complete victory; winning a tournament with no losses
instead of; in place of; as a substitute for; in exchange for; in return for; to make up for
indicates means of action; cause of effect; by
hard; solid; stiff; tight; strong; firm (not viscous or easily moved); safe
moderate; reserved; conservative; humble; mild-mannered; self-effacing
being good at cooking; good cook
(at) the beginning of the New Year; early in the New Year
happy; auspicious; propitious; naive
home area; home town; local
soup containing rice cakes and vegetables (New Year's dish)
rice cakes; pounded mochi rice
red bean paste; red bean jam; filling (e.g. of a manjū); stuffing; padding
feature; trait; characteristic; peculiarity; distinction
novel; original; new; innovative
strongly hoping or requesting (of something that is difficult to be brought to fruition)
to part (usu. of people); to part from; to separate (of a couple); to break up; to lose (e.g. one's mother); to be bereaved
New Year (esp. first three days); first month of the year; January
first shrine visit of New Year
to empty; to remove; to move out; to clear out; to be away from (e.g. one's house); to leave (temporarily); to dawn
road approaching a shrine
congestion; crush; crowding; confusion; disorder
driving on the left side of the road; driving on the left-hand side of the road; left-hand side driving
down-train; train heading toward the ending point of its route; down-slope; downward going; downbound (esp. away from Tokyo); downstream
to hold back others from achieving success; to stand in the way of; to sabotage
success in life; getting ahead; successful career; promotion; climbing the corporate ladder; eminence
uneventfully; without incident; without a hitch; peacefully
to one's heart's content; as much as one wants; as hard as one can; resolution; decisiveness; determination
disposal; throwing away; dealing with (a problem); measure; punishment; penalty
luggage; baggage; burden; payload (of a packet, cell, etc.)
this is not the time (for that); that's out of the question right now
training (esp. in-service); induction course
pickled (something); pickled in (something); preserved in; overreliance on (e.g. medication); excessive use of
self-satisfaction; (self-)complacency; smugness
as ... as one can; as ... as possible; as much as possible
to do for (someone); to take in; to deceive; to hoodwink
dropping out of school; withdrawing from school; expulsion from school; dismissal; leaving school (university, etc.) after completing a course
temporary absence from school
superior; excellent; brilliant; outstanding
results; record; grades; marks