expression / noun:

• fight from which neither part benefits (but a third part does); a fight between the snipe and the clam (ends in the fisherman's profit) [literal] - idiom ➜ 漁夫の利

noun:

• alliance (of the Six Kingdoms against the Qin dynasty, and of individual Kingdoms with the Qin dynasty) - four character idiom ➜ 合従・連衡
• (tactic of) making & breaking alliances (to benefit oneself as the occasion demands); resorting to alliances as a diplomatic expedient - four character idiom

noun:

• (of the) genre painting style; (of the) style of painting that depicts people's customs and manners; (of the) type of painting that denotes the life of ordinary people - four character idiom

expression:

• A single seed can eventually produce a great harvest; Even the smallest beginning can generate a greatest profit; Watch the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves - four character idiom

noun:

• shiritori; word-chain game; word game in which players must give a word starting with the last syllable of the word given by the previous player

expression:

• it's always darkest before the dawn; the darkest hour is just before the dawn

adverbial noun:

• in the first place; to begin with; from the start; originally; ab initio

conjunction:

• after all; anyway; actually; well, ...; ... on earth (e.g. "what on earth?"); ... in the world (e.g. "why in the world?") - used when bringing up something already mentioned

noun / ~の noun:

• beginning; start

noun:

• setting off the night before one normally would have departed, travelling in a different direction, spending the night there, and leaving for one's destination in the morning (done to avoid travelling in an unlucky direction; a common practice during the Heian period) - archaism ➜ 方塞がり・方違へ所

noun:

• setting off the night before one normally would have departed, travelling in a different direction, spending the night there, and leaving for one's destination in the morning (done to avoid travelling in an unlucky direction; a common practice during the Heian period) - archaism ➜ 方塞がり

noun / ~の noun:

• the two views (of an object) referring to the same thing; being inseparable like the two sides of an object; two sides of the same coin - four character idiom

noun:

• various forms of arts (e.g. acrobatics, magic, puppetry, sarugaku acrobatics performance) ➜ 猿楽【さるがく】
• miscellaneous songs popular from the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura period ➜ 歌謡

noun:

• Man of the Year, referring to a man born in a year with the same Chinese zodiac sign as the current year

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:

• Woman of the Year, referring to a woman born in a year with the same Chinese zodiac sign as the current year

expression / ichidan verb:

• to bend over in the shape of the hiragana character ku; to bend forward from the waist to form a chevron shape

noun:

• Buddhist service held on the day of Buddha's death (orig. 15th of the 2nd month, now 15th of the 3rd month)

noun:

• Buddhist service held on the day of Buddha's death (orig. 15th of the 2nd month, now 15th of the 3rd month) - Buddhism term ➜ 涅槃会

noun:

• Senior Grand Tutor (senior-most of the top three civil positions of the Zhou Dynasty)
• Grand Minister; Chancellor of the Realm ➜ 太政大臣

noun:

• standing highest in one's master's favor; monopolizing the affection (favor) of the lord; being the lord's favorite lady - four character idiom

expression / godan ~す verb:

• to pass the baton (e.g. in a relay race)
• to pass the baton; to hand on the torch - idiom

noun:

• suede; leather using the underside of the skin ➜ スエード
• piece of leather on the underside of a bag, purse, etc.

noun:

• black ships (i.e. Western ships, often painted with tar, that came to Japan in the 16th century)
• product, person, etc. arriving from the West and disturbing the Japanese market, etc.

godan ~つ verb / transitive:

• to drill; to bore; to pierce; to pass through

godan ~つ verb / transitive / intransitive verb:

• to hit the mark; to get to the heart of (the matter); to be true to (nature)

godan ~つ verb / transitive:

• to put on; to wear - archaism

expression:

• tomorrow will take care of itself; let the morn come and the meat with it; tomorrow, the winds of tomorrow will blow [literal] - proverb

noun:

• Yemen monitor (Varanus yemenensis, species of carnivorous monitor lizard found at the base of the Tihama mountains along the western coast of Yemen)