A practical handbook for karate students who want to understand the Japanese words behind the art: the meaning, pronunciation, kanji and cultural background of more than 300 essential terms.
Inside
- The history of karate, from Okinawa to the world.
- Essential words, belts and ranks, dōjō etiquette, kata names, kicks, stances, blocks and punches.
- Commands, sparring and tournament terms, numbers, body parts, days and months.
- The Dōjō Kun and Funakoshi's Twenty Instructions (Nijū Kun), in Japanese and English.
- Every term with its kanji, furigana, meaning and notes, and an MP3 you can play from the QR code on the page.
What you get
- The paperback, 2026 Revised Edition: 173 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
- The eBook and audio, right away. PDF, ePub, MP3 audio and an Anki flashcard deck, ready to download as soon as you order. No waiting for the mail.
- The book in the Makoto+ Japanese Explorer app (iPhone, iPad and Android). It unlocks automatically for the email you order with, and the unlock code is printed in the back of the book too.
This book is part of our Japanese Culture collection. Prefer to go all digital? The Japanese Culture bundle has seven books: five haiku books (two of Bashō, plus Buson, Issa and Shiki), Japanese Sentences: Haiku and Karate Vocabulary as eBooks with audio.
Buy 3 Clay & Yumi paperbacks, get a 4th free. Mix any titles. The discount is applied automatically at checkout.
Ships from the US to anywhere in the world.
Karate Vocabulary: Handbook of 300 Essential Japanese Terms is a 173-page paperback handbook (2026 Revised Edition) of more than 300 karate terms, each with kanji, furigana, meaning, notes and native audio. The code printed in the back unlocks the book in the free Makoto+ Japanese Explorer app for iPhone, iPad and Android.
