noun / ~する noun:

• breaking ground; ground-breaking (ceremony)

noun:

• New Year's ceremony in which a hoe is used to break ground in a field lying in a lucky direction

expression:

• a wise man changes his mind, a fool never; the wise adapt themselves to changed circumstances - proverb ➜ 君子豹変【くんしひょうへん】
• the wise make no scruple in suddenly changing their demeanor - proverb - colloquialism

noun:

• mess; sorry state; plight; sad sight - derogatory term

suffix:

• -ways; -wards - indicates direction
• in the act of ...; just as one is ... - after the -masu stem of a verb
• manner of ...; way of ... - after the -masu stem of a verb ➜ 様【さま】

noun:

• Buddha figure carved into a rock
• Buddha figure in a cabinet

noun:

• Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) - colloquialism ➜ 穂咲の総藻
• aquatic plants such as hornwort that are commonly used in goldfish tanks, etc.

noun:

• poetry form (esp. haiku) ➜ 句法
• grammatical structure in kanbun ➜ 句法

noun:

• suggestion box; comment box
• complaints box placed in front of the supreme court (Edo period) - archaism

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to be a topic of conversation; to be made much of
• to be taken in

expression / ~よい adjective:

• glib; slick (sounds good but no substance); all talk - derogatory term
• in good form; in great shape; having things progress well

adverb / ~する noun:

• squelching; gurgling; bubbling

adverb:

• raking in (money); rolling in; hand over fist

godan ~す verb / ~す verb (precursor to modern する) / intransitive verb:

• to ripen; to mature
• to be ready for action; to be the right time (to act)
• to be in common use; to come to sound natural
• to become skilled

noun / ~する noun / ~の noun:

• rumination; regurgitation; chewing the cud

noun / ~する noun:

• turning over in one's mind; thinking over something; pondering; musing; rumination (about a subject)

noun:

• painting representing reeds around water with rocks, grass or birds made using characters (Heian period)
• characters written in a way inspired from that style

noun:

• simple meal eaten before tea is served ➜ 茶懐石
• sophisticated traditional Japanese cuisine brought in courses ➜ 懐石料理

noun:

• steamed rice (esp. cold rice reheated by steaming it)
• mochi rice with red beans steamed in a steaming basket; rice with red beans (eaten on celebratory occasions) ➜ こわめし

noun:

• dried small sardines, etc. used to make fish stock ➜ 煮干し
• person in bank transfer scam whose role it is to withdraw the cash - slang

noun:

• pounding down earth around the roots of a tree
• adding short branches of flowers to the base of an arrangement in ikebana

noun:

• (possession of) one feudal domain and one castle; being independent (acting without compromise or assistance) - four character idiom
• establishing only one castle in each feudal domain (edict issued by the shogunate in 1615)

noun:

• bamboo bundle
• bamboo shield used for defending against projectiles in battle

noun:

• scarecrow ➜ 案山子【かかし】
• person dressed in rags; shabby-looking person

noun / ~する noun:

• kun'yomi (native Japanese reading of a kanji)
• reading a Chinese text (kanbun) in Japanese

noun:

• palace examination (national Chinese civil servant examination based largely on classic literature); someone who has passed this examination ➜ 科挙
• examination for promotion in the Ministry of Ceremonies (based largely on political duties and Chinese classics); someone who has passed this examination ➜ 式部省

~する verb (spec.) / intransitive verb:

• to ripen; to mature
• to be ready for action; to be the right time (to act)
• to be in common use; to come to sound natural
• to become skilled

noun:

• maki sushi typically made from eel and cucumber, often with a face-like pattern when cut - from うなぎ and かっぱ
• mascot character used by Tajimi City in Gifu

noun:

• announcing meals (at a Zen monastery); meal announcer - Buddhism term
• noh mask resembling a young attendant who announces mealtimes in a Zen monastery