Buk | a military family in the feudal system of Japan |
| Bukkio | Buddhism |
| bunraku, B- | a kind of traditional puppetry, named after Uemura Bunrakuken (1737-1810), who organized the puppet theater troupe |
| Buppo | Buddhism |
| buraku | a community, a town |
| bushido, B- | in feudal Japan, the ethical code of the Samurai |
| Busshu kaze | [Bush + kaze (a cold)] |
| butoh, B- | a dance, dancing |
| butsu, B- | Buddha, a representing of the Buddha |
| butsudan | a small household Buddhist altar shelf |
| Butsudo | the teaching of Buddha, Buddhist doctrines |
| Butsudoist | [butsu (Buddha) + do (way) + -ist] |