noun:

• focus (of a lens); focal point - From Dutch "brandpunt"
• point (of a discussion, e.g. on-point, off-point)

noun:

• first 17-syllable verse of a renga ➜ 揚げ句【あげく】
• haiku
• first five-syllable line of a tanka

noun:

• vein of a shrimp (prawn); digestive tract of a shrimp; sand vein

noun:

• long, narrow card on which Japanese poems are written (vertically); strip of paper
• thin rectangle - abbreviation ➜ 短冊形

noun:

• miyairigai (Oncomelania hupensis nosophora); freshwater snail that acts as an intermediate host of the Japanese blood fluke ➜ 片山貝

noun:

• glasnost; Soviet policy of open discussion of political and social issues in the 1980s - From Russian "glasnost'"

noun:

• Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matters

noun:

• endless cycle of rebirth through the three worlds of past, present, and future existences - four character idiom - Buddhism term

noun:

• (metropolitan) prefecture (of Osaka and Kyoto)
• the centre or seat (of) (center)
• (government) office

noun:

• comparing and adjusting; reconciling; knocking into shape; bouncing of ideas, opinions, etc. off each other to obtain a fine-tuned integrated whole
• lapping; precision surface finishing; mating by rubbing together - Engineering term
• margination - usually written using kana alone - Medicine term

noun:

• indigenous person; inhabitant of a country
• local; native ［くにびと］
• local lords and samurai
• daimyo who did not leave his domains to meet the shogun in Kyoto (during the Muromachi period) ［くにうど・くにゅうど］ ➜ ざいこくしゅう

~と adverb / adverb:

• ticktock - onomatopoeia
• chinking (e.g. of a hammer against rock); knocking; clicking; clacking; clattering - onomatopoeia

~の noun / adjectival noun:

• dry and hard; (frozen) stiff - onomatopoeia
• hidebound; die-hard; stubborn; obstinate; bigoted - onomatopoeia
• scared stiff; tense; nervous; frightened - onomatopoeia

noun:

• looking up and down, from heaven to earth (having nothing to be ashamed of); swearing by Heaven and Earth (having done nothing to be ashamed of) - four character idiom

noun:

• ratio indicating the quantity of polished rice gained from a given quantity of brown rice (nowadays usually expressed as a percent)

noun:

• near one's knee
• under the protection of (e.g. one's parents); under the care of
• territory of a powerful person ［ひざもと］ ➜ お膝元
• address used after the names of one's parents, grandparents, etc. in a letter ［しっか］

ichidan verb:

• to be at a loss; to think and think but get nowhere; to fail to come up with a good idea

noun / ~の noun:

• bricks and clicks; brick and click; business with both physical and online presence ➜ クリックアンドモルタル

noun / adjectival noun:

• unfinished; unripe; incomplete

noun:

• unfermented narezushi; unfermented brine-pickled sushi ➜ 熟れ鮨
• noh mask with slightly protruding horns and frizzy hair (representing a woman on her way to becoming a hannya) ➜ 般若

noun:

• star; any light-emitting (or reflecting) heavenly body (except for the sun and the moon)
• offender; perpetrator - police slang - slang
• star point (in go); hoshi; intersection marked with a dot
• circular symbol (said to be shaped like a shining star)
• bullseye
• one's star (out of the nine stars); the star that determines one's fate ➜ 九星
• small dot; spot
• point; score - Sumo term

noun:

• (getting a) perfect score; scoring 100; grading students on a scale of one hundred; doing perfectly (in a test); leaving nothing to be desired - four character idiom

noun:

• difference in elevation (between two points in a body of water); head; drop (e.g. of a waterfall); fall distance
• difference; gap

noun:

• outer two ribs of a folding fan (i.e. the thick ribs, one at each end)
• outer frame of a lattice door

noun:

• origin; source - usu. 元
• base; basis; foundation; root - esp. 基
• cause - also 因, 原
• ingredient; material - esp. 素
• (somebody's) side; (somebody's) location ［元］
• original cost (or capital, principal, etc.)
• (plant) root; (tree) trunk
• first section of a waka ➜ 和歌

counter:

• counter for blades of grass, tree trunks, etc., and for falcons (in falconry) ［本］

noun:

• handle (chopsticks, brush, etc.); grip

noun:

• cover (of a book, magazine, etc.); binding

noun / ~する noun:

• appearing on the cover of a magazine

noun / ~する noun:

• including a sum of money in one's calculations
• appropriation (a sum of money)