noun / ~する noun:

• notification; official notice; directive (e.g. from higher to lower levels of the administration)
• being well versed (in something) ➜ 精通

noun:

• top star (esp. male lead role in the all-female Takarazuka musical theater troupe); major celebrity

noun:

• parenthood; parent or someone with children on the way (esp. an expecting mother)
• (of a fish) containing roe (eggs)

noun / ~する noun / ~の noun:

• outrider (person riding horseback in the lead position of a cavalcade); outriding
• harbinger; herald; precursor; forerunner; foretoken
• anticipation

proper noun:

• Hachiko; Akita dog that waited every day at Shibuya station for the return of his owner (1923-1935) ➜ 忠犬ハチ公【ちゅうけんハチこう】

~の noun / ~たる adjective / ~と adverb:

• gasping for breath; at one's last gasp; breathing feebly; on the brink of death; more dead than alive - four character idiom

noun:

• recipient; receiver; acceptor; taker
• skilled practitioner (of judo, sumo, etc.) - Martial Arts, Sumo term
• person who picks up the cards (in karuta games) ➜ 読み手

noun:

• useless book learning; knowing the theory but being able to put it into practice; practising swimming on a tatami mat [literal] - idiom - humorous term

noun:

• useless book learning; knowing the theory but being unable to put it into practice; practising swimming on a tatami mat [literal] - idiom - humorous term

noun:

• one's course of action; deciding what to do with oneself, whether staying in the present position or leaving it - four character idiom

expression:

• twilight; time for disasters (similar to 'the witching hour' but not midnight) ➜ 大禍時

noun:

• plane with a blade at ninety degrees to its base used for maintaining the bases of other wooden planes

noun:

• tao-tie (mythological Chinese creature engraved on bronzeware during the Shang & Zhou dynasties) - archaism
• brutal person - idiom
• coveting of wealth (property, etc.)

noun:

• universal life force (the source of animation for all things)
• free spirit (i.e. a mindset unencumbered with worldly concerns)

noun:

• Yatagarasu (mythical raven who aided Emperor Jimmu on his eastern expedition) - obscure term ➜ 八咫烏
• three-legged crow inhabiting the sun in Chinese mythology ➜ 八咫烏

noun:

• secret language used in the postwar Showa period where certain words are read backwards - from ジャズ read backwards - Linguistics term

noun / ~する noun:

• guidance; leadership; instruction; direction; coaching

noun:

• shido (disciplinary action for a minor infringement of the rules of judo) - Martial Arts term

conjunction:

• even so; however; still; whereupon; even though; nevertheless; on the contrary; as a matter of fact; despite

expression:

• (I'm fine) thank you; thanks to you; fortunately; under the gods' shadow [literal] - polite language

noun:

• state; condition; circumstances; sight; spectacle
• the way things should be; ideal state ［ありよう］ ➜ あるべき姿【あるべきすがた】
• truth ［ありよう］

noun / ~する noun:

• seasonal change of clothing; changing (one's) dress for the season - reading is gikun for 更衣 ➜ 更衣【こうい】
• renovation; facelift; changing appearance

adverb / ~と adverb / ~する noun:

• noisily (e.g. from many people talking); creating a commotion - onomatopoeia
• rustling (leaves) - onomatopoeia
• feeling a chill; getting the chills - onomatopoeia

noun:

• underhand grip; backhand grip (e.g. in tennis) ➜ 順手
• unexpected twist; turning the tables (on an opponent)

noun / ~の noun:

• putting one's life on the line; giving everything one has got; acting out of desperation

noun:

• chef (esp. of high-end Japanese cuisine); cook - Kantō dialect ➜ 板場【いたば】
• area of a kitchen that contains the chopping board - orig. meaning