round of ghost stories (trad. at night with a lamp or candle being extinguished after each story)
tea (esp. green or barley); tea break; teatime; tea ceremony
close-cropped hair; shaven head
a tiny bit; just a smidgin; a wee bit; very slightly
clothes (esp. Western clothes); clothing; dress; counter for doses of medicine, gulps of tea, puffs of a cigarette, etc.
red; crimson; red-containing colour (e.g. brown, pink, orange); Red (i.e. communist); red light (traffic); red ink (i.e. in finance or proof-reading); (in) the red
moustache; mustache; whiskers (on a cat, etc.); feelers (on an insect, etc.); shadow (on a candlestick chart)
eyeball; special feature; centerpiece; special program; loss leader; sunny-side up fried egg
blue; azure; green; green light (traffic); black (horse coat color); blue 5-point card; immature
Dewa (former province located in present-day Yamagata and Akita prefectures)
wasteland; wilderness; deserted land; prairie; vast plain; wilds
China and India; far away
reverse; inversion; upside down; unreasonable; absurd; wrong
diligently; assiduously; industriously; beavering away
to disappear into; to be lost in; to do something under the cover of (confusion, etc.); to be almost indistinguishable; to be confusingly similar; to be diverted from (negative emotions, etc.)
hokora; small wayside shrine
to dig; to excavate; to delve into; to dig up (vegetables, treasure, etc.); to mine (coal, ore, etc.); to top
to gather up; to scrape up together; to rake
answering one's own question; wondering to oneself; soliloquizing; soliloquising
grounding (in a skill or subject); knowledge; training; achievements; attainments; accomplishments
to go through; to pass through; to get through; to cut across
bearing; heading; point of the compass
no matter what; whatever happens; under any circumstances; never
needle (compass, gauge, etc.); hand (clock); indicator; guiding principle; guideline; guide
strange; unconventional; eccentric; odd; odd number
the top (e.g. top ten); the best
Takasugi Shinsaku (1839.9.27-1867.5.17)
departure for a specified destination
to do; to perform; to carry out; (arch.) to serve; (arch.) to wait upon; (arch.) to attend
by nature; naturally; by birth; since birth; in one's (entire) life
return; arriving home; conclusion; reduction
earnest aspiration (to go to paradise)
determined; single-minded; intent; desperate; wild
journey; course; itinerary; stroke (of a piston); throw (of a switch)