fashion; trend; vogue; prevalence (of a disease); epidemic
to combine; to join; to tie on; to attach with a knot; to bind (e.g. an address)
unprecedented; record-breaking
very popular; highly favoured
paying one's own expenses; going into business for oneself; working independently; person who earns their own living
to dash off (a piece of writing); to scribble; to scrawl
these days; nowadays; now; at present; recently; lately
pressure; stress; pressure (e.g. political); coercion; arm-twisting
(inflected) end of a word; end of a sentence
detached building; solitary house; room detached from main house; separation from; loss of interest in; independence of
(giving) birth; childbirth; native of; product of; assets; property
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that...
absurd; nonsensical; ridiculous; idiotic; laughable; ludicrous
unsupported; unfounded; nonsense
to leave a note or document behind; to leave half-written; to leave out
to harvest; to reap; to take in; to gather in; to adopt (e.g. idea); to accept (e.g. advice)
literature; books (reference); document
field survey; field work (research); on-the-spot investigation
erasure; striking off; crossing out; cancellation; deletion
foreigner; foreign citizen; foreign national; alien; non-Japanese
under the ... administration; within the ... government
famous; well-known; renowned; your name
this place; where one comes from; here
fair; just and upright; open and honest; aboveboard; honourable
talented person; clever person
mistress (of the house); hostess; landlady; proprietress
depending on; dependent on
one's later years; final years (in life)
union; alliance; combination; RENGO (Japanese Trade Union Confederation)
nature of the locality; character of a place; local colour; local color
to be enigmatic; to be puzzling; to be wrapped in mystery