noun:

• set an example worth following; take the initiative in doing something thereby setting an example for others to follow - four character idiom

noun:

• beating of a drum as a signal to announce the opening (beginning) of an event (theatrical performance, festival, etc.)

noun:

• having one's workplace at home; living and working at the same location (independent farmers, home workers, storekeepers, etc.) - four character idiom

noun:

• deathbed adoption of a successor (to prevent extinction of the family line); person adopted by someone on his deathbed - four character idiom

noun:

• passing university entrance exams in the last year of high school (instead of failing then taking gap year(s))

noun:

• placing salt by the entrance to one's establishment to bring good luck; such piles of salt

noun:

• divorce of a couple who have been married for a long time (brought on by retirement of the husband) - colloquialism

noun:

• the six historical styles of writing kanji: large seal, small seal, clerical, triangular-swept clerical, running, and cursive

expression / adjective:

• having a strong alkaline taste; harsh to the taste ➜ あくの強い
• excessively strong-willed; fiercely individualistic; strongly idiosyncratic ➜ あくの強い【あくのつよい】

noun:

• place where hair is gathered together atop the head; hair tied (or pinned) together in this position - archaism

noun:

• phala (attained state, result) - Buddhism term ➜ 因
• enlightenment (as the fruits of one's Buddhist practice) - Buddhism term ➜ 悟り
• fruit ➜ 果物

counter:

• counter for pieces of fruit

expression / godan ~う verb:

• to win the favour of (favor); to be acknowledged (e.g. by a superior); to measure up to

expression:

• a journey of a thousand miles feels like only one mile (when going to see the one you love) - proverb

noun:

• aiming for laughs; trying to make people laugh; playing to the crowd; crowd-pleaser ➜ ウケを狙う

expression:

• a single instance indicates what happens all the time; one case gives you an idea of what always happens

noun:

• paulownia crest (three leaves with seven blossoms on the center lead and five blossoms on each side leaf)

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to blunder; to bungle; to fail - archaism
• to use up all one's money (esp. on the services of prostitutes) - archaism

noun / ~の noun:

• killing one's catch on the spot (e.g. a bird)
• killing a fish immediately to preserve its freshness

noun:

• Columbian exchange; widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, disease, and ideas between the Old and New Worlds

adverb:

• too; also; likewise; either - abbreviation ➜ やっぱり
• still; as before - abbreviation
• even so; either way; nonetheless; in any event; all the same - abbreviation
• as expected - abbreviation

noun:

• (person who has the) hands of God; master; virtuoso

noun:

• oiled multi-layered paper sheet used to sit or sleep on (during the summer); oiled-paper cushion; wax-cloth

noun:

• ceiling rosette; electrical outlet attached to the ceiling for suspending electrical light fixtures ➜ 引っ掛け

noun:

• labor system in which able-bodied men were required to work for periods in the capital (ritsuryo system)

expression / noun:

• group of independents; usu. informal grouping of independent politicians in the National Diet or in prefectural assemblies