Reading about unfamiliar cultures or technology can be confusing. Here’s some help.
.44 Magnum
a very powerful revolver calibre, famous but not very common.
Amaterasu
the creator-goddess, mother of all Kami and origin of the universe in the Shinto religion. Additionally, the Emperor is supposed to be related to her, as has every Emperor since the very first around 3000 years ago in an unbroken line.
Armalite AR18
an American rifle of the 1970s which was highly influential but commercially unsuccessful. It was not adopted by any major army, but significant numbers were acquired by the IRA making it more infamous than famous. It's distantly related to the AR15, which is called the M16 in US Armed Forces use. Thad carries one made for civilian use, without an automatic fire setting. 20-round magazine.
Beretta
an Italian gunmaker with a 500+ year heritage, most notably the makers of the model 92FS, a handgun used by military, police forces and civilians worldwide, and also very popular in cinema. John Taplow is a big fan and carries a pair of these, highly customised. Model 92: 15-round magazine.
bogai
a word basically equivalent to 'off the books', meaning doing something unofficially.
budou
grapes (black only, not white; those are known as muscat)
bubble economy
from around 1960 to 1995 Japan's economic power increased hugely to the point where it became the second largest in the world, and property was a major part of it - one story says that the land where the Imperial palace stands in the centre of Tokyo was at one time worth more than the entirety of California. However, it ended when a real-estate bubble caused by speculation on land prices burst and the growth collapsed. Therefore modern Japanese history can be characterised as either pre- or post-bubble.
Chuo-sen
the rail line (sen=line) serving all points directly west of Shinjuku, a residential area for millions of commuters. One of Tokyo's busier overground lines.
Cougar
a compact Italian 9mm pistol made by Beretta with a slightly unusual operating principle that uses a rotating barrel. 15-round magazine.
CZ (Ceska Zbrojovka)
a Czech firm that make very good full-size military and police handguns. The CZ75 is a 9mm, and the CZ97 is .45ACP, which is more powerful but holds fewer shots. The importance of the CZ75 in particular can be seen in how widely copied it is, with copies or adaptations having been made in Italy, Switzerland, the US, Israel, and even the UK, among others. Thad has a special rare version of the CZ75 which fires in full-auto, like a submachine gun, or in semi-automatic. CZ75: 15/16/20-round magazine; CZ97: 10-round magazine.
Daiichi Torii
the large iron torii at Yasukuni Shrine, one of Japan's biggest. It's an iconic design.
Dragunov SVD
a Russian combat sniper rifle; not as accurate as a police-grade rifle but accurate enough for soldiers and a lot tougher than police-grade rifles. It loads a common round (7.62x54R) used in Russian machine guns, but 7N14 ammunition is much better quality than standard ammunition and makes it a lot more accurate. 10-round magazine.
Europa
The greek word combines "eurus" (wide, broad) and "opt" (eye, face, countenance). In myth, Europa was a Phoenecian (i.e. modern Lebanon) princess seduced and taken to Crete by Zeus who had taken the form of a bull (interpreted sometimes as 'she was kidnapped by Cretans') and mother of several Cretan kings renowned for their wisdom. It's also an epithet for Demeter, goddess of the harvest and of divine law. Convoluted though it is, the name makes sense for a force dedicated to bringing law and mutual prosperity from a federation to a struggling hold-out island.
Freeter
a curious word for a person without a full-time permanent job; either a person who works intermittently, or someone who temps, or someone on a short-term contract. The Japanese labour market was for many years full of 'jobs for life' and a salaried position is still very secure, but much less available since the bubble burst.
Franchi PA3
a compact Italian pump-action shotgun, popular for door breaching because its small size means it can be carried as a secondary weapon in addition to a longer-ranged weapon. The word is pronounced like 'Frankie'.
