Jisho

What Jisho does

Jisho exposes Jisho.org dictionary data to MCP-compatible clients. Its two primary tools cover both broad searches and quick single-word lookups. Searches can begin with an English concept, Japanese kanji or kana, or romaji, making the server useful for translation in either direction and for vocabulary research.

Results include the dictionary headword, readings and spellings, common-word status, JLPT level, and English definitions. Search results preserve meanings by sense with their associated parts of speech, while the compact lookup response flattens meanings and returns unique parts of speech.

This is an independent, unofficial integration and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by Jisho.org.

How it works

The hosted MCP endpoint is available at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/jisho/mcp. Add that URL to an MCP client that supports remote connections. The same gateway also provides a full endpoint at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp; the Jisho endpoint lists the Jisho tools directly, while both endpoints can reach gateway-wide functionality through ask_pipeworx.

For local MCP setups, @pipeworx/mcp-jisho runs as a Node-based stdio bridge. The bridge forwards requests to the hosted endpoint, so it requires network access and does not provide offline dictionary data. Clients can also call tools through the gateway's HTTP API, such as POST /v1/tools/search_words.

Setup and configuration

A hosted client configuration can use:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jisho": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/jisho/mcp"
    }
  }
}

For the npm bridge, configure the client to run npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-jisho:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jisho": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-jisho"]
    }
  }
}

Anonymous use is capped at 50 calls per day. Adding a Pipeworx account key raises the allowance to 200 calls per day. Pass the key as PIPEWORX_API_KEY in the process environment; requests use it as a Bearer token and are metered and billed in the same way as hosted requests.

The npm bridge lists the Jisho pack's tools by default. Set PIPEWORX_META_TOOLS=1 to include shared gateway tools such as ask_pipeworx. When using an HTTPS proxy, newer Node versions can honor the proxy environment setting with NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1.

Tools and capabilities

• search_words returns up to the requested limit of matching entries. Each entry can include the slug or headword, common-word indicator, JLPT level, readings and spellings, and English meanings grouped by sense and part of speech.
• lookup returns the first or best matching entry in a compact form. It includes the headword, common-word indicator, JLPT level, readings, a flat list of English meanings, and unique parts of speech.
• English, kanji, kana, and romaji can be used as lookup input.
• ask_pipeworx can route plain-English questions across the wider Pipeworx catalog when shared meta-tools are enabled or when using the full gateway.

Limitations and notes

The server depends on the hosted Pipeworx gateway for dictionary access. Anonymous requests have a daily limit, and authenticated requests require a Pipeworx account key. Pack endpoints also expose shared gateway meta-tools, so the tool list may contain more entries than the two Jisho-specific tools when those tools are enabled by the connection.

The npm package is a bridge rather than an offline implementation. It forwards calls over the network and therefore cannot be used without network access. The project is licensed under MIT.