expression / noun:

• hard work gone unnoticed; thankless task; a dance under a veranda [literal] - idiom
• off-stage dance that used to be performed on the 22th of the 2nd month in the lunar calendar in Osaka's Tennouji - orig. meaning

noun:

• draining blood from a live fish (from above the gills and at the base of the tail) to keep it fresh ［いけじめ］
• fasting fish for several days to preserve flavour and quality (and reduce mortality during transport) - esp. いけしめ
• killing fish in a fishtank (immediately before cooking); fish killed in a fishtank - esp. いけしめ

noun:

• young man (in the Edo period, esp. one with forelocks who has not yet had his coming-of-age ceremony)
• young male prostitute; young kabuki actor (who may also act as a homosexual prostitute)
• younger partner in a homosexual relationship ➜ 念者【ねんしゃ】

godan ~る verb / transitive:

• to be awarded (e.g. a prize); to be given an award; to receive (e.g. a title)
• to be gifted or endowed (e.g. with a talent)
• to be blessed (e.g. with a child)
• to be initiated (e.g. into a secret)

godan ~る verb / transitive:

• to cut apart (cloth, paper, etc.)
• to sever (ties); to break off (relationship); to overcome (habit, addiction) ［断ち切る・断切る］
• to cut off (enemy's retreat); to block (road, etc.); to disconnect ［断ち切る・断切る］

godan ~ぶ verb / intransitive verb:

• to grow wild; to run to waste; to become degenerate ➜ 荒む
• to become rough (of art, craft, etc.); to lose refinement; to deteriorate (of skill)

godan ~ぶ verb / auxiliary verb / intransitive verb:

• to intensify (of wind, rain, etc.); to become more severe - usu. after -masu stem

godan ~ぶ verb / intransitive verb:

• to do as one pleases; to amuse oneself; to play around ［遊ぶ］ - archaism

godan ~く verb / intransitive verb:

• to bite (at); to snap at
• to snap at (someone); to flare up at; to jump down (someone's) throat

expression:

• a day in life is better than a thousand days in the afterlife; better one day in this world than a thousand in the next - proverb

noun:

• revised edition (of a book or manuscript); authoritative edition; standard edition; edition incorporating many changes and corrections
• final version of a book as edited by the author; revised edition of a book as edited by the author

conjunction / interjection:

• come; come now; come along; go on; hurry up
• well; who knows; I don't know...; uh; hmm
• well now; let's see; there we go; all right - said when surprised or happy
• about that; you see

expression:

• you have only to; all you have to (do); all that's required; as long as; if only

noun / ~する noun:

• breaking ground; ground-breaking (ceremony)

noun:

• New Year's ceremony in which a hoe is used to break ground in a field lying in a lucky direction

expression:

• a fox is not taken twice in the same snare; there are no birds in last year's nest; there aren't always loach under the willow tree [literal]; good luck does not always repeat itself - proverb

noun:

• Buddha triad; image of a Buddha attended by two Bodhisattvas ［さんぞん］ - Buddhism term
• The Three Jewels; Buddha, the teachings of Buddha, and the community of monks and nuns ［さんぞん］ - Buddhism term ➜ 三宝
• head and shoulders (stock price, etc. chart pattern) ［さんぞん］ ➜ 三尊天井
• the three people one must esteem: master, father, teacher

noun:

• flowers reflected on a mirror and the moon reflected on the water's surface; something that is visible but having no substance; the subtle and profound beauty of poems that cannot be described in words - four character idiom

noun:

• Imperial New Year's Lectures (ceremony in which the emperor and members of the imperial family Their Majesties listen to expert lectures in the fields of human, social and natural sciences)

ichidan verb / transitive:

• to harden; to freeze; to strengthen; to solidify; to make (a fist); to tramp down (snow, dirt) ➜ 土を固める【つちをかためる】
• to put together; to collect; to gather; to consolidate
• to make secure; to stabilize; to settle down; to strengthen (belief, resolution, etc.); to establish (evidence) ➜ 身を固める【みをかためる】
• to fortify; to reinforce; to support ➜ 国境を固める【こっきょうをかためる】・嘘で固める【うそでかためる】
• to wear for a specific purpose (armor, coat, etc.) - in the form に身をかためる
• to swear; to resolutely vow; to sincerely promise
• to tie tightly; to fasten
• to hold a bow fully drawn

expression / godan ~す verb:

• to shake each other's hands; to shake hands with each other

godan ~す verb / transitive:

• to take down (e.g. flag); to launch (e.g. boat); to drop; to lower (e.g. ladder); to let (a person) off; to unload; to discharge
• to drop off (a passenger from a vehicle); to let (a person) off
• to withdraw (cash)
• to wear (clothing) for the first time
• to fillet (e.g. a fish)

noun:

• heavenly god; heavenly gods - also pronounced てんしん
• spirit of Sugawara no Michizane
• Tenmangu shrine (dedicated to Michizane's spirit) ➜ 天満宮
• pit of a dried plum; dried plum - colloquialism ➜ 梅干し
• tenjin hairstyle - abbreviation ➜ 天神髷
• prostitute of the second-highest class (Edo period)

noun:

• dropping; losing - abbreviation
• missing item; something one forgot to write down
• trap
• wooden protrusion from a Japanese door frame that fits a hole in the threshold, acting as a lock when closed
• conclusion (of a speech, etc.)
• metallic bowl used to hold the charcoal in a wooden hibachi ➜ 落とし掛け

ichidan verb:

• to put something on someone's back; to make someone carry something ➜ 負う
• to lay responsibility on someone; to charge someone with a duty
• to inflict injury on someone

noun:

• expectation that something took place, will take place or was in some state; it should be so; bound to be; expected to be; must be
• nock (of a bow)
• nock (of an arrow)
• nock-shaped grip (between thumb and forefinger) - Sumo term ➜ はず押し【はずおし】
• wooden frame on the tip of the mast of a Japanese ship that prevents the hawser from falling out

godan ~す verb / transitive:

• to stretch around (e.g. a fence, dragnet, etc.); to lay out (e.g. a wiring system, network, etc.); to string up (e.g. an antenna, ship's rigging, etc.)

noun:

• upper reaches (of a river); upper stream Antonym: 下【しも】
• top; upper part; upper half (of the body)
• long ago
• beginning; first
• person of high rank (e.g. the emperor) - honorific language ➜ 御上
• government; imperial court
• imperial capital (i.e. Kyoto); capital region (i.e. Kansai); region (or direction of) the imperial palace ➜ 上方【かみがた】
• head (of a table)
• wife; mistress (of a restaurant) - honorific language