expression:

• The world is a scene of constant changes (as a mulberry field changing into a blue sea). - Chinese legend - four character idiom

noun:

• very old type of kiln made by digging a hole in the side of a hill

noun:

• vents at the hips of a pair of hakama

expression / godan ~む verb:

• to read the situation; to sense the mood

noun:

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

noun:

• driving on the left side of the road; driving on the left-hand side of the road; left-hand side driving ➜ 右側通行

noun:

• the Five Continents

noun:

• Zen Buddhism based on the original teachings of Buddha ➜ 祖師禅

noun / ~する noun:

• toughening the law; making the law stricter

noun:

• the Creator; Maker

noun:

• beans of the bean-scattering ceremony

noun:

• statue of a figure sitting contemplatively in the half lotus position (often of Maitreya) - Buddhism term ➜ 弥勒菩薩

noun:

• string tied across the open chest of a haori

noun:

• (member of one of) the top four ranks of sumo wrestlers

noun:

• string tied to the chest of one's kimono or haori
• childhood (period where one would wear such a string) - archaism

noun:

• family working in the forest industry; forestry family

noun:

• 57th of the sexagenary cycle

noun:

• history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, written in 1743-1745
• Ryukyu islands - alt. name

noun:

• Buddhist service in which the eight scrolls of the Lotus Sutra are read one scroll at a time (one morning and one evening reading each day for four days with a different reciter each time)

noun:

• the Marshall Islands

noun:

• Orders of the Precious Crown; Orders of the Sacred Crown

noun:

• radio or television serial broadcast in the same time slot each day or week

expression:

• the end justifies the means; circumstances may justify a lie - proverb

noun:

• rights accruing to the head of a household (according to laws now obsolete)

adverb / ~の noun:

• on the surface; ostensibly; superficially; apparently