sentient beings; humaneness; compassion
heartlessness; hardness of heart; coldheartedness; insentient; inanimate
the underworld; lower ranks of society
imagination; supposition; guess
the world; society; sphere; circle; world-renowned; world-famous
God and man; heaven and man
carving; engraving; chiselled features
(in Japanese architecture) transom
body; torso; trunk; build; physique; health
public affairs; the court; the shogun; the shogunate
to shoot through something (wall, body, etc.); to pierce (e.g. with an arrow or a look)
pole; rod; line; dash; spoken monotonously
alias; pseudonym; pen name; nom de plume; different name; other name
floor; stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player); dining platform built across a river
skin; body (in the context of intimate bodily contact); surface; grain (e.g. of wood); disposition; temperament
rice-bran bag (used for scrubbing the skin when bathing)
showy; loud; gay; flashy; gaudy
to live; to get along; to spend (time)
normal; usual; ordinary; everyday
tedium; boredom; dullness; to feel bored; to get bored with; to get tired of
to reach an extreme; to reach a limit; extremely; to be stuck; to be in a dilemma; to be decided
given that ... it is only natural that ...; ... being the case, it is unavoidable that ...; (precisely) because ...; contrary to expectations ...
very; greatly; exceedingly
competition; rivalry; something worth doing
emperor's reply; reply to the emperor
to taste; to savor; to appreciate; to enjoy; to experience; to go through
small; fine; minute; minor; trivial; sensitive
flexible; lithe; soft; pliable
rather; better; instead; if anything
deformity; malformation; strange shape; unusual shape
-ical; -ive; -like; -ish; (something) like; along the lines of
crookedness; bending; indentation; curvature; flexion
painstaking; careful; meticulous; scrupulous; detailed; elaborate
emperor; shogun; honored person (honoured); (another person's) wife
make-up; makeup; cosmetics
door; gate; opening; title page
with a clunk; with a clank; the sound of a sudden decrease (in profits, vigor, etc.)