Vocabulary
Below is a list of commonly used terms in our iaidō practice. By no means comprehensive, it is to help the complete beginner who may be confused by the foreign vocabulary. Set your web browser's text encoding to Unicode to view the Japanese characters.
Quick Pronunciation Guide
Below is a quick way to get started, though more extensive help may be found at Prof. T. C. Bestor's "Easy Guide to Japanese Pronunciation." (digital archive from 2007)
- a as in father
- e as in men
- i as in police
- o as in note
- u as in rude
- Do not combine vowels; e.g., kamae is not ka-may, but ka-ma-e. On the other hand, y is a glide: ryū is just one syllable, rather than two.
- The macron (ū or ō) just means the vowel is twice as long.
General
ai-uchi 相打 |
mutual killing |
Atago 愛宕 |
the shrine where Katayama received divine revelation according to legend |
budō 武道 |
martial art, or literally the "martial path" |
domo arigatō gozaimashita 度も有難う御座いました |
thank you very much; said at the end of each class |
furi-kaburi 振りかぶり |
raising the sword overhead |
hakama 袴 |
pleated skirtlike trousers |
hajime 始め |
begin |
hanshi 範師 |
master teacher |
Hōki-ryū 伯耆流 |
should require no explanation at this point |
iaidō 居合道 |
the art of fighting from the scabbard |
iaigi 居合着 |
the uniform top for iaidō |
iaihiza 居合膝 |
a seated position with one knee up; same as tatehiza |
iso-no-nami 磯の波 |
"waves upon breakers"; the secret principle of Hōki-ryū |
juban 襦袢 |
undershirt, worn under the keikogi |
kamidana 神棚 |
miniature shrine, commonly used in Japanese martial arts, denoting the shōmen (front) of the dojo space. |
Kangyō-kai 貫行会 |
The name of Nakamura Tetsu sensei's Hōki-ryū organization |
kata 形 |
form, practice pattern |
Katayama Hōki-no-kami Fujiwara Hisayasu 片山伯耆之守藤原久安 |
the founder of Hōki-ryū |
kiai 気合 |
"harmonization of energy," or the spirit shout |
kiza 危座 |
a seated position on the balls of the foot |
koryū 古流 |
classical traditions, or old schools |
kote 小手 |
wrist |
ma-ai 間合 |
fighting distance |
metsuke 目付 |
gaze |
muga 無我 |
egoless state |
mushin 無心 |
the mind of no mind |
obi 帯 |
belt |
ritsurei 立礼 |
standing bow |
ryū 流 |
a school, literally a "flow" as it is perceived as a stream within a larger, organic whole |
seitei gata 制定形 |
standard forms |
seiza 正座 |
formal seated position |
sensei 先生 |
instructor |
suwari waza 座り技 |
seated technique |
tachi waza 立ち技 |
standing technique |
tatehiza 立膝 |
a seated position with one knee up; same as iaihiza |
te no uchi 手の内 |
the grip |
tōrei 刀礼 |
bowing to the sword |
uchikomi 打込 |
striking practice |
yame 止め |
stop |
zanshin 残心 |
awareness |
zarei 座礼 |
seated bow |
Zen Nihon iaidō tōhō 全日本居合道刀法 |
The seitei gata of the All Japan Iaido Federation |
chōji 丁子 |
clove oil |
ha 刃 |
cutting edge of the sword blade |
habaki 鎺 or ハバキ |
the collar on the blade near the guard |
hamon 刃紋 |
patterns on the cutting edge of the sword |
hi 樋 |
fuller (i.e., groove) on the sides of blade |
Sword Terms
Illustration at Wikimedia.
iaitō 居合刀 |
unsharpened metal practice sword used for iai |
ito 糸 |
the cord for wrapping the hilt |
kissaki 切先 |
tip (point) of sword blade |
koiguchi 鯉口 |
"carp's mouth," the mouth of the scabbard |
kojiri 鐺 |
the butt end of the scabbard |
koshirae 拵え |
sword furnishings or sword mounting |
kurigata 栗形 |
the knob that the sageo goes through |
mekugi 目釘 |
peg for the hilt |
menuki 目抜き |
small ornaments on the hilt |
monouchi 物打 |
the cutting area of a blade |
mune 棟 |
back of the sword blade |
nakago 中心 |
tang |
Nihontō 日本刀 |
a Japanese sword, typically refers only to genuine swords produced in Japan |
sageo 下緒 |
cord attached to the saya |
same 鮫 |
the rayskin used to wrap a sword's hilt |
saya 鞘 |
scabbard (sheath) |
seppa 切羽 |
washer |
shinken 真剣 |
a live blade |
shinogi 鎬 |
the ridge line between the edge and the back |
tachikaze 太刀風 |
"sword wind," or the sound produced by the sword as it swings |
teire 手入れ |
the maintenance kit for a Japanese sword |
tsuba 鍔 |
sword guard |
tsuka 柄 |
hilt |
tsuka-gashira 柄頭 |
pommel |
tsukamaki 柄巻 |
hilt wrapping |
Main Movements of Iai
nukitsuke 抜付 |
draw and cut |
sayabiki 鞘引 |
moving the saya to aid drawing |
kesa-giri 袈裟切 |
diagonal cut |
kiri-oroshi 切下 |
dropping cut |
kamae 構 |
stance |
chiburi 血振 |
shaking the blood off the blade; note: no true chiburi exists in Hōki-ryū |
nōtō 納刀 |
sheathing the sword |
Four Types of Nukitsuke
ipponme 一本目 |
first: draw and cut straight down |
nihonme 二本目 |
second: draw and cut on a downward diagonal |
sanbonme 三本目 |
third: draw and cut on horizontal plane |
yonhonme 四本
|
fourth: draw and cut on an upward diagonal |
Types of Kamae
jōdan no kamae 上段の構 |
high guard: sword is held above the head, approximate at 45 degrees |
chūdan no kamae 中段の構 |
middle guard: sword is held at waist height, blade points up at opponent's
eyes |
gedan no kamae 下段の構 |
low: sword is held just below waist height, blade points down
at about 45 degrees |
garyū no kamae 臥龍の構 |
recumbent dragon: sword is held with the hilt near left armpit, blade points down at
about 45 degrees |
Counting
ichi 一 |
one |
ni 二 |
two |
san 三 |
three |
shi (also yon) 四 |
four |
go 五 |
five |
roku 六 |
six |
shichi (also nana) 七 |
seven |
hachi 八 |
eight |
ku 九 |
nine |
jū 十 |
ten |
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