noun:

• universal life force (the source of animation for all things)
• free spirit (i.e. a mindset unencumbered with worldly concerns)

noun:

• unloading a barge
• small pieces of fried tofu
• palanquin that carried guests to and from the red light district

expression / godan ~む verb:

• to repeat the mistake of somebody; to make the same mistake as that of ...; to follow the rut of the preceding cart [literal] ➜ 轍を踏む

noun / ~する noun:

• guidance; leadership; instruction; direction; coaching

noun:

• shido (disciplinary action for a minor infringement of the rules of judo) - Martial Arts term

noun:

• chef (esp. of high-end Japanese cuisine); cook - Kantō dialect ➜ 板場【いたば】
• area of a kitchen that contains the chopping board - orig. meaning

noun:

• raised leg; lifting a leg
• upturn (in the market) ［上げ足・上足］ Antonym: 下げ足
• sitting cross-legged - archaism

noun:

• apprenticeship in the running of a household; prospective bride who undertakes an apprenticeship to learn housekeeping - four character idiom

noun:

• Levite; member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi (who served a religious function)

noun:

• manga cafe; coffee shop with a manga library (usu. has Internet facilities and charges by the hour) - abbreviation ➜ 漫画喫茶

godan ~く verb:

• to have a facial tattoo (esp. one around the eye, one form of punishment in ancient Japan) - was v4k - archaism - obscure term

expression:

• financially ruining oneself by buying too many clothes (as a fabled tendency of the people of Kyoto) ➜ 大阪の食い倒れ・着倒れ

noun:

• truth of the middle (all things are in a middle state, being void yet having temporary existence) - Buddhism term ➜ 三諦

expression / noun:

• official history (e.g. a state-sanctioned account of history subject to revision when the government changes)

noun:

• Edo-era street merchant who carried wares hanging from a pole, hawking them in the street - obscure term

noun:

• spring "tsuchinoe" day that falls closest to the vernal equinox (a day of religious significance for harvests) ➜ 社日・戊【つちのえ】

noun:

• party to celebrate the successful completion of a project (job, concert, play, etc.); celebration party ➜ 打ち上げ会

noun:

• wooden ladle or rod used to stir the rice porridge used in a kayaura divination ➜ 粥占

noun:

• first day (in the year) that a particular species of bird or insect, etc. sing or chirp ➜ 終鳴日

noun:

• last day (in the year) that a particular species of bird or insect, etc. sing or chirp ➜ 初鳴日

noun:

• highest honorifics; honorific language mainly reserved for speaking of or to a member of the Imperial family - Linguistics term

noun:

• throwing of mochi to an assembled crowd, esp. during the framework-raising ceremony of a new building ➜ 棟上げ式【むねあげしき】

noun:

• throwing of mochi to an assembled crowd, esp. during the framework-raising ceremony of a new building ➜ 餅まき

noun:

• cheating at pachinko (for monetary gain; through illegal tampering with the machines, etc.); scamming a pachinko parlor - orig. an abbr. of 仕事 ➜ パチンコ

ichidan verb / intransitive verb:

• to take the form of (esp. in ref. to a spirit, fox, raccoon dog, etc.); to assume the shape of; to turn oneself into; to transform oneself into
• to disguise oneself as
• to change radically; to metamorphose
• to improve unexpectedly and dramatically (esp. of an actor, artist, rikishi, etc.)

noun:

• the world and the nation; the state of the world; high affairs of state - four character idiom