noun:

• Onmyōdō; way of Yin and Yang; occult divination system based on the Taoist theory of the five elements

noun:

• beating of a drum as a signal to announce the opening (beginning) of an event (theatrical performance, festival, etc.)

noun:

• deathbed adoption of a successor (to prevent extinction of the family line); person adopted by someone on his deathbed - four character idiom

noun:

• passing university entrance exams in the last year of high school (instead of failing then taking gap year(s))

noun:

• secretary (lowest of the four administrative ranks of the ritsuryo system) - archaism ➜ 四等官
• shrine official (ranking below a negi) ［しゅてん］ - obsolete term ➜ 禰宜

noun:

• withdrawal of loan credit (e.g. by a bank); retraction of credit; insistence on repayment

noun:

• free markets and open guilds - abbreviation ➜ 楽市楽座
• way of sitting on the ground with the sole of both feet pressed together

noun:

• low-class prostitute who was kept in a sort of cage at the front of the establishment (Edo period)

noun:

• thin washer on either side of the guard (tsuba) of a sword
• (up to) the hilt; wits' end ➜ 切羽詰まる

expression / adverb:

• indiscriminately; without consideration; irrespective of the occasion; paying no attention to the feelings or expectations of those nearby

noun:

• baby's play pen; play yard
• Pleiad; La Pléiade; one of a group of seven 16th century French poets - From French

expression / noun:

• group of independents; usu. informal grouping of independent politicians in the National Diet or in prefectural assemblies

noun:

• guest of honor; guest of honour
• main guest at a tea ceremony

noun:

• conveyance of the opinions of the lower classes to the powers that be - four character idiom

noun:

• the Revelation of St. John the Divine (book of the Bible) ➜ 黙示録

noun:

• the eight ministries (under the Grand Council of State of the ritsuryo system) ➜ 太政官

expression:

• out of touch with the voters; indifferent to the concerns of the people

noun:

• night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar

noun:

• night of the 15th day of the first month in the lunar calendar ➜ 元宵

noun:

• utilization of water; water supply; irrigation
• water transportation; navigability (e.g. of a river)

noun:

• Joseon Dynasty; Yi Dynasty of Korea (1392-1910); Ly Dynasty of Vietnam (1009-1225)

noun:

• branch of languages (i.e. Italic languages as a subset of Indo-European languages)

expression:

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

noun:

• three mountains
• three shrines (of Kumano)
• three kingdoms (of 14th- and 15th-century Okinawa)

noun:

• freedom of information; access to information; disclosure of information (e.g. by the government)