protector (e.g. chest); guard
some; several; many; how many; how much; very
painstaking (e.g. effort); excruciating (e.g. hard work); grueling
accessories; small articles; minor character; small fry; weak one
in contrast to (one's, its) appearance
to raise one's hand; to surrender; to raise one's hand to someone (as a threat to strike); to become better (at something); to improve; to throw one's hat in the ring
hard (e.g. penis); strong (e.g. beat of music); throbbing (e.g. headache); blaring (e.g. rock music)
to spoil; to ruin; to destroy; to make a mess of
surreptitious glance; looking furtively
the dead; ghost; person who is obsessed (with money, power, etc.); person with a blind lust (for)
the whole universe (of a billion worlds) that Buddha enlightened; the whole wide world
to etch (name, etc.); to carve (design)
to act as an intermediary; to step in; to come between; to intervene; to interject
to establish; to formulate
to be in the firing line; to bear the brunt of (an attack, criticism, etc.); to face (e.g. questioning)
bolt from the blue; great surprise
while crying; tearfully; in tears
drawn-out (protracted) war or contest
be (that) as it may; having said that
there is no way that ...; easy; simple
metropolitan governor; governor of Tokyo
to become public; to become known; to come out in the open; to be formal; to be official
shady; underhanded; questionable
generous; magnanimous; open-handed; liberal
big corporation; major firm; leading company
to rise (to a high position); to work one's way up; to push one's way up; to be promoted
whaa whaa; sound of a baby crying
famous (commercial) establishment; well-known store (shop, restaurant)
to taste; to taste of; to have a taste
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)
to hesitate; to have scruples; to be afraid of what others may think; to lord it over; to have great influence
to treat (someone) to (something); to give (someone) a treat; to be extravagant; to live in luxury; to be proud; to be haughty
step; stair; shelf; layer; grade; level; dan (degree of advanced proficiency in martial arts, go, shogi, etc.)
pile; heap; counter for things that are stacked, piled up (or layered, etc.); layers of clothing worn under one's overcoat; combination of colors created by layering of garments (colours)
slightly bitter (taste); bittersweet (memory, experience, etc.)
to become haggard; to become gaunt; to become emaciated; to become worn out (from illness, worry, etc.)
any; all; every; both; either; none (with neg. verb)
to spill; to fall out of; to peek through; to become visible (although normally not); to escape (of a smile, tear, etc.)
dubious tale; cock-and-bull story; questionable information
previously; already; for some time; for quite a while