macula; macula lutea; yellow spot
to put in order; to arrange; to get ready; to prepare; to adjust; to regulate (e.g. rhythm, tune, one's breathing)
military force; military strength
cloudiness; cloudy weather; fog (on a mirror, glasses, etc.); cloud (e.g. in marble); gloom; dejection
cave; cavern; grotto; dwelling made in a cave; house carved into rock
mass of rock; rock lump; block
fluffy; lumpy (e.g. clothing); uneven; bulging (e.g. muscles)
to walk; to move forward; to make progress
challenging (an unknown person); asking a person's identity
to investigate thoroughly; to examine closely; to probe into; to be obsessed with a thought; to brood over; to worry about
as if ...; as if to say ...; as though ...
ten thousand years; eternity; perennial; perpetual
unavoidably; inevitably; necessarily; reluctantly; against one's will
unusual occurrence; variation; mutation
ancient civilization; ancient civilisation
(already) known; established
covert action; covert operations
circumstances; sequence of events; how things got this way; details; particulars
mistake; error; accident; mishap; improper conduct (e.g. between man and woman); indiscretion
border (between countries); national border
turning someone away (at the front door); refusing a visitor; rejecting without consideration; denying without substantial investigation; being chased away from a magistrate's office's gate (lightest punishment during the Edo period)
to have a lot of influence (in); to have clout (with); to be influential; to have contacts (in)
diplomacy; selling (e.g. door-to-door); canvassing
to go under; to pass under; to dive (into or under the water); to evade; to get around; to survive
to clamour; to crowd; to jostle
composite; combined; complex
land readjustment; town planning
to tower over the surroundings
cultural exchange; cross-cultural communication; contacts between different cultures
modernization; modernisation
equilibrium; good balance; poise
forced laugh; forced smile
abstention; nonintervention; noninterference