Arigato Gozaiasu – Thank you. 

Bento – A packed meal often consisting of rice, vegetables and meat. 

Dōitashimashite -Your welcome.  

Executive Order 9066 – Issued by President Franklin Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, this order authorized the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to “relocation centers” further inland – resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans. 

Internment Camp – Also referred to as concentration camp, relocation camp.  

An action taken by the U.S. federal government after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than 100,000 Japanese living on the West Coast were forced into inland relocation camps; most losing their homes, business and properties. The camps were surrounded by barbed-wire fences patrolled by armed guards who had instructions to shoot anyone who tried to leave. 

Gaman – Term meaning perseverance, patience, tolerance. Enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.  

Gosei – The great-great-grandchildren of Japanese immigrants also referred to as “fifth generation.” 

Issei –The first generation of people from Japan that immigrated to North America. 

Kibei – a person of Japanese descent that was born in the United States and educated in Japan. 

Manju – Traditional Japanese confection with an exterior typically made from flour or rice and can have a variety of fillings such as anko (adzuki beans), chestnut.  

Mochi – A cooked and pounded glutinous rice used to make traditional Japanese confectionaries and other dishes  

Nisei – The children of Japanese immigrants also referred to as “second generation.” 

Ohayo Gozaimasu – Good morning. 

Omotenashi – hospitality.  

Sansei – The grandchildren of Japanese immigrants also referred to as “third generation.” 

Sashimi – raw fish. 

Sayonara – Good bye. 

Shinkansen – Commonly referred to as the bullet train. A high speed passenger train operating on Japan’s high speed railroad network.  

Sumimasen – Excuse me 

Sushi – Japanese dish prepared with vinegared rice accompanied by a variety of ingredients such as seafood, vegetables, egg.  

Tatami – a type of woven straw mat used as flooring material. 

Tomodachi – Friend 

Usu – A stone ortar used to hold steam rice (mochigome) for pounding.  

Yonsei – The great-grandchildren of Japanese immigrants also referred to as “fourth generation.” 

Redress – The Reparations Act of 1988. United States federal law that granted reparations to Japanese Americans who had been wrongly interned by the United States government during World War II and to “discourage the occurrence of similar injustices and violations of civil liberties in the future”.