long ago; a long time ago; already
pathetic; sad; sorrowful; grievous
to drift; to float; to waft (e.g. a scent); to hang in the air; to be in the air (e.g. a feeling or mood); to wander; to walk around aimlessly
to prepare oneself (for the worst); to resolve oneself
steering (a boat); helmsman; steersman; guidance; leadership; leader
rise; swell; elevation; upsurge
to sow; to plant; to sow (the seeds of; e.g. conflict); to sprinkle (gold or silver powder on lacquerware)
kind; sort; species; species
(complete) destruction; annihilation; devastation
(starting) from nothing; from scratch
to knead again; to rework; to revise; to polish
timidity; nervousness; being easily intimidated
financial world; business circles
at the very beginning; first of all; first and foremost; before anything else
friend; ally; supporter; taking sides (with); supporting; standing by
even though; despite; when
Japanese company (business, firm)
sphere; circle; range; category
wind and waves; discord; trouble; hardships
to step on a landmine; to really step in it; to screw up; to open up a can of worms
invasion (e.g. of a country); raid; aggression
to scheme; to plan; to play a trick; to invent; to conspire; to frame up
border (between countries); national border
dull; dreary; dissatisfying; disappointing; unattractive; unappealing
Asian countries; Asian nations
to hold hands; to join hands; to do together; to go arm in arm; to join forces; to link hands
opposition; rivalry; competition; antagonism
nonetheless; nevertheless; but; (and) yet
his true objective lies elsewhere; there are ulterior motives at play; (lit.) the enemy is at Honnōji
to give a warning; to remind (a person) of; (lit.) to drive in a nail
article; goods; fine thing; fellow; (arch.) prostitute; (arch.) price
consumer (of a product, service, etc.); customer; (end) user; consumer (in a food chain)
while; although; (but) on the other hand; at the same time; opposite side; other side
to conquer (e.g. an enemy); to defeat; to overcome (a difficulty); to out-hit
to be inherent (in); to reside (in); to be immanent (in); immanence
to stand in (someone's) place; to be in a (certain) position
to have; to possess; to own; to be endowed with
to the extent possible; as much as possible; as far as possible; whenever possible; wherever possible; if (at all) possible
next year; next fiscal year
public interest; public benefit; public good
pretending to respect (someone) while in fact staying distant; keeping at arm's length; avoiding (something unpleasant); shying away from; giving (the batter) an "intentional walk"
defeat; loss; reverse; setback
spell (that restricts one's movements); binding spell
to be solved; to be worked out; to come loose; to come untied; to be removed (of restrictions); to be lifted (e.g. of a ban)
subtleties; niceties; fine points; subtle; sensitive
nothing but; none other than