structure of an artwork; pictorial design; pictures inserted in a book
memory like a sieve; going in one ear and out the other
geisha house; establishment with geisha on its books for whom it acts as an agency
Earth Ox (26th year of the sexagenary cycle, e.g. 1949, 2009, 2069)
female entertainer; geisha
to feel uneasy; to worry (about something)
shell; husk; hull; pod; chaff
funeral; burial (service); funeral procession
(of a couple) fighting and splitting up
willful; wilful; as one pleases
actor print; ukiyo-e print of kabuki actors
to palpitate (with anxiety, etc.)
cheap literature; writing for amusement; light literature popular in the late Edo period
fleeing in all directions; (in Japanese history, a reference to) farmers who abandoned their fields and fled to the cities or other districts to evade onerous taxes
rice cake stuffed with sweet bean jam
shade; tone; tinge; hue; colour; color
kokyū; 3 or 4-stringed bowed Japanese musical instrument; any Asian string instrument played with a bow
(printing) block; woodcut
art of drawing and painting
palsy; paralysis; every second solar term (occurring in the latter half of each month)
mizuame; glucose syrup; starch syrup; corn syrup
one's home; one's humble abode
ugly (of a person); plain; unattractive; (arch.) lacking ability; (arch.) incompetent
subject (of a painting); motif; theme; title of a painting
coquettish; charming; seductive; (arch.) beautiful; (arch.) graceful
brushwork; handling of one's brush; command of one's pen; penmanship
great; grand; (arch.) obstinate; (arch.) stubborn
rubbish heap; garbage dump
used up (tea leaves, coffee grounds); insipid (tea, coffee made from such leaves or grounds); watery
to grapple with; to wrestle with; to engage in a bout; to tackle (e.g. a problem); to come to grips with; to work hard on
projection; reflection; image; match; harmony
flourish of trumpets; fanfare
Kaei era (1848.2.28-1854.11.27)
paper-covered lamp or lantern
whirl of busyness; flurry of activity; being rushed off one's feet; having a very busy time (doing)