bad guy; villain; evildoer; scoundrel
indicates uncertainty or second hand nature of information quoted
husband; master (of a house, shop, etc.)
phantom; vision; illusion; extremely rare item
to keep company; to listen to; to associate with; to play against (e.g. a team); to take on (e.g. a rival)
paper lantern; Chinese lantern; Japanese lantern
to manufacture; to produce; to raise (crops); to invent; to dream up; to create
difficult to solve; intractable (problem)
riddle; puzzle; enigma; enigmatic; mysterious
to mistake (A for B); to misread
crack; crevice; fissure; chap; rift
cluster of trees; grove; thicket
all of a sudden; suddenly; by chance; unexpectedly
to notice; to recognize; to recognise; to become aware of; to perceive; to realize
willful; wilful; selfish; carefree; do-as-you-please; freewheeling
to polish; to shine; to brush (e.g. teeth); to refine (e.g. a skill); to improve; to cultivate
half-moon; half a month; semicircle
yesterday and today; only recently; just recently; only yesterday
blank space (in documents); vacuum; blank; void
Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7); reminiscent of the Shōwa era; Shōwa- nostalgic; old-fashioned
thirteen; 13; king (playing card)
April; fourth month in the lunar calendar
thirteenth day of the month; thirteen days
death; rejection (of a manuscript, etc.); lacking; without
to mince; to cut fine; to carve; to engrave; to tick away (time); to beat out (e.g. rhythm); to etch (into one's mind)
twelfth day of the month; twelve days
like this; in this way; as you see
period of time (usu. a period of approx. two hours corresponding to one of the signs of the Chinese zodiac); carving; engraving; strictness; cruelty
letter by letter; character by character
to rub; to pat; to stroke; to massage
to misread (a name, kanji, etc.); to read incorrectly; to mispronounce (when reading); to misread (a situation, trend, etc.); to misinterpret; to misjudge
criminal condemned to death; convict on death row
perhaps; maybe; perchance; by some chance; by any chance