G36
a modern German assault rifle made by Heckler and Koch with a plastic body and a telescopic sight. 30-round magazine.
gaijin
this is a word that literally means 'outside person' and it is used for foreigners. Tellingly, some people are careful to change it to 'Gaikokujin', which means 'outside country person', in an attempt to force a change to the common Japanese antipathy to or rejection of foreigners. Personally I prefer 'gaijin' because it's natural language and describes the attitude of many people; 'gaikokujin' has all the same artificality and inauthenticity as 'person of colour'. Foreigners are outsiders, in Japan or anywhere else; that's not a bad thing.
genkan
low, hard-floored area where shoes are removed on entering a Japanese home. Technically, you should place your shoes together pointing at the door at the inner edge of the genkan after removing them, or maybe put them in the nearby shoe cupboard.
genki
a word describing an attitude and feeling; happy, energetic positivity and potentially infectious cheer. It's also used analogously to 'how are you' enquire as to someone's health and/or mood when you meet them. Genki is something young women are taught to aim for, by and large - depending on character it can be artless and charming, or irritating and false.
Glock
Austrian manufacturer of a series of very popular and simple-to-use pistols. They have a steeper grip angle than many pistols and a plastic frame, both of which features have benefits and drawbacks. Models 17 and 19 are most common, along with the tiny model 26. 17-round magazine for model 17, 15-round magazine for model 19, 12-round magazine for model 26.
godan
a grammar word; there's broadly two types of verb in Japanese, ones that conjugate one way only (ichidan) and ones that conjugate five ways (godan). There's a limited number of patterns, however, so it's not as confusing as English.
gyudon
on top, thin-sliced beef and soy sauce; underneath, steamed rice. Delicious, filling, relatively healthy and usually reasonably priced.
hiragana
one of the two basic Japanese syllabaries (not an alphabet - that's a name for symbols that represent sounds; these represent a blend of sounds forming a syllable), in this case the one used for ordinary native words (the other being katakana). It has its origin in household accounts written by ladies, making Japanese unique in that essentially one script is for women, the other for men. It consists of 46 basic characters with a few variations, and tends to be mostly rounded in shape.
iaido
a formalised, largely non-practical martial art based on the various actions involved in drawing a sword and striking in a single movement. This is generally something studied by those who also study kendo. It teaches precision, analytical thought and attention to detail, among other things.
Inari
a major Kami in the shinto system, Inari is a trickster spirit who may grant your wishes, but at an unexpected cost. It is wise not to fuck with Inari, and wiser still not to wish for anything from her either.
inkan
where the western world has signatures, Japan has the inkan - a small stamp that acts as a personal verification. The legal status and importance of the inkan is one major reason why faxes are still common in Japan.
izakaya
Japan's equivalent to a pub. You go there to drink, primarily, but they also serve food, usually in small portions - you and friends all buy many dishes and share them around. Usually an izakaya is focused on groups, and is divided into tables and/or rooms which are a bit more private than most bars or pubs.
JSDF
Japan Self Defence Force. Some would say it's a euphemism for the Japanese army; others would point to the renunciation of aggression that is enshrined in the written constitution of Japan and loved by many of its citizens. Either way, it is largely a well-equipped and modern military force of significant size, divided as most militaries are by battlespace into the Japan Ground Self Defence Force, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force and Japan Air Self Defence Force. The main weakness of the JSDF is lack of experience; the troops are rarely exposed to combat in any way as the constitution prohibits this except in national self-defence.
judo
a well-known martial art of Japanese origin based on defensive moves that use an opponent's strength against him. Regular police officers learn Judo as standard and many are very skilled.
kabutomushi
a particularly large and spectacular beetle with impressive horns.
kami
something between a spirit and a god; it varies. There are supposedly 8 million of them in Japan, and their natures and characters vary hugely.
Kanetsune
a knife manufacturer which creates high quality blades of folded steel in the traditional Japanese style. The quality of Japanese metal is inherently lower than many other places, so Japanese metallurgy is very advanced; to rectify this problem, metalworkers would heat and hammer flat their metal, then fold it and re-flatten, in some cases hundreds of times, a process known in the west as Damascus steel. This produces a characteristic rippled look when the blade is ground; it is as unique to each piece as a fingerprint, and very beautiful.
karaoke
literally 'empty orchestra'; music with the words taken away. While it's a friday night drunken entertainment for Britons, it's a major hobby in Japan. Multi-storey buildings are dedicated to it. Japanese style, it's sung not in public, but in private rooms with small groups, or even alone.
katakana
the other major syllabary of Japanese language, this one being the largely male script derived from Chinese pictograms. Now it is used mostly for loan words from other languages, transliterations, common names of living things and emphasis. Like hiragana, it consists of 46 characters with some variations, but is much more square and angular.
