Japanese Treats for Indians

Ever since Love in Tokyo (Hindi), Aman (Hindi) and Ulagam Sutrum Valiban (Tamil) debuted in the 1960s and 1970s, Indians have been enamored with Japan.

Most Indian baby-boomers are likely aware of the Japanese word sayonara. After all, the word features in the famous song from Love in Tokyo (Joy Mukherjee, Asha Parekh).

Here's a baker's dozen of Japanese words to add to your foreign-words quiver.

• Sayonara: Goodbye
  Example: Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh were charming in the Sayonara song scene in the 1966 film Love in Tokyo.
• Hibakusha: Atomic-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  Example: “It’s surely no coincidence that a new nuclear era is dawning just as the hibakusha’s voices are growing quieter.” – The Economist, August 9, 2025, P.22
• Yakuza: Member of Japanese crime syndicate
  Example: Gopal Iyer’s brother-in-law is a low-level member of the yakuza in Tokyo.
• Wabi-sabi: Japanese worldview centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection
  Example: Twinkle’s new home in Kalasipalyam has a nice wabi-sabi charm.
• Boketto: gazing vacantly into the distance without thinking about anything specific
  Example: After a hectic day at the office, I return home, sit in my favorite chair and indulge in 30 minutes of boketto.
• Tsundoku: pile of books that one has purchased but left unread
  Example: Gopal’s tsundoku is thrice as large as mine.
• Baka: Fool or idiot; sometimes used affectionately
  Example: Mohit Sengupta is such a baka that he thinks money grows on a money plant.
• Manga: Japanese comic book with whimsical pictures
  Example: Kishore is addicted to manga comics.
• Matcha: powdered tea
  Example: A famous American writer starts her daily writing routine with a cup of matcha.
• Wasabi: Japanese horseradish
  Example: I am not partial to the taste of wasabi.
• Udon: Thick noodles
  Example: We had udon for dinner last night.
• Koi No Yokan: a feeling or premonition that love is imminent
  Example: After watching Satyam Shivam Sundaram, I was struck by a sense of koi no yokan for Zeenat Aman.
• Furoshiki (noun): A traditional Japanese decorative wrapping cloth used to wrap presents or to transport items
  Example: My niece Jahnvi sometimes carries all her toys in a furoshiki.