last days; the end; one's fate
misfortune; adverse fortune; hapless fate; checkered (life, career, etc.); varied; eventful
change; transition; vicissitudes
to narrow; to reduce; to contract
narrow; confined; small; limited; narrow-minded; confining
bang; bam; noontime signal gun (carried out early Meiji to Taishō); noon gun; last round in a game of 12 rounds; precisely
independence; self-reliance; independence (e.g. of a nation); freedom; separation; isolation
declaration; proclamation; announcement
establishment; founding; incorporation (of a business)
sweeping conquest; sweeping over; conquering; invading
to prevent; to take precautions
check; keeping in check; containment (of enemy forces); diversionary action; pickoff throw; holding a runner on base
secret; clandestine; covert; spy (for a daimyo, shogun, etc.); secret agent
in (e.g. secret); with (e.g. success)
erasure; denial; obliteration; ignoring (an opinion)
to surpass; to outstrip; to excel
armed might; military power; the sword; force
one large ...; a great ...
place; situation; position; location
connotation; comprehension; intension; inclusion; containment within
glaring at each other; confrontation; standoff; face-off
rising; developing; emergent; burgeoning; new
giving one's name (or rank, etc.); self-introduction; name readings of kanji
remote region; frontier (district); border(land)
reclamation (e.g. wasteland); cultivation; development; pioneering; opening up (e.g. new market); breaking new ground
to glare at each other; to confront each other
maintenance; preservation; improvement
instability; insecurity; crankiness
friction; discord; strife
dangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger; precarious (situation); perilous (state, balance, etc.); in doubt
crisis; critical situation; emergency; pinch
flour; meal; powder; dust
live coals (for firelighting); cause (of disturbance, conflict, etc.); trigger
800; eight hundred; multitude; large number
long (time); longstanding; for a long time
and then; and so; and; so then
to cause; to induce; to bring about a result or state; to produce
rustic; unsophisticated; provincial; hick; uncool; unstylish
reality; actuality; practice (as opposed to theory); truly; really; bhutakoti (limit of reality)