expression / noun:

• a thorn in one's side; a pain in the butt (often someone higher in rank, ability, etc.); nuisance; something in the way - idiom

noun:

• tax-free small-sum savings system (often used by the elderly and the disabled); non-tax plan for small savings

noun:

• arrowhead
• target of a flying arrow; brunt (of an attack)
• the very moment (when); the point (of doing) ➜ 矢先に

noun:

• style of recitative dance popular during the Muromachi period (often with a military theme)

noun:

• downstage left (in noh), where the secondary actor is often seated ➜ 脇【わき】

noun:

• cash gift from local government to the elderly (often on 77th and 88th birthdays)

noun:

• udumbara (mythical Indian plant often identified with the cluster fig, Ficus glomerata)
• something very rare (from the legend that it flowers once in 3000 years)
• Japanese fiber banana flower ➜ 芭蕉
• green lacewing eggs ➜ 草蜉蝣

noun:

• sound source; sound generator; tone generator

expression:

• zip it (when used to others); I'll shut up (when used by oneself); button (one's) lips - colloquialism ➜ チャック

expression:

• when it becomes; when it comes to

noun:

• euphonic change of unvoiced to voiced sound (on the first consonant of the non-initial mora of a compound)

~と adverb / ~の noun:

• at the critical moment; when it counts - often used as ここぞというとき or ここぞとばかり

noun / ~の noun:

• ready-made; off the shelf

~の noun / noun:

• made in the winter (sake)

expression:

• the poor can't afford manners; only when basic needs for living are met can people spare the effort to be polite - proverb

noun / ~する noun:

• taking a spectacular photograph (often of the female form); taking a photo at just the right moment - colloquialism

noun:

• powerful photograph; intense photograph

expression:

• everything comes in handy when used correctly; use the right tools for the right job; fools and (blunt) scissors have to be used in the right way - proverb

noun:

• literary style from the Heian era onwards, often mainly in kana and written by women

noun:

• wintry mountain
• mountain that is often climbed during the winter

noun:

• shallow clogs (worn by nobles; originally made of leather, later made of black lacquered paulownia)

noun / ~の noun:

• made by hitting (e.g. striking stone flakes from a tool stone); made using lithic reduction ➜ 打製石器

expression:

• The time has come (for, to, when...); The time being ripe (for) - four character idiom

noun:

• alveolar consonant; sound (e.g. n,t,d) where the tongue touches (or nearly touches) the ridge behind your front top teeth ➜ 歯茎

noun:

• (sound of) the wind through pine trees

adverb / ~と adverb:

• thump; thud (sound representing the footfalls of something heavy) - onomatopoeia