lowest-ranking guest at tea ceremony; tea master
waxing and waning; phases of moon
images drawn or painted on fusuma
equipment; device; installation; stage setting
Good heavens!; Oh my god!; gee whiz
to have learning; to be educated
pricking; stinging; tingling
agreement; concurrence; conformance; compliance
traditional married woman's hair style with an oval chignon on top; men's hairstyle (Edo period)
Harima (former province located in the southwestern part of present-day Hyōgo Prefecture)
one or two sizes (bigger, etc.); one or two levels (better, more mature, etc.)
maliciousness; ill will; noxious gas; (arch.) (vengeful) ghost; (arch.) specter
Buddha; Shakyamuni; the historical Buddha (5th c. BCE?)
opinion in writing; written opinion; argument
Ansei era (1854.11.27-1860.3.18)
China under the Qing dynasty; Qing China; Qing dynasty
steamship; steamboat; steamer
flustered; flurried; (shocked) speechless
village headman (esp. in the Kansai region)
scholarship; scientific attainments
other people's affairs; somebody else's problem
high street; town centre (center)
way of the sword; swordsmanship
just; fair; proper; reasonable
to narrowly escape (e.g. death); to hang onto (life); (arch.) to ascertain; (arch.) to make definite
national isolation; closing the country (to foreigners); sakoku; policy of national isolation enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate
stylish; smart; high collar; hair dressed in a western style; to dress in the latest Western fashion