Satsuma (former province located in the west of present-day Kagoshima Prefecture); sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
feudal domain (Edo and early Meiji periods, precursor to current prefectures); fiefdom; province
chief retainer; daimyo's minister
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question
residence; estate; grounds; premises; mansion
at; in; at; when; by; with; and then
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
head; chief; merit; strong point; superiority; major
state (US, Australia, India, Germany, etc.); province (e.g. Canada); continent; (arch.) dear
conversation; conference (usu. between important people); discussion; interview
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
to perform; to do; to conduct oneself; to carry out
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
that; the; part (as in "part two"); um ...; er ...
contents; interior; substance; content; (sword) blade
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
both (hands, parents, sides, etc.); counter for carriages (e.g. in a train); counter for vehicles; ryō; tael; ryō; pre-Meiji unit of currency, orig. the value of one ryō of gold
to join hands; to join forces; to work in cooperation; to link up; to partner with
that being the case; because of ...; the reason is ...; given that ...
nonexistent; not being (there); not having; not
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
splendid horse; promoted bishop
with this I (formal); by this I (formal)
oath; pledge; pact; covenant; alliance
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
eh?; what?; yes; that's correct; (arch.) strengthens a question, assertion, etc.; (arch.) hey
good; excellent; sufficient; enough; profitable (deal, business offer, etc.); beneficial
right?; isn't it?; hey; say; you know; you see; will you?
secret; clandestine; covert; spy (for a daimyo, shogun, etc.); secret agent
news; word; tidings; omen
there (place relatively near listener); there (place just mentioned); that place; then (of some incident just spoken of); that (of point just raised); (arch.) you
Tosa (former province located in present-day Kochi Prefecture)
becoming a lordless samurai
presence; sitting with; being with
Satsuma and Chōshū (clan alliance)
evil deed; wrongdoing; crime; misfortune; calamity
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
to scheme; to plan; to play a trick; to invent; to conspire; to frame up
theme; topic; subject matter; motif; project; slogan