adverbial noun:

• at the very beginning of a book; The book opens with ... - four character idiom

noun:

• grasping the present situation; having an accurate grasp of the situation - four character idiom

noun:

• man of the future; Homo futurus; time traveler from the future

noun:

• degrading language (language used to lower the position of the listener)

noun:

• Ryukyuan mission to Edo upon the change of the Ryukyuan King ➜ 慶賀使

noun:

• Imperial Household Agency employee assigned to the household of the Crown Prince

adverb / ~の noun:

• behind closed doors; behind-the-scenes; (under the veil of) secrecy

noun:

• the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism; the Nine Chinese Classics - four character idiom

noun / ~の noun:

• upper class; upper echelons of society; the rich and powerful; the elite

noun:

• this world; present world (as opposed to the realm of the dead)

expression / godan ~う verb:

• to compete for the first place; to be one of the best

noun:

• soldier dispatched by a god; soldier under the protection of the gods

adverb:

• to the utmost; to the best of one's ability

noun:

• overhand throw - Baseball term
• a throw using the outside of the arm - Sumo term

noun:

• part of the garden close to the house; nearby garden

adverbial noun / temporal noun / ~の noun:

• the present age; these days; (present) head of the family

noun:

• the Six Ksitigarbhas (one for each of the six realms) ➜ 六道

noun:

• measures for the promotion of; stimulation measure (for the economy)

noun:

• country bumpkin - archaism ➜ 田舎者
• someone from the same part of the country - archaism

noun:

• the socially vulnerable; the weak of society; socially disadvantaged people

noun:

• chanting the title of a sutra (esp. the Lotus Sutra) - Buddhism term ➜ 題目

noun:

• Kyushu (southernmost of the four main islands of Japan)

noun:

• Shikoku (smallest of the four main islands of Japan)

noun:

• fall of the curtain; last scene; end of act

noun:

• fashion (current) of the times; general drift of affairs