middle of a field; middle of a country; field of contest
regrettable; unsatisfactory; deplorable; lamentable
to restrict; to limit; to be restricted to; to be limited to; to be best (for); to be the best plan
each and all; every single one; everybody
there; the spot; the place; then and there; on the spot; immediately
to devote oneself; to do one thing exclusively; to make a job of; to decide to
thousand years; thousand generations; thousand ages; eternity
broadbanded thornyhead (Sebastolobus macrochir); broadfin thornyhead; kichiji rockfish
playing with one's fingers (a guitar, etc.)
restless; on edge (and unable to concentrate); distracted; for some reason
(ear of) Japanese pampas grass
great variety of flowering plants; light greenish-blue
sobbing; weeping; whimpering
India ink; China ink; ink (of a cuttlefish, etc.)
after (a long process); at the end of; last line (of a renga)
emperor (of Japan); mikado
warrior; soldier; samurai; government official serving the imperial court during the Nara period
second string of a koto (counting from the player's near side)
vibrancy; strength; one's prime (around age 30; esp. of a man); counter for cones or sticks of moxa burned on the skin (in moxibustion)
Kōbusho; martial arts training institute established by the Edo shogunate in 1854
head (of an office, laboratory, etc.); chief
Shimōsa (former province located in parts of present-day Chiba, Ibaraki, Saitama and Tokyo prefectures)
sign; indication; call; summons; requisition; expropriation
great rival; powerful enemy; archenemy
Qing dynasty (of China; 1644-1912); Ch'ing dynasty; Manchu dynasty
one's pupil; one's student; one's follower
direct vassal of the shogunate (Edo period); direct retainer of the shogun (e.g. a hatamoto)
result (that makes an act worthwhile); worth (in doing something); value; Kai (former province located in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture)
gambling; gaming; speculation; undertaking a risky venture; (arch.) professional gambler; (arch.) gamester
(sudden, heavy) shower (on a summer afternoon or evening); evening shower
Nichiren sect; Tendai sect; Lotus Sutra
follower (of religion; esp. Jōdo Shinshū practitioners); believer
irony; sarcasm; unexpected; different from what one expected; (only) surface; something superficial
enlightenment; great wisdom
abandoning; giving up; quitting
narrow escape from the jaws of death; cheating death; there being barely a chance of escaping death; life-threatening danger