noun:

• the Four Beginnings (Mencius); the Four Sprouts

noun:

• between the leaves; through the leaves

noun:

• clerical appearance; appearance of a priest - Buddhism term
• teachings of Buddha; condition of the universe at creation; in the pure land teachings, the name of Amitabha, or prayers to Amitabha; investiture of a Buddhist priest

noun:

• eating the first meal of soft rice (himeii) after the traditional hard rice of New Year (kowaii) ➜ 強飯・姫飯
• first intercourse of the New Year
• loss of virginity; loss of maidenhead - slang

noun:

• extraordinary Diet session; extraordinary session of the Diet; session of the Diet convoked by the Cabinet by need or house request

noun:

• extraordinary Diet session; extraordinary session of the Diet; session of the Diet convoked by the Cabinet by need or house request ➜ 臨時国会

noun:

• Wu; region in China, south of the lower Yangtze
• Wu; Southern Wu; kingdom in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era (902-937)
• Wu; Eastern Wu; Sun Wu; kingdom in China during the Three Kingdoms era (222-280) ➜ 三国【さんごく】
• Wu; kingdom in China during the Spring and Autumn era (11th c. - 473 BCE)

noun:

• sitting outdoors - archaism
• room that served both as a reception room and as a living room in a Heian-period mansion ➜ 寝殿造り
• temporary sitting place installed in the garden at the imperial court, used on the occasion of archery or sumo ceremonies

noun:

• western Japan; Japan west of the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line, i.e. the Chūbu region and westward ➜ 糸魚川静岡構造線・東日本

noun:

• start; beginning; build up
• how well a pitcher pitches at the start of the game - Baseball term

noun:

• slipping one's hand beneath the opponent's arm and latching on to the underside of his belt - Sumo term

noun:

• countryside people (in town); visitor from the country; out-of-towner; country bumpkin (visiting the big city); yokel

noun:

• temporary shrine (houses the object in which the deity resides when main shrine is under repairs) - Shintō term

noun:

• demon of the sixth heaven in the realm of desire who tries to prevent people from doing good - Buddhism term ➜ 四魔

noun:

• turban shell (any mollusc of the family Turbinidae, esp. the horned turban, Turbo cornutus)

noun:

• the hundredth year
• out of luck; (at the) end of one's rope
• rare chance; unusually good fortune

noun / ~する noun:

• worldly wise; sophisticated; street smart; knowledge of the world (acquired in the school of hard knocks); toughness

noun:

• an event held on the night after the last day of some festival (school festival) often bonfire & dancing ➜ 学園祭

noun:

• inner pleat; the raising of fabric up in the middle to marry bottom edges of yukata and kimono

noun:

• kabuki dance in which the dancer quickly changes his clothes seven times ➜ 七変化【しちへんげ】
• the seven common disguises of ninja

adverb:

• along the road (e.g. following its curves without turning off at any intersection); along the street

expression:

• inability to discern the truth due to conflicting testimony (name derived the Akutagawa Ryūnosuke story "In A Grove")

noun:

• Shogitai (group of former Tokugawa retainers opposed to the Meiji government who fought in the battle of Ueno) ➜ 上野戦争

noun:

• (in China) 12th note of the ancient chromatic scale (approx. C sharp) ➜ 十二律・上無
• tenth month of the lunar calendar

noun:

• (in China) 11th note of the ancient chromatic scale (approx. C) ➜ 十二律
• ninth month of the lunar calendar