solitude; loneliness; isolation
hard to understand; Byzantine fashion
proposal; proposition; suggestion
eager; earnest; strenuous; fervent; assiduous; with utmost effort
thickly; heavily; profusely; through and through; to the core; proper
someone with a liking or characteristic; a true representative of (place)
area; region; district; locality
travel; trip; journey; excursion; tour
ship; boat; tank; tub; counter for boat-shaped containers (e.g. of sashimi)
dyer's knotweed (Persicaria tinctoria, used to produce indigo dye); indigo (dye); indigo (colour)
to look for; to search for; to go on a spree (spending, reading, etc.); to binge; to fish
false; pseudo-; quasi-; would-be; sham; pretended
top and bottom; high and low; going up and down; rising and falling; going and coming back; upper and lower classes; ruler and ruled
exercise; physical training; appeal; campaign; motion; movement
rubber raft; inflatable boat
gum; rubber; eraser; condom
upper tier; upper section; place of honor; place of honour; dais; raised part of floor
how should I know?; don't ask me
Shimane Prefecture (Chūgoku area)
Shimane (prefecture); (arch.) island country
Izumo (former province located in the east of present-day Shimane Prefecture)
grand shrine; famous shrine; Izumo Grand Shrine
nameless; unnamed; obscure; unknown; causeless; unjustifiable
depopulation; decrease in population
meeting; gathering; village assembly; two wrestlers approaching each other
counter for places (offices, facilities, stations)
prior; beforehand; in advance; before the fact; ex ante
lodging; inn; house; home; home of a servant's parents (or guarantor, etc.)
riding; ride; spread (of paints); -seater (e.g. two-seater); (getting into the) mood; (entering into the) spirit
regular train; local train; train that stops at every station
being lost for words; becoming speechless; jueju (Chinese quatrain with lines of either five or seven syllables)
sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
field (for growing wheat, fruit, vegetables, etc.); cultivated land; field (of specialization); sphere; womb; birth
tranquil; calm; quiet; mild (weather); balmy
rural area; countryside; the sticks; hometown
ideal; perfect; most suitable; just right
preface; introduction; lead in (to a joke, question, etc.); lead up; payment in advance (by bank transfer); swinging (one's body) forward
easily mixed up (e.g. similar words); easily mistaken; confusing; misleading; equivocal; ambiguous
union; combination; conjugation (of gametes); sexual intercourse; copulation
stone (of a fruit); pit; core (of an organization, team, etc.); nucleus; nuclear weapons; nucleus (of an atom); nucleus (of a cell)
that said; that being said
pipe; tube; bobbin (in a shuttle or spinning wheel)