hardly any; almost nonexistent; very little
contest of strength; trial of strength
speaker; lecturer; lecturer (at a university or college); instructor; part-time teacher; tutor (at a cram school)
suicide divers (part of the Japanese Special Attack Units during WWII)
gifted young person who shows much promise
vast; extensive; immense; huge; large; grand
reduction; curtailment; cut; cutback; scaling down; contraction
state of mind; mentality; psychology
conveying the will of the governing to the governed; top-down (system)
sum; harmony; peace; Japan; Japanese-style
to neglect; to ignore; to disregard; to make light of
to land (a fish); to catch; to reel in
hundredfold; hundred times as much; much more (than previously)
outside one's jurisdiction
male and female (animals); the two sexes; victory and defeat; strengths and weaknesses
most part; greater part; majority
tsk tsk; oh-oh; huh; what's that?
being left out; being ostracized
bamboo (any grass of subfamily Bambusoideae); middle (of a three-tier ranking system)
bamboo thicket; bamboo grove
to get to the main subject; to move on to the main topic; to get down to business
formidable; not to be sneered at; not to be made light of
skill; expertise; experience; proficiency; mastery; dexterity
splendour; splendor; magnificence; grandeur
self-flattery; singing one's own praises
Amaterasu; sun goddess who is the ancestress of the Imperial House of Japan
fighting with one's back to the wall; having burnt one's bridges; last stand; last-ditch effort
to tilt (esp. head); to lean; to incline; to slant
to distribute; to arrange; to arrange; to lay out (as in decorating); (arch.) to marry off; (arch.) to exile
company; group; class; troop; rank; file
personal; private; oneself
to follow advice; to act upon advice
division (distribution) of roles; role-sharing
to contemplate; to ponder; to think long about; to turn over in one's mind
next term; next period; next version; next release
dying in vain; useless death; meaningless death
way of thinking; point of view; opinion; approach (e.g. to a problem); attitude
tolerant; generous; lenient; broad-minded; magnanimous
wild; freakish; madcap; crazy; hysterical