year; counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school); period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
not less than; ... and over; beyond (e.g. one's expectations); above; above-mentioned; aforementioned
at (place, time); in; to (direction, state); toward; for (purpose); because of (reason); for
to reach; to amount to; to be up to the task; to come up to; to compare with; to be a match (for)
national isolation; closing the country (to foreigners); sakoku; policy of national isolation enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate
state; condition; situation; appearance; circumstances
to be; to exist; to have; to be located; to be equipped with; to happen
Europe and America; the West
major powers of the world; great powers
indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; regardless of; whether (or not)
founding a country; opening of a country (e.g. Japan) to the world; ending (a policy of) national seclusion
indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.
to approach; to draw near; to be imminent; to press (someone for something); to urge; to compel
Edo shogunate (1603-1867)
(Edo-period) chief minister
assumption (of office); taking up (a post); inauguration; installation
indicates sentence topic; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis
conclusion; execution (of a contract); entering (into treaty); fastening (as in a joint)
to avoid (physical contact with); to avoid (situation); to ward off; to avert; to put aside; to move out of the way
thing; object; one's things; possessions; things; something; quality
if; when; and; with; used for quoting (thoughts, speech, etc.); promoted pawn; indicates a question
to turn the rudder of a ship; to change direction (of policy, etc.)
one (esp. of two); the other; on the one hand; on the other hand; whereas; although
opposition; resistance; antagonism; reverse; opposite; inverse
influence; power; might; strength; potency; force
to play a leading role; to play a central part
imperial capital (esp. Kyoto); final word of an iroha poem; 10^16; 10,000,000,000,000,000
massing (of troops); gathering
to brush away; to sweep aside; to repel (e.g. enemy); to drive away; to rout
thing; matter; incident; occurrence; circumstances; situation; work
claim; insistence; assertion; advocacy; emphasis; contention
indicates a question; or; whether or not; some- (e.g. something, someone); hmm; huh; very
expel the barbarians; expulsion of the foreigners; late Edo period (19th century) revolutionary slogan
extraordinary; preposterous; outrageous; absurd
storm; tempest; uproar; hullabaloo; storm (e.g. of protest)
this; last (couple of years, etc.); these; you (as in "you liar")
country; state; region; national government; central government; home (i.e. hometown, home country); (arch.) province (of Japan)
to blow violently; to sweep over; to devastate
to try to ...; to be about to do ...; to decide to ...; to take as; to treat as; to use for; to suppose that (such) is the case
that; the; part (as in "part two"); um ...; er ...
(approximate) time; around; suitable time (or condition); time of year; season
bush clover; Japanese clover (any flowering plant of genus Lespedeza); dark red exterior with blue interior (color combination worn in autumn); Hagi (city in Yamaguchi)
indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question