seeming like an excuse; seeming like a justification; defensive; in an apologetic tone
have to (verb); must (verb); is indispensable; absolutely necessary
nashiji (lacquering technique using gold or silver powder or flakes)
to tell X from Y; to distinguish; to know (one thing) from (another)
warm and fluffy; soft; steamy hot (food); hot and flaky; feeling mentally tired; feeling of tired relief or accomplishment after effort or perseverance
performance (at a party or banquet, etc.); side show; entertainment
... is the reason; ... is my excuse
snack (to have with a drink); side dish
to be frank; to speak one's mind; to open one's heart; to have a heart-to-heart talk (with someone)
one tenth; one hundredth; one percent; one tenth of a sun; one quarter ryō (an old coin)
worldly affairs; ways of the world
to speak; to talk; to mediate; to act as a go-between; to put in a good word (for someone)
character (of a person); personality; disposition; characteristics; nature (of a thing, event, etc.)
even if nothing else; more than anything else
event; festivities; function; social gathering; auspices; opening
tenmoku; ceramics (esp. tea bowls) with a dark glaze that resembles oil spotting; tenmoku tea-bowl; dark-glazed conical tea-bowl of Chinese origin
gulping down (a drink); guzzling; chugging; sloshing around (of liquid in one's stomach)
drinking hard; drinking like a fish
biting louse (any louse of order Mallophaga); small winged insect (esp. a flying ant or termite)
to look around; to look towards (us)
firefly watching; firefly catching
(surface of) field; plain; unworked surface of (quarried) stone; (rough) surface of plank
boisterous merrymaking; racket; spree
to degenerate; to lapse into
to encloud; to make dim; to make dull; to tarnish; to obscure; to darken
all sides; the four cardinal directions and the four ordinal directions; large hanging lantern
service (bus, train); operation; motion; revolution; movement
to resonate emotionally (with one); to strike a chord in one's heart
to go too far; to go to excess; to carry too far
large crowd; large herd; large flock; large school; large shoal; swarm
to rest; to suspend; to give relief
full-length portrait or statue
to jump up; to start up; to leap to one's feet; to fly away; to take off
undershirt (worn under a kimono); singlet
deployment; spreading out; dispersal
garden; yard; courtyard; field (of action); area
interpenetration of spirit between the poet and nature in a haiku
superficial; shallow; frivolous; careless; sliding along the surface of something; being slippery