gradually; by degrees; little by little; bit by bit
to get cloudy; to cloud over; to cloud up; to fog up; to be gloomy; to be clouded (expression)
to reach the point where ...; to come to ...; to come to be that ...; to start to ...; to begin to ...
(your) business; (your) concern; (customer's) order; official business (of the government, Imperial Court, etc.); arrest; capture
vertex; apex; top (e.g. of a mountain); summit; top (of a profession, field, etc.); summit
within the country; inside the county; domestic; home; internal
each place; every place; various places; all parts (of the country, world, etc.)
family name; house name; family honour; family honor
to mince; to cut fine; to carve; to engrave; to tick away (time); to beat out (e.g. rhythm); to etch (into one's mind)
reigning (over a country); dominating; controlling; dictating
centralized authoritarian rule; centralised authoritarian rule
firm; strong; solid; stable
ground; crust (earth); foundation (building, etc.); base; constituency; power base
descendant; progeny; offspring
commoner; plebeian; commoner (in Japan between 1869 and 1947; the lowest of the three classes)
layer; stratum; class; stratum; sheaf; counter for stories (of a building)
open; public; official; overt
exploitation; bleeding dry; squeezing dry; milking (e.g. a cow's teat); extracting (a liquid) through squeezing
year; counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school); period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
juniors dominating seniors; inferiors overthrowing their superiors; retainer supplanting his lord
to blow violently; to sweep over; to devastate
since; henceforth; ever since
considerably; fairly; quite; rather; pretty
loss (of weight or volume, e.g. in transit); ullage; outage; decrease (in value); reduction
to lose; to miss (a chance, opportunity); to lose (a loved one); to be bereaved of; to concede (goals, points, etc.)
secret; private; surreptitious
scheming; planning; maneuvering; manoeuvring; plotting
waves that remain after the wind has subsided; after-effect; aftermath
to eat; to drink; to receive (e.g. a blow); to be on the receiving end (of something undesirable); to undergo (trouble)
to live; to reside; to inhabit
until now; till now; up to now; up to the present; so far
various; varied; diverse; all sorts of
to be in difficulties; to be in trouble; to be in a difficult situation
facing downward; lying face down; upside down; prone
degree; extent; (health) condition; state of health; adjustment; moderation; addition and subtraction
horizontal (as opposed to vertical); side-to-side (as opposed to front-to-back); width; side (of a box, etc.); beside; aside
to take a breath; to take a short rest
reason; grounds; pretext; excuse; motive
clearly; plainly; distinctly; to be clear; to be definite; to be certain
genuine; real; authentic; full-scale; full-blown; all-out
eyesore; offensive sight; offense to the eye; obstruction (to the view of something)