castle construction; building a castle; fortification
strength; solidity; firmness; armour; armor
good quality; fine quality; superior quality; high quality
earth; soil; the earth (historically, esp. as opposed to the heavens); the ground; low-quality torinoko-gami (containing mud); (period of) refraining from construction in the direction of the god of the earth (in Onmyōdō)
porcelain (esp. soft-paste porcelain); china; chinaware; earthenware; pottery; ceramics
encouragement; promotion; inducement; incitement; stimulation
cooking, esp. frying or stir-frying; heating; tempering; -ware
stormy and full of drama; many drastic events in the course of events; full of ups and downs; with many vicissitudes
fashion; way; school (of thought); class; rank; current (electrical, water, etc.)
begging Zen priest of the Fuke sect (wearing a sedge hood and playing a shakuhachi flute)
to be enthralled by; to be disguised as
future (usually near); prospects
to swear; to vow; to take an oath; to pledge
carapace; shell; 1st in rank; grade A; instep; back of hand
congratulation; celebration
extinction; discontinuation; severance; rupture; to become extinct; to cease to exist
crisis; critical situation; emergency; pinch
overturning; capsizing; overthrow (e.g. of a government)
seal of blood; sealing with one's blood
form; shape; state; condition; letter; correspondence
strait with a roaring tidal ebb and flow; whirlpool; kamaboko with a spiral whirlpool-like pattern; cooking technique where ingredients are cut in a spiral pattern; Naruto (city in Tokushima); Naruto Strait; Naruto wakame
order; turn; sorting; obedient; docile; submissive
approximately; about; promise; appointment; shortening; reduction
house; one's house; one's home; one's family
entertainer (esp. in a traditional art); performer; artiste; talented person; accomplished person
line; queue; procession; matrix
denotes uncertainty; such things as A and B; A and B and so on; A and B and the like
to open out (of a view, scenery, etc.); to spread out; to improve (of luck, prospects, etc.); to get better; to develop (of a town, civilization, etc.); to become civilized; to be sensible
everyone; everybody; all; everything; all
uniform; equal; even; common; ordinary; usual
to hardly recognise; to mistake for something or somebody else
after an interval of ... years; for the first time in ... years
Hitachi (former province located in the major part of present-day Ibaraki Prefecture)
Satsuma (former province located in the west of present-day Kagoshima Prefecture); sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
to sever; to cut off; to suppress; to eradicate; to abstain (from); to give up
to roll up; to hoist; to take away; to rip off (e.g. money from someone); to blow up (dust)
ending; quitting; closing; ending before one had time to do something one wanted or intended to
passing on to the next life; death; giving up a struggle; submission; being at one's wits' end; being flummoxed
favour; favor; favourite; favorite; patron; supporter
well connected; well known; having a large, diverse circle of acquaintances
thoughtless; reckless; seldom; rare; ordinary; usual