expression:

• rise of the dragon (bringing rain around the time of the spring equinox)

expression:

• the future is unpredictable; unscrutable are the ways of heaven; the irony of fate - proverb ➜ 人間万事塞翁が馬

noun:

• principal object of worship at a temple (usu. a buddha or bodhisattva); principal image; idol
• the man himself; the person at the heart of the matter - humorous term

expression:

• the apple doesn't fall far from the tree; the apple never falls far from the tree; fox pups have white cheeks [literal] - proverb - obscure term

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to be indicated as the winner of a bout by the raising of the referee's fan - Sumo term
• to be declared the winner - idiom

expression:

• if pushed I'd say; if I had to say then ➜ どちらかと言えば

expression:

• if pushed I'd say; if I had to say then ➜ どちらかと言うと

noun:

• tailwind; fair wind; favorable wind (favourable)
• favorable condition (favourable); advantageous situation

godan ~る verb / intransitive verb:

• to prosper; to flourish
• to copulate (animals)

noun:

• arch of the foot; plantar arch; (the part that) does not step on the ground [literal]

noun:

• the coming of Amida Buddha to welcome the spirits of the dead

noun:

• the chosen one; the chosen ones; the select few

noun:

• scenery seen on the morning of the first day of the year

noun:

• principal object of worship at a temple (usu. a buddha or bodhisattva); principal image; idol
• the man himself; the person at the heart of the matter - humorous term

noun:

• comparing autumn leaves to a garment
• layered garments that mimic the colours of autumn leaves (worn from the 9th to the 11th month of the lunar calendar)

particle:

• even if; if - from か + とて - Kansai dialect
• though; despite - Kansai dialect
• even - Kansai dialect ➜ でさえ

particle:

• particle used to indicate the speaker's hope, desire, wish, etc. (e.g. "it would be nice if ...", "I wish there were ...", etc.) - at sentence-end ➜ もがな
• emphatic particle - at sentence-end - colloquialism
• particle adding uncertainty - often associated with an interrogative

noun / ~する noun:

• reaching the winning post; reaching the finish; making the goal - From English "goal in"
• getting married - colloquialism

adverbial noun / noun:

• all over the country; throughout the land; every nook and cranny of the land - four character idiom

noun:

• the Twenty-Two Shrines; the 22 most important Shinto shrines, as designated during the Heian period - Shintō term

noun:

• banquet on the occasion of the first ceremonial offering of rice by the newly-enthroned emperor ➜ 大嘗祭

expression:

• variation of "arimasu" used by the prostitutes of the Yoshiwara red light district in the Edo period

noun:

• lingering snow ➜ 残雪
• snowfall at the end of the winter or the beginning of spring

noun:

• lingering snow
• snowfall at the end of the winter or the beginning of spring

noun:

• hemp rope fastened from the bow of a Japanese ship to the tip of the mast ➜ 筈