thorn; spine; splinter (esp. lodged in one's flesh); hard sharp item (esp. lodged in one's throat, e.g. fish bone); biting words
bleaching; soaking; bleached cotton (esp. wrapped around the torso); doxxing; doxing; public humiliation (Edo-period punishment)
to prove successful; to take hold; to amount to something
promptly; quickly; without delay; before others; first
concealment; hiding; covering up; suppression
greed; craving; desire; appetite; hunger; avarice
line; queue; procession; matrix
thin; skinny; delicate; fragile; feeble
sravaka (disciple of Buddha); adherent of Hinayana Buddhism
past middle age; nearing old age; near-elderly; age 40
ancestor spirit; ancestral soul; spirits of one's ancestors; collective ancestral spirit; (in Japanese folk belief) spirits of one's ancestors that have lost their individual identity and merged together
returning home to one's parents (orig. of a married person); visiting one's parents (for a prolonged period of stay); bride's first visit to her parents after getting married; coming back (of an item; after having been on loan, etc. abroad); (arch.) temporarily returning to one's home (of a servant)
the Bon Festival and New Year; two great things (happening at the same time)
monk; priest; sangha (the Buddhist community)
to worry about; to be worried about; to fret about; to not know what to do; to be at a loss (as to what to do)
realm of the dead; the other world; underworld; hell
to clear; to make clear; to be unruffled; to look unconcerned; to look demure; to look prim
publication (of a newspaper, magazine, book, etc.); issue; issue (of banknotes, bonds, passport, etc.); raising (an event)
seems; I think; I guess; right?; don't you agree?
mountain of death; steep mountain which the dead must cross to reach the afterlife
government office; agency; board
stone tower; stone pagoda; tombstone; gravestone
Children's Limbo; futile; unrewarding
careful thought; consideration; deliberation; reflection; rumination; pondering
troublesome (person, task, etc.); difficult; suffering; hardship; trouble
poor; pitiful; piteous; pitiable
to protect against the elements; to shelter oneself from the weather
to be greatly perplexed; to be at a loss; to be sorely troubled; to be greatly embarrassed
father and mother; parents
this world; this life; the free world (outside of prison, the army, red light district, etc.); this corrupt world; present world
the underworld; the other world; realm of the dead; Hades
to take measures; to take steps
shy; diffident; retiring; reserved
Sanzu River (Japanese Buddhist equivalent of the River Styx); River of Three Crossings
border (between countries); national border
along (a river, coast, railway, etc.); on (e.g. a street)
to start rowing; to begin to row; to row out (e.g. to sea); to pull out; to start pedaling; to begin to pedal