noun:

• round plaque carrying the image of a Buddha (usually hammered from behind) used in temples and shrines

noun:

• hierarchy of samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants in Edo society - four character idiom

noun:

• governing a nation and providing relief to people - four character idiom

noun:

• Japan and Belgium

noun:

• head and branch offices

noun:

• Yangtze and Yellow rivers; large river

noun:

• Japanese tofu and vegetable chowder

expression / noun:

• casting off the drudgery of everyday life and doing as one pleases; kicking back

noun / ~する noun:

• starving and freezing to death - obscure term

noun:

• hard rubber (e.g. ebonite, vulcanite)

expression:

• it's hard to discipline one's mind; defeating the bandits in the mountains is easy; defeating the bandit in one's heart is hard [literal] - proverb

noun:

• the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period (Chinese history) - four character idiom

noun:

• town and country

noun:

• calm and free of ambition or care

expression:

• money comes and goes; money goes around and around - proverb

noun:

• chicken and scallion skewer ➜ 焼き鳥

noun:

• type of lettering consisting of thick vertical and horizontal lines which is often used in seals

expression:

• Japan and Korea as one (slogan from 1910-1945)

expression:

• even though one has fallen on hard times; however down on one's luck one may be

noun:

• free and unbiased; fair and just; ruling or judging what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong; calling spade a spade - four character idiom

expression:

• one who experiences a chronic ailment takes better care of his health and lives longer - four character idiom

noun:

• sitting between the host and guest of honour at a drinking party (honor); companion

expression / ichidan verb:

• to have a hard time of it; to have a bitter experience

noun:

• salt and miso ［塩噌］
• salt and vinegar ［塩酢］
• everyday food - archaism

noun:

• war and peace; peace