katsu
meat in breadcrumbs. A major food in Japan and used very flexibly - eaten alone or with rice, noodles, curry, pickles, salads, in sandwiches...
kanji
the third and most complicated type of character in Japanese, and the main reason why the Japanese language has the reputation of being hard to learn. There are around 2,200 basic characters that everyone is expected to know by the time they leave school, but no-one really knows exactly how many there are in total; upwards of 18,000 by many estimates. Nobody knows all of them. They usually have at least two totally different ways to be read, and may contain between one and 20+ lines. The real function of kanji is to contain meaning, which is why they're an essential part of Japanese. They are a really interesting form of communication, but completely unlike anything in western languages.
kei-car
a small vehicle of no more than 660cc engine size, no more than 2.8m length, 1m width and 2m height, carrying no more than 4 people or 350kg of cargo. Most are sold in Japan only, but occasionally a model escapes, for example the Suzuki Alto is a kei car in Japan but sold with a 1 Litre engine overseas. They are popular not only because of the lower tax and insurance they qualify for but also because the road conditions of Japan are slower and the roads often smaller. They are also exceptionally fuel-efficient. The word is pronounced like the name of the letter K.
kendo
a martial art based on swordsmanship. In some ways it's a sport, but it's also very introspective and based on a holistic approach to life. In addition to highly formalised fighting, those who study kendo also practice kata, which are ritualised patterns of movement designed to embody an aspect of swordsmanship, and thus proper behaviour. In this way it's more than simply a weapon skill; it can be almost like meditation.
Kenju 9
the JSDF issue sidearm, a license-built copy of the Swiss/German SIG-Sauer P220 chambered for 9x19mm Parabellum. 8-round magazine.
kohai
in many interpersonal relationships in Japan people will strive to understand who is senior; this will then tell them how they should behave. Many things influence this, including age, job, social status, family and many other things. The junior person is the kohai and they must treat their superior with respect and deference. This can crop up in unexpected places - it's rife in workplaces, which one might expect, but it's also pretty rigid among university students, for example.
konbini
this is what happens to the name 'convenience store' when it's prononced in a Japanese accent and portmanteau'd by a language that doesn't lend itself well to abbreviations or acronyms.
ki-ai
the shout that accompanies a Kendo strike. To score a hit in a formal bout, all three judges must agree that you shouted exactly as you struck and that the shout sufficiently expressed your fighting spirit and will. Kendo can be somewhat esoteric, but it makes surprising sense.
Kuroneko
A major courier firm. The name means 'black cat' and their logo is a rather charming graphic of a mother cat carrying a kitten in her mouth.
mikan
the native Japanese name for satsumas/mandarins/clementines/whatever you call those things that are like oranges but smaller, less sharp and far easier to peel.
moe
a deliberately unclear term for a trope originating from anime fandoms, primarily used to talk about character design and characterisation. It's used to describe an intense, conflicted passion felt by audiences that is by nature both platonic and sexual, and by extension characters designed to elicit such feelings, usually female characters that are experiencing puberty. Essentially, this is an instant means of simulating character depth with minimal creative effort by creating internal conflict; those with moe feelings are attracted to the character's innocence and ingenuousness, but also want to protect it. The word as used this way is derived from two different kanji with this sound - one that means 'burn', as in an intense burning passion, and another that means 'sprout', as in physically grow and develop - but written in hiragana.
momiji
Japanese maple. A tree with many small, many-branched leaves, often a bright green or a maroon shade. Extremely elegant, and quite common.
mono no aware
the theme in a lot of diverse Japanese culture of all things being transient - ending is a part of everything, death a part of life, and thus it should not be feared or shunned but given equal attention.
manjuu
steamed buns filled with pork stew or similar. Lovely.
Meiji
the emperor who in 1868 ended the isolation of Japan and forced in reforms aimed at modernising the country. He brought in experts from around the world and sent talented natives overseas to learn, and in so doing began the process that turned Japan from an isolated near-feudal backwater into one of the planet's largest export economies within the space of 120 years.
menchikatsu
a katsu with a mince filling. Extremely greasy but very filling and satisfying.
