(United States of) America; USA
eating rice; (cereal) grains
temple elementary school (during the Edo period)
master; teacher; stable master
elated; triumphant; proud
gambling den; gambling house
Okayama (city, prefecture)
shrine; palace; imperial residence; Imperial prince; Imperial princess; headboard with built-in shelves, drawers, etc.
seeming to be; appearing to be; like; similar to; in order to (e.g. meet goal); so that
countryside; country; 50-home township (comprised of 2-3 neighbourhoods)
side of a mountain that gets a lot of sunshine (and is therefore suitable for farming)
to bear (a child); to be born; to produce; to yield; to be produced
remote past; far ago; time immemorial
prefecture (Japan); county (China, Taiwan, Norway, etc.); department (France); province (Italy, Spain, etc.)
territory (pre-Taika: under the Yamato court; Heian: under a provincial governor, etc.); (arch.) countryside
to recite; to chant; to cry; to yell; to advocate; to advance
(not) even once; (not) ever
country in civil war; country disarrayed by war; Warring States period (Japan, China); competiton in which there are several evenly-matched participants; hotly-contested game (match, market, etc.)
to rise (suddenly) in the world (to a higher position)
lineage; pedigree; family line
imprudence; indiscretion; thoughtlessness
shallow; superficial; thoughtless; short-sighted; foolish; silly
to be unable to endure; to be unable to stand (something); to lose patience
vine; bine; bow; temple arm; connections; contacts
seems to be; appears to have; supposed to be
unsophisticated; ruggedly honest; artless; unaffected; simple; naive
serious condition; critical condition
to reach one's ears; to come to one's knowledge; to hear about; to learn of (by chance)
truth; reality; seriousness; logical truth; printed style writing; star performer
halting (speech); faltering; stammering
halting (speech); faltering; stammering
employer's house; master's house
collapse; crumbling; breaking down; (radioactive) decay; disintegration
keenly felt; heart-wrenching; heart-rending
incident; affair; happening; event
to be sad; to mourn for; to regret
just then; at that time; right then; appropriate moment
bodhi; enlightenment; happiness in the next world
flower; blossom; cherry blossom; beauty; blooming (esp. of cherry blossoms); ikebana; hanafuda