learning good manners through apprenticeship (to an upper-class family)
counting on the abacus; cost-benefit calculation; profit calculation
to manage (to do successfully); to get through
to stab; to thrust (into); to plant (in the ground); to stick upright
bags and purses (handbags)
rainy; showery; inclement
person obsessed with thoughts of sex
hospitality; service; entertainment
red spider lily (Lycoris radiata); cluster amaryllis; cluster belladonna; manjusaka
needlework; sewing; seamstress
small businessman; petty trader
understanding; comprehension
name of a town; name of a street; name of a neighborhood
fittings that open and close (doors, windows, shoji, fusuma, etc.); fixtures
remote island; distant island; punishment by exile to a remote island
bad-tempered; aggressive; quarrelsome
not writing or contacting for a while; neglecting to write (call, visit, etc.); failing to write (call, visit, etc.); long silence
I owe you; I owe you one; I owe you a favor
round of ghost stories (trad. at night with a lamp or candle being extinguished after each story)
can't be helped (of situation, reason, etc.); unavoidable
one's employer's house; one's employer; place of apprenticeship
make; workmanship; preparation
vengeful spirit (spawned from a person's hate); doppelgänger; co-walker; wraith
to take charge during someone's absence
plain-woven silk cloth produced on Hachijo Island (sometimes striped)
even; indicates something unexpected occurs
to walk through (to the end); to walk the whole way
exceedingly; extremely; exceptionally; unexpectedly
love of cleanliness; liking to keep things clean; tidiness (of people); neatness
to keep a house; to run a household
beginning of autumn; beginning of fall
sorry to bother you, but ...
impoliteness; carelessness; misconduct; clumsiness
red spider lily (Lycoris radiata); cluster amaryllis
lodging; boarding; boarding house; school dormitory
mending; repair; darning; patching up
that's right; yes; uh-huh