National Diet
the officially translated name of the lower house of the Japanese parliament. While the original word (Dutch) is correctly pronounced 'deet', it's usually said by Japanese in the same way as one would when talking about choice of food.
natsukashii
a bittersweet form of nostalgia in which one feels happy because of the good memories, but also regret that those times are over and gone, in equal measure. A practical application of mono no aware.
ninjitsu
the formalised martial art studied by Ninja. Since Ninja are generally extremely exaggerated and romanticised by pop culture, the reality of them (i.e. part spy, part guerilla) is usually overlooked. Essentially it's a discipline of unorthodox fighting.
onigiri
A chunk of rice, usually with something like fish or vegetables inside, wrapped in a sheet of crispy seaweed. Normally triangular, sometimes cylindrical, occasionally spherical (in which case they will have no filling). Perfect as travelling food, being small, convenient, filling, healthy and tasty, they are available from almost every convenience store and supermarket and their packaging is a marvel of everyday engineering.
P7
a concealable German 9x19mm handgun designed for police officers, made by Heckler & Koch, with a unique safety system and very accurate construction. 8-round magazines.
pachinko
since gambling is illegal in Japan, this is what people do instead. Pachinko is a form of vertical bagatelle; you vary the power with which a steel ball is launched into the machine. Landing it in certain places wins you more balls. You can exchange the balls for prizes, or their cash equivalents. A pachinko parlour might have hundreds of machines, all of which have the same glitz as a pinball machine - they are deafeningly loud and bright places.
ramen
an extremely popular type of noodle, basically identical to pot noodle or the like in form, but usually served in a large bowl in a soup containing meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and myriad other variations. Some are junk food, some are gourmet delicacies, some are both.
randoseru
leather backpacks of insanely high quality used by small children as schoolbags. They are intended to last a kid through their entire elementary school career, and as such are designed to last. This means they cost about as much as a used car.
sempai
the senior counterpart of the junior 'kohai'.
Shin Nambu
a domestically produced revolver in police use all over Japan, chambered in .38 Special. It is very small, with a two- or occasionally three-inch barrel, short grip and a 5-round cylinder. Historical scholars may know the name Nambu, and this Smith & Wesson-derived gun is named for Kijirō Nambu, the designer of several of Japan’s military weapons including most famously the Type 14 their main service pistol during WWII. While it's a functional gun, given the almost total absence of firearms in Japan and the fairly obsolete nature of the gun compared to those used by most police forces around the world, it can be seen as largely symbolic of the physical authority of the police. Unlike many countries, this seems to be something they are very keen to promote, hence the posters of grim-faced cops hefting truncheons that can be seen relatively frequently in public places.
shochu
a spirit much like vodka, distilled from rice and without much flavour of its own.
shoji
the traditional paper and wood screens used in place of walls in traditional Japanese homes.
Suica
this word means 'watermelon' but is also the name of a payment card system used in eastern Japan. The name was chosen because it includes the letters IC, which stand for integrated circuit. It's basically the perfect travel fare payment device. You put money on your card by putting it in a ticket machine and feeding it cash. Then you touch the card on a reader as you enter the station, and again at the other end when you exit, and the correct fare from one place to the other is automatically deducted. It's quick and easy. It also works on buses and vending machines and in some shops.
shotengai
a public street that's pedestrianised and turned into a covered shopping arcade full of little shops, but also bars and restaurants too sometimes. They often change character between night and day, being bustling and family-friendly in the day and seedy, red-light-districtish at night. Nowadays large stores have poached some of the business so they can be rather run-down.
Society
As a party name, this is an allusion to, and refutation of, a famous claim made by Margaret Thatcher in Woman’s Own, 31st October 1987. The pertinent quotation in context is:
I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation.
This, hopefully, goes some way to show why this is such an important quotation. She lay the groundwork for the ruling clique that persists to this day with this philosophy - one clearly showing careful thought, but divorced almost entirely from reality and humanity in equal measure. Most of all, she utterly ignored the true ramifications of that last sentence - because what is a government? An organisation with an obligation to deal with the problems of its citizens; it’s intrinsic to the concept. If they do that, they are entitled to tax and national insurance and fees and so on. If they don’t fulfil their obligations, how are they entitled to anything from us? Her government caused so much misery because they did not fulfil their obligations to the citizenry.
Politics in the advanced countries of the world now is democratic in the least meaningful way possible; we choose between two or occasionally more self-interested groups who care only about ‘looking to themselves first’ to such a degree that they have forgotten entirely, if they ever knew at all, that this is not what the government is for. We need politicians who behave like they are the government, not like they are businesspeople. That is what the Society party stands for.
stungun
an electric-shock weapon, but contrary to what you might expect from the name, it’s not a projectile weapon (i.e. it’s different from a Taser); it is a contact weapon only, delivering a high-voltage, low-amperage electric shock that scrambles muscle control.
tanuki
a racoon-like beast which is fairly similar to a fox in terms of the position it occupies in the ecosystem. They are famed for their large testicles. This is not a joke.
tatemae
those who maintain that Japan is culturally unique often point to the twin concepts of 'tatemae' and 'honne', which basically equates to a facade (tatemae literally translates as 'built in front') and a real feeling (honne - 'true sound'). Those who maintain that Japan isn't culturally unique often point out that this is not a unique idea at all, since just about everyone does this. I'd say that is true, but the way it's embraced in culture and the way the idea is executed is probably unique.
tanto
the smallest of the three traditional weapons of a samurai, essentially a large knife. Unlike the katana and wakizashi, the tanto was short enough that it had little or no appreciable curve. In modern knives, the word is used to describe a blade style. Made only with straight lines, when held point-upwards it has a tip with an edge roughly 45 degrees from vertical, which rather than curving instead angles sharply to a main edge of between zero and ten degrees from vertical. This has the advantage of being very strong, although at the cost of easy piercing as the taper from the point is so sudden.
TMP (Tactical Machine Pistol)
a compact plastic-framed Austrian submachine gun made by Steyr, with a front grip but no stock. Designed for concealed carry and use by diplomatic protection teams. 25-round magazine.
tonkatsu
a pork katsu, basically.
torii
a prayer gate. Traditionally made from wood painted red-orange, although other stone or metal ones are also seen. Common at the gates and approaches to the altars of shrines.
tsunami
one of the most devastating dangers for coastal cities in earthquake-prone regions, a tsunami is an enormous wave that is caused by an undersea earthquake. But if you need this defined, you should be watching more news - and probably donating to the red cross.
UMP9 (Univerzale Maschinen Pistole 9)
a German submachine gun made by Heckler & Koch with a plastic frame and folding stock, designed for general use. 30-round magazine.
yakitori
bits of chicken on a stick, grilled and often glazed with a sauce. And when I say bits, I mean livers, hearts, skin and cartilage as well as meat.
yen
Japanese money; remarkable in that it has no sub-unit (like pence or cents) which is why one is worth very little. Where we Britons have pound shops and the Americans have dollar stores, the Japanese have hundred-yen shops (but that's without VAT).
Yurikamome
the automated elevated train serving the reclaimed land of Tokyo bay, collectively called the Yurikamome line. The word means 'seagull'.
yakiniku
popular food comprising thinly-sliced meat and pre-boiled noodles, often with onion and/or beansprouts, which are fried with soy sauce on a plug-in hotplate in the middle of the table.
yakisoba
a dish primarily featuring fried noodles.
Yamato
this is a highly nebulous idealised Japaneseness, which gave its name to many things, most famously Japan's mightiest battleship of the Second World War but also things like the equivalent of 'Dunkirk Spirit' (Yamato Damashii) and the concept of a perfect woman embodying all the traditional virtues (Yamato Nadeshiko). The militarists of the 1930s and '40s pushed the concept of 'the Yamato race' so forcefully that it stuck for many people and despite Japan having no more singular genetic make-up as a whole than most other nations, it persists. I think the persistence of this idea is one of the major reasons why Japan loves to set itself apart from the rest of the world and see aspects of itself and its culture as unique.
Yasukuni Shrine
A highly controversial and very important Shinto shrine in Tokyo, which is specialised in that it commemorates and enshrines Japan's war dead. This includes everyone Japanese who ever died in a war, but notably also those military commanders who were convicted of war crimes following WWII (i.e. not only them, as you might have gathered from bad/biased reportage). It is therefore a focus for both the ultra-right within Japan and for Japan's enemies. It is visited by political figures because of its importance to national identity, history and the Shinto religion; not because of the war criminals.