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Holy Beasts
狐	Kitsune	Fox	The fox deity is a servant of Inari. It is considered to be a prankster and often gets its kicks by creating illusions or possessing people and making them do crazy things. Foxes are said to love fried tofu.
竜・龍	Ryuu	Dragon	Dragons possess incredibly powerful magic. They often control the elements, especially water. They are commonly enlisted as guardians of humans, though one must be careful not to make them angry.
四神	Shijin	Four Gods	The four gods are Suzaku, a red phoenix; Seiryuu or Souryuu, a blue dragon; Byakko, a white tiger; and Gembu, a green turtle. Each is representative of one of the compass directions and one of the four elements.
Mythological Creatures
河童	Kappa	River goblin	This is a creature that is often drawn as green and pudgy, although sometimes it can appear human. Its distinctive feature is that it has a small concavity on the top of its head filled with water, without which it cannot survive. If one is ever threatened by a kappa, the infallible strategy is to bow to it, because when it bows in return it will lose its water. Kappa like to eat cucumbers.
麒麟	Kirin	Unicorn	The Japanese unicorn typically has a forked horn. It is known for swiftness and can often fly. Sometimes it has dragon-like characteristics, such as scales.
コックリ	Kokkuri	Ouija spirit	This is a spirit that is called upon in a seance-like ceremony. Its purpose is to answer questions, much like a Ouija board is used in Western cultures. Like all things supernatural, it should be considered potentially dangerous.
座敷童子	Zashikiwarashi	Good luck spirit	This is a being that looks like a young child dressed in an old-fashioned kimono. It inhabits old houses and brings luck to the family that lives there as long as it is respected. If it ever leaves, the family may meet with extreme misfortune. It is similar to the Western concept of brownies that help in small ways in exchange for milk.
Magical Terms
分身	Bunshin	Clone	This is the product of a special technique that allows one to duplicate oneself magically. The duplicates can move and speak independently of the original. They may or may not be identical to the creator, depending on the purpose of the spell.
封印	Fuuin	Seal	This is a special kind of spell that seals the magical powers of the target. It particularly useful for locking away harmful spirits and demons.
結界	Kekkai	Barrier	Essentially a force field, this forms a barrier of energy that can come in various types to block magic, physical objects, or both. It can be used to surround the caster as protection from harm, it can be cast around a victim to prevent escape, or it can be cast around a special object to stop anyone from stealing it. Sometimes the kekkai spell incorporates healing qualities. Occasionally a kekkai moves everything inside it to another dimension so that any damage that occurs (e.g. during combat) will not affect the real world, as long as the caster remains alive.
木霊	Kodama	Mantra	This is a word or phrase that is repeated over and over. It may have a magical effect.
言霊	Kotodama	Self-fulfilling prophecy	Some people have this power, which makes their words come true. It is especially relevent to names.
幻	Maboroshi	Illusion Phantom	This can be an illusion in the sense of "mirage," but it is more commonly applied to something that is legendary or whose existence is in question. For example, there are items that become famous even though few--if any--people have ever seen them, like the Loch Ness Monster.
七不思議	Nanafushigi	Seven Wonders	It is a common tradition to list the "seven wonders" of a town or school building. These "wonders" are generally the kinds of tales that appear in ghost stories, like a piano that mysteriously plays itself at midnight.
除け	-Yoke	Ward	This is a suffix that means "to prevent" or "to keep away." For example, a kitsune-yoke would be a charm to keep away fox spirits.
Magic and Religion
坊・僧	Bou/Sou	Monk Priest
憑依	Hyoui	Possession	Possession does not have to take the form of a spirit entering one's body. When a spirit or other supernatural creature follows a person around or obeys a person as its master, that person is still said to be "possessed."
奇跡	Kiseki	Miracle
成仏	Joubutsu	Pass on	This is the process through which a spirit leaves the current human world and travels to its next destination, whether that is the afterlife or reincarnation. Sometimes a ghost that has unfinished business needs help before it is ready to undergo this process.
巫女	Miko	Shrine maiden Priestess	This is a generic term for any girl or woman who works at a shrine. However, it can also be used to refer to females with special spiritual powers, often derived from a specific god.
お守り	O-mamori	Charm	This type of charm is usually purchased at a shrine and takes the form of a small, embroidered pouch. There are charms for safety, luck, romance, and many other purposes. People can also use small items of sentimental value as charms.
陰陽師	Onmyouji	Spiritual wizard	This role has no Western counterpart. It is a person with a kind of power that is a cross between religion and magic. Often an onmyouji can talk to spirits like a medium, command shikigami servants, and cast spells both using incantations and jufu.
怨念	Onnen	Grudge	Strong emotions leave an imprint on the world. Extraordinarily strong hatred can have effects even after the person who felt the emotion is gone. The anger or jealousy does not take on as defined a form as a ghost, but it can produce similar results.
魂	Tamashii	Soul
Royalty
殿下	Denka	Your Highness
玉座	Gyokuza	Throne
陛下	Heika	Your Majesty
姫	Hime	Princess Lady	This term is commonly translated as "princess," but it can refer to any nobly born young lady.
女王	Joou	Queen	This is a woman with royal blood who can rule without a king.
妃	Kisaki	Queen King's wife	This is a woman who may have noble or royal blood, but she is only the queen because she is married to the king. She cannot reign herself.
騎士	Kishi	Knight
妾	Mekake	Concubine
帝	Mikado	Emperor
王	Ou	King
王妃	Ouhi	Queen King's wife	This is a synonym for kisaki.
王子	Ouji	Prince
王女	Oujo	Princess
聖騎士	Seikishi	Paladin
城	Shiro	Castle
Fortunetelling
水鏡	Mizukagami	Scrying pool	One of the more common methods used for divination in Japanese stories is a type of circular pool of water that resembles a birdbath. Its surface reflects like a mirror and is used just like a crystal ball.
占星	Sensei	Astrology
託宣	Takusen	Prophecy
占い	Uranai	Divination
予知	Yochi	Foreknowledge
予言	Yogen	Spoken prophecy
予感	Yokan	Premonition