splendid horse; promoted bishop
black ships; Western ships that came to Japan between the 16th and 19th centuries, esp. those of the Perry Expedition in 1853; foreign disruptor (of the Japanese market); product, person, etc. arriving from the West and disturbing the Japanese market
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
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to compare; to make a comparison; to compete; to vie
sword (esp. Japanese single-edged); katana; scalpel; chisel; burin; knife money (knife-shaped commodity money used in ancient China)
et cetera; etc.; or something; the likes of; for example; for instance
war; battle; campaign; (arch.) troops; (arch.) forces
to become; to get; to result in; to turn out; to consist of; to be composed of; to be completed
role; assignment; position (of responsibility); post; part (in a play, film, etc.); role
to; for; in order to; for; as for; regarding
to stand; to rise; to find oneself (e.g. in a difficult position); to depart (on a plane, train, etc.)
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
what; how many; many; a lot of; several; a few
good; advantage; sake; purpose; consequence; result
(art of) fencing; swordsmanship
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.
training; practice; discipline; ascetic practices
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
now; soon; already; yet; further; more
to understand; to comprehend; to become clear; to be known; I know!; I think so too!
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
way of the sword; swordsmanship
to ascertain; to make sure of; to determine; to probe; to get to the bottom (of something)
although; despite; whereas; while; if only; I wish
useless; no future in it; doesn't make sense; having no point
called; named; as many as; as much as; all ...; every single ...
if; in case; as for; on the topic of; if that's the case; if so
you; presence (of a god, nobleman, etc.)
here; this place; this point; here; these past ... (e.g. three years); these last ...
to be (animate); to be; to be ..ing; to (have the audacity to) do
to go out and away; to leave
medium; average; moderation; middle school; China; volume two (of three); during (a certain time when one did or is doing something)
idiot; moron; trivial matter; folly; stupid; foolish
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
theme; topic; subject matter; motif; project; slogan
door (esp. Japanese-style); shutter; window shutter; (arch.) entrance (to a home); (arch.) narrows
to open; to undo; to bloom; to unfold; to open (for business, e.g. in the morning); to be wide (gap, etc.); to widen
sound; noise; note; fame; Chinese-derived character reading
this family; we; this house