spine; line of the backbone; seam down the back (of clothing)
pale; pallid; bluish-white
Buddhist priest; bonze; close-cropped hair; crew cut; boy; sonny
secret method; secret recipe; (prescription for a) secret medicine
essence; quintessence; spirit; soul; heart; pith
straightforwardly; readily; without hesitation
to pierce; to penetrate; to sting (wound or sensitive area, etc.); to smart; to be infected (with vice); to be steeped (with prejudice)
hearth; fireplace; furnace; kiln
to reel; to wind; to turn (pages); to flip through (a book); to count (e.g. the days); to open one-by-one
with a click; with a snap
dead branch (or twig, etc.); withered branch
to become weak; to decline; to wear; to abate; to decay; to wither
kindling; small bits of scrap wood used to fuel a stove
to top up (drinks, water, rice, etc.); to replenish
monk; priest; sangha (the Buddhist community)
to age; to grow old (esp. in appearance); to show marks of age
branch; bough; limb; twig; sprig; spray
religious mendicancy; asking for alms; monk's begging; going with one's bowl to the meditation hall at mealtime (in a Zen temple)
anyone; anybody; everyone; everybody; whoever
this institution; the main institution
willful; wilful; selfish; carefree; do-as-you-please; freewheeling
one's daily life; condition; well-being; standing and sitting; movements
to do together; to share; to participate in
to surround; to encircle; to besiege; to lay siege to; to play (go, shogi, etc.)
being concentrated on one thing; devoting oneself completely to something
whereabouts; place where one is; position; location
impatience; uneasiness; irritation; fretfulness
melancholy; gloom; depression
girl's lacquered wooden geta; wooden footwear; clogs; sabots
priest traveling as part of his training (travelling)
dirty smoke; soot and smoke
substitution; replacement; shifting; change
plum tree which blossoms in winter; early-flowering plum tree; early plum blossoms
earnestly; immediately; exactly
accidental ingestion; swallowing something by mistake