if you can't beat them; join them; you can't fight city hall; if your adversaries are stronger than you, it is better to join their side than to fight them
treaty of peace and amity; peace treaty
school; school building; schoolhouse
young child; toddler; child over 1 but not yet of school age
revere the Emperor; expel the western barbarians (19th century slogan)
lightly-armored soldier; soldier of low rank
Kōan era (1278.2.29-1288.4.28)
check pattern; checked pattern; checkered pattern; plaid; lattice design
coastal defense; coastal defence
at the point of death; almost dead; about to die; at some limit (pain, hunger, etc.)
grand-scale or long-range plan; farsighted policy
diplomatic message sent by a head of state; sovereign letter; book written in Japanese (as opposed to Chinese, etc.); Japanese book; national literature (of Japan)
the same as something was reputed to be
complete book; complete set; treatise
to reveal one's (poor) upbringing (through poor manners, etc.); to betray one's origin; to give oneself away
malicious (at heart); spiteful; wicked
to hack; to chop (firewood, meat, etc.); to chop off (e.g. a head)
rustic; unsophisticated; provincial; hick; cornball
I; me; oneself; (arch.) you
to be unable to do; to find something difficult to do
colouring; coloring; shade (of colour); flavour; nuance; feel
Mencius (372-289 BCE); Mengzi; Mencius (one of the Four Books)
cloth (for Japanese clothes); kimono fabrics; textile; silk fabrics
abstract or impracticable theory
to rage; to storm (at); to be furious; to enthuse; to speak enthusiastically; to speak with vigour
military science