snuggling; nuzzling; cuddling
improper; immodest; disgraceful; shameful; vulgar; low
nape of the neck; back of the neck; scruff of the neck
to grow weak; to become weak; to lose strength
everyone; everybody; ladies and gentlemen
to be filled with strength; to be filled with effort; to be enthusiastic about; to be tired (ironic)
last moment; eleventh hour; platform made of dirt used to perform executions (decapitations) in the Edo period
both in name and reality; both in name and substance
eagle (Accipitridae family)
disquieting; threatening; turbulent; restless; unsettled; disturbing
sky; the skies; high-altitude sky; upper air
to cover; to hide; to conceal; to wrap; to disguise
lateness; tardiness; arriving late
weather forecast; weather report
cooked rice; meal; food; one's living; livelihood
after this; henceforth; henceforward; from now on
to play a role; to serve a function; to play a part
General Winter; hard winter; Jack Frost
Siberia; cake made with layers of sweet bean paste and sponge cake
on the contrary; far from it; if anything; in fact; instead
to accept somebody's challenge; to take up the gauntlet
unseasonable; out of season
to advance on; to close in; to march on; to descend on (the enemy); to move towards; to surge forward (crowd, wave of nostalgia, wave, etc.)
fierce; intense; severe; violent; strong; vehement
(temporary) closure of school
Emishi; historical term for non-Yamato peoples in northern Japan; Yezo (northern part of Meiji-era Japan, esp. Hokkaido, but also Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands)
mystery novel; detective novel; whodunit
to often be the case; to occur frequently; to be common; to be popular
to spell; to write; to compose; to bind (e.g. documents); to patch
udon; thick Japanese wheat noodles
fat; thick; deep (of a voice); thick; daring; shameless
sky; heaven; God; svarga (heaven-like realm visited as a stage of death and rebirth); deva (divine being of Buddhism); top (of a book); sole (of a Japanese sandal)
perhaps; possibly; maybe; by some chance