splendid; magnificent; utter (esp. defeat); total; (arch.) something worth seeing; (arch.) sight
to see through (a plot, lie, etc.); to penetrate into; to discover; to find out
ahead; before; the future
childhood friend; friend from infancy; old playmate
snare; trap (for catching wild game, etc.); trap (i.e. ruse, subterfuge, etc.)
pine tree (Pinus spp.); highest (of a three-tier ranking system)
thief; robber; burglar; bandit
to move; to stir; to operate; to run; to make a move; to take action; to be touched
arrest; apprehension; capture
one party; one faction; one clique
to continue; to last; to continue (without a break); to be unbroken; to occur again and again; to lead to; to connect to
battle; fight; war; struggle; conflict
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
by means of; due to; because of; according to
chief retainer; daimyo's minister
Edo (shogunate capital, now Tokyo); Yedo
to roll up; to enfold; to swallow up; to involve; to drag into
before long; soon; almost; nearly; finally; in the end
raging waves; stormy seas; hardships; troubles; adversities
country in civil war; country disarrayed by war; Warring States period (Japan, China); competiton in which there are several evenly-matched participants; hotly-contested game (match, market, etc.)
to support; to prop; to sustain; to hold at bay; to stem; to check
period; epoch; the times; those days; oldness; ancientness
sufferings; ordeals; agony; Passion (of Christ); crucifixion
to grant; to give; to confer; to teach; to instruct; to impart (knowledge)
oneself; oneself; for oneself; personally
(arch.) youth; (arch.) freshness; good omen; Sweden; Switzerland
second generation; second; junior
deep pool; deep water; abyss; depths (e.g. of despair, etc.); grip (e.g. of death)
dragon (esp. a Chinese dragon); naga; semi-divine human-cobra chimera in Hindu and Buddhist mythology; promoted rook
studying under; looking up to; apprenticing oneself to
throughout; over a period of ...; over a span of ...
life; lifetime; career; for life; all one's life; throughout one's life
popular name; common name; nickname; alias
body; oneself; one's place; one's position; main part; meat (as opposed to bone, skin, etc.)
to be separated; to be apart; to leave; to go away; to leave (a job, etc.); to quit
to give one's name (as); to introduce oneself (as); to claim to be; to call oneself; to reveal oneself (as); to admit to being