very; awfully; exceedingly; (not) at all; by no means; simply (cannot)
floor; stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player); dining platform built across a river
bereavement; separation by death; loss
life; lifetime; career; for life; all one's life; throughout one's life
good-natured person; good person; (one's) lover; boyfriend; girlfriend
unique; matchless; unparalleled; unparallelled; never again
soon; before long; in the near future
retirement (from work); leading a quiet life (after retirement); retired person; retiree; surrendering headship of the family (pre-WWII)
ordinary; common; mediocre
to hide; to conceal oneself
to creep up to; to approach stealthily; to steal up; to draw near unnoticed
tsubo; traditional unit of land area, approx. 3.3 square meters; tsubo; traditional unit of fabric or paper area, approx. 9.18 square centimeters; tsubo; traditional unit of leather or tile area, approx. 918 square centimeters
to miss one's footing; to be off the right track; to be on the wrong path
just as; right after; in the act of; as soon as; at that moment
to cling to; to hold on to; to grapple; to set about doing; to begin; to possess (someone; of an evil spirit, idea, etc.)
(dragging a large or heavy item) slowly; (falling) little by little; (slipping) gradually; on and on; while putting off; with a slurp
to slide; to glide; to slip; to skid; to be slippery; to fail (an examination); to lose (a position)
knee; lap; knee and thigh (while sitting)
to hurt; to injure; to harm; to damage; to worry; to bother
to rise; to get up; to stand up; to sit up
with religious zeal; with utmost devotion; take great care of
to go away; to become more distant; to fade away; to be estranged
comparatively; relatively
difficulty; hardship; trouble; infeasibility; inability (to carry out)
Excellent (grade); A; superiority; excellence; gentle; graceful
desperation; despair; self-abandonment
to rub (on); to wipe; to daub; to lay (the blame on someone); to pin; to shift
if only there were ...; if (it) actually existed; there's not even ...; completely lacking ...
one hundred-thousandth; sudden; abrupt; unexpected
Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis); maiden grass; susuki grass
to put someone to work; to make someone work
estimate; guess; direction; bearings; registration mark (printing); approximately
to kick (hard); to send flying with a kick; to kick away; to reject flatly; to refuse outright; to turn down
sharp (knife, claws, etc.); pointed; sharp (pain, tone, etc.); acute; keen (intuition, sense of smell, etc.); acute
answer; reply; response; answer; solution; result
deep-frying; deep-fried food; abura-age; thin deep-fried slices of tofu
duty; sense of duty; honor; in-law; relation by marriage