expression / noun:

• pretext for not revealing something (e.g. actual reason for one's failure, vested interest, etc.)

noun:

• hundred

noun:

• katakana; angular Japanese syllabary used primarily for loanwords ➜ 平仮名

noun:

• Zipangu (the name for Japan used by Marco Polo) - From Italian

noun:

• bell (used for summoning or signalling); buzzer

noun:

• style of jōruri narrative used for kabuki dances - abbreviation ➜ 常磐津節

noun:

• bed of salted rice bran used for pickling ➜ 糠漬け【ぬかづけ】

noun:

• Tang lunar calendar, used for 823 years in Japan

noun:

• Chinese sugarcane (Saccharum sinense) (used for making wasanbon) ➜ 和三盆【わさんぼん】

noun:

• rectangular-shaped thin-bladed knife (esp. used for vegetables)

godan ~す verb / transitive:

• to call; to invite; to send for; to summon - honorific language
• to eat; to drink
• to put on; to wear
• to ride
• to catch (a cold); to take (a bath); to tickle (one's fancy); to put on (years); to commit (seppuku)
• to do ➜ 召される
• used to show respect - used after the -masu stem of a verb - honorific language - archaism

expression:

• one should learn from other's mistakes; stones from other mountains can be used to polish one's own gems [literal] - proverb ➜ 他山の石

noun:

• focus of one's attention; what one is looking for ➜ 目の付け所

expression / adjective:

• best one could ask for; just what one wants; welcome (news); heaven-sent

noun:

• four hundred

noun:

• hundred thunderclaps

noun:

• six hundred

noun:

• sea routes used for transporting oil - From English "oil road"

noun:

• dragon boat (long 22-person canoe used for racing)

noun:

• nock of an arrow
• forked tool used for hanging scrolls

noun:

• belt used for back support after fifth month of pregnancy

noun:

• light used for brightly lighting up a plaza, building, etc.

noun:

• medicine left by a salesman, and paid for when used

noun:

• mixture of frangrant woods, etc. used for making incense

noun:

• nakiri bocho, var. of Japanese knife used for cutting vegetables