英語・英会話の情報ランド

★日本的事物の英訳例(4)《編集A.Y.》

鯉のぼり

a big carp-shaped streamer made of paper or cloth, set up on May 5 (formerly the Boys', Festival, now Children's Day) with wishes that the boys in the family will grow up strong and healthy

香典

a monetary offering people who attend a funeral bring in a special envelope and offer to the departed soul instead of incense

こけし

a rustic wooden doll with a cylindrical body and a round head

こたつ

a traditional heating device that has a square wooden frame covered with a thick quilt

座敷

a Japanese-style guest room floored with 'tatami' mats

茶道

the tea ceremony

the traditional art of serving and enjoying powdered green tea, ritualized over time and rooted in Zen Buddhism

地蔵

a stone statue of 'Jizo', a popular Bodhisattva in Japan, who is said to be a protector of children, travelers, and pregnant women

七五三

the traditional Japanese custom of taking children of seven, five and three years of age to a Shinto shrine on November 15 to give thanks and pray for divine blessing

七福神

the seven deities of Indian, Chinese and Japanese origin, who are worshipped because they are believed to bring wealth and fortune

しめ縄

a thick, twisted rice-straw rope decorated with strips of white paper (hung around a sacred place), considered to ward off evil spirits