poverty; destitution; privation; indigence; penury
immediately; right away; at once; instantly
ryokan; traditional inn; Japanese-style lodging, usu. professionally-run
good; advantage; sake; purpose; consequence; result
to take on; to undertake; to take over; to inherit; to guarantee; to vouch for
house; home; one's house; one's home; one's husband
end of a century (esp. 19th); fin-de-siècle
rural area; countryside; the sticks; hometown
platform; home; home base; home plate
sacred profession; holy orders; vocation; ministry
to play a role; to serve a function; to play a part
to demonstrate (e.g. in the streets)
reprimand; rebuke; censure; reproof
to delay; to postpone; to put off; to slow down; to hold up; to retard
although I say; although one might say; although called
reflection (light, image, situation, attitude, etc.); reflecting; influence; application (e.g. of an update)
the Almighty; The Omnipotent One
explanation; interpretation
(divine) providence; dispensation
famine; crop failure; chronic shortage (e.g. of water)
poor crop; bad harvest; crop failure; low quality (e.g. of literary works)