Ryoutei A high-class Japanese restaurant. It is principally a place where sophisticated Japanese cuisine is served. It sometimes serves as an establishment where traditional artistic performances are presented by geisha girls. Delicate and crucial business talks and political negotiations are often conducted there and, in many cases, the cost is put on the company expense…

Tatami (straw mat) Traditional Japanese rooms have, as a floor-covering, tatami mats. They are made of straw and rush. Since a tatami mat is always of a designated size (roughly 6 by 3 feet), it also serves as a unit of measurement for the size of a room. Rooms that have 4 .5, 6, or…

Tea ceremony. Sado, which is also called chado or cha-no-yu, is the traditionally ritualized way of preparing, serving, and drinking matcha (powdered green tea stirred in hot water). Tea drinking, introduced from China, was first practiced only by Buddhist priests, and then by samurai warriors in the early days. Later it gradually spread among common…

Geisha A lady who professionally provides entertainment and lighthearted company at a feast. Around the end of the seventeenth century, geisha girls came on the scene, replacing an first-class of “courtesans” who were skillful in such arts as music and dancing. Geisha no longer carries the sexual implication which is often suggested by the English…