Kutani ware; style of Japanese porcelain
shoulder pain (at about age forty)
barely keeping a business going (analogy that a bicycle falls over when its wheels cease rotating)
archery range; brothel (covering up as an archery range)
softening; softening (of attitude); mollification; weakening (of the market); blanching (e.g. of vegetables; by depriving of light)
steep (mountain); precipitous; hard (life); difficult; troubled
(before a) Buddhist altar; before the Buddha; offering placed on a Buddhist altar; incense money; condolatory offering
using every trick (in the book)
outcast; odd man out; pariah
emergency; accident; rare possibility; unexpected occurrence
affixing a seal (to); putting one's seal (on)
junior college; vocationally oriented two or three year post-secondary education institution
to exclude (someone); to shun; to ignore; to leave out; to ostracize
child-rearing expenses; child-support payments (following divorce)
official divorce registration papers
protegee; someone who one considers as a younger sister
trouble; problem; mess; difficulty; nuisance
flying; false start; doing something before the arranged time; breaking a street date
to dip out; to scoop up; to ladle out
celebration; celebratory event; congratulatory gift; tip; gratuity
determined spirit; unyielding spirit; will
guarantor; surety; sponsor; reference; bondsman
Kanazawa (city in Ishikawa)
incomprehensible; nonsensical; puzzling; I don't get it; I'm confused; I'm lost
greeting; a fine thing to say
arranged; taken care of; settled; completed; finished
the rise of the curtain; opening (of play); beginning (e.g. of an era); opening (festival, event, etc.)
ryotei; traditional Japanese restaurant (esp. a luxurious one)
to mediate; to intervene; to smooth
to wait expectantly; to await in anticipation
to chase away; to drive away; to drive out
to raise (to maturity); to bring up; to rear; to train; to educate
unfit; unsuitable; unmarketable
(corporate) bankruptcy; insolvency; commercial failure; failed business