expression / noun:

• casting off the drudgery of everyday life and doing as one pleases; kicking back

noun:

• horizontally-wrapped fabric forming the bottom part of some traditional Japanese clothing

noun:

• Agent Orange (dioxin-laden defoliant used during the Vietnam War) ➜ 枯葉剤

noun:

• war started or ended with the push of a single 'launch' button - obscure term - From English "button war"

noun:

• creeper (plant that grows along the ground, etc. similar to a vine)

counter:

• counter for years (following a number in the hito-futa-mi counting system) - archaism

noun:

• Xi'an Incident (involving the arrest and confinement of Chiang Kai-shek, December 1936)

noun:

• loss of a match that is 'called' part way into the game

expression / godan ~つ verb:

• to have one's feet reach the bottom (e.g. when standing in water)

noun:

• immobiliser (electronic device that prevents an automobile engine from running without the key); immobilizer

noun:

• (in China) 8th note of the ancient chromatic scale (approx. A) ➜ 黄鐘【おうしき】・十二律
• sixth lunar month

noun:

• temple bell
• (in Japan) 7th note of the ancient chromatic scale (approx. G sharp) ➜ すい賓・十二律

noun:

• Indian song and dance (introduced to Japan by the Chams in approx. 736 CE)

noun:

• (in China) 4th note of the ancient chromatic scale (approx. F) ➜ 十二律・勝絶
• second lunar month

noun:

• grand purification ceremony (so-called because it was overseen by the Nakatomi family) - archaism ➜ 大祓

noun:

• dazaifu (under the ritsuryo system, governmental office with jurisdiction over Kyushu, Iki and Tsushima) ➜ 律令制

noun:

• half lotus position (meditation posture); sitting with one foot placed on the opposite thigh - abbreviation ➜ 半跏趺坐

noun:

• Declaration of Humanity (wherein Hirohito renounced the imperial claim to divinity; Jan. 1, 1946)

noun:

• Meiji 27-28 Campaign (alternate name for the First Sino-Japanese war; 1894-1895) - obscure term ➜ 日清戦争

noun:

• Dioscorea tokoro (species of wild yam)
• old man living in the countryside ［やろう］

noun:

• complete state ownership of land and citizens (proclaimed by the Taika reforms) (Ritsuryo period) ➜ 私地私民

noun:

• ekayana (doctrine that only one teaching, usu. the Lotus Sutra, can lead to enlightenment) - Buddhism term

expression:

• he who touches pitch shall be defiled therewith; one rotten apple spoils the barrel - proverb

expression:

• there is no comparison between the two; it's not a same-day discussion [literal] - proverb

expression / godan ~つ verb:

• the prospects look brighter; there is hope of accomplishing (something)