noun:

• probe into the truth (of the matter); dig into the real facts of the case; get at the root of a matter - four character idiom

adjectival noun:

• of the old feeling of naniwa-bushi; marked by the dual themes of obligation and compassion that distinguish the naniwa-bushi ballads ➜ 浪花節

noun:

• Eiroku-period swordsmithing school, named for a place in the old Higo province
• sword of the Dotanuki school, usually thicker and heavier than regular Japanese swords
• in fiction, a heavier variant of Japanese sword

noun:

• truths of the cessation of suffering and of the way to the cessation of suffering - Buddhism term ➜ 道諦・滅諦

expression:

• there must be a clear distinction between the upper and lower classes; even new shoes must not be worn on the head [literal] - proverb

noun:

• high-ranking noh actor ➜ 能太夫
• head of a school of noh performance
• high ranking courtesan (esp. in Yoshiwara) (Edo-period)
• jōruri narrator; manzai narrator ➜ 浄瑠璃・万歳【まんざい】
• female role actor in kabuki ➜ 女形
• low ranking priest in a Shinto shrine ➜ 御師
• lord steward (formerly the fifth court rank) ［太夫］

noun / ~の noun:

• ideal
• ideal in a ring (i.e. subset of a ring closed under addition and multiplication by elements of the ambient ring) - Mathematics term

noun:

• wigless head; head of natural hair
• intelligence; comprehension; smarts

expression:

• the law of arising and ceasing; the law of creation and destruction - Buddhism term

noun:

• lintel of the alcove in a tea room or a window in a shoin-style reception room
• cloud-shaped carving on the bottom of a transom
• metallic bowl used to hold the charcoal in a wooden hibachi ➜ 火鉢

noun:

• head of a police station; chief of a police station; superintendent

expression / noun:

• collecting herbs and pulling out young pine trees by the roots (annual event held on the first Day of the Rat of the New Year)

noun:

• water and sky
• Varuna; Vedic god of water and sky (adopted into Buddhism as god of water and protector of the west)

expression / ichidan verb:

• to die in (a foreign land); to engage in something until death comes; to do something for the rest of one's life

noun:

• incarcerating a criminal in a temple as a form of punishment (popular during the latter Muromachi and Azuchi-Momoyama periods) - obscure term ➜ 寺入り

noun / ~の noun:

• head (of a household); proprietor (of a store); proprietress; landlord; landlady ➜ ご主人
• one's husband
• (one's) employer; (one's) master
• host; hostess

noun:

• Hundred Schools of Thought; general term for the large number of scholars and controversialists, and their respective schools, that flourished during China's Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period - four character idiom

noun:

• life; life force - sometimes written as 生命 ➜ 生命
• lifetime; lifespan
• most important thing; foundation; core
• paired tattoos of the "life" kanji on the upper arms of a man and woman (indicating unwavering love) - archaism
• fate; destiny; karma - archaism

noun:

• Yezo (northern part of Meiji-era Japan, esp. Hokkaido, but also Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands)
• Edo-period realm of the Ainu (as opposed to the Japanese) comprising most of Hokkaido ➜ 和人地

ichidan verb / transitive:

• to rub on; to rub against; to wipe on; to nuzzle against (e.g. dog nosing a person)
• to lay the blame on ［なすりつける］
• to strike (a match) ［すりつける・こすりつける］

expression:

• missing important things here and there; full of gaps; as if the teeth of a comb were missing [literal]

noun:

• veranda; porch; balcony; open corridor ➜ 縁【えん】
• bone at the base of a fin; meat at the base of a fin (esp. of a flatfish) ［縁側］ ➜ 担鰭骨

noun:

• collecting herbs and pulling out young pine trees by the roots (annual event held on the first Day of the Rat of the New Year) - obscure term ➜ 子の日の遊び

noun:

• head of the secretariat

noun:

• head of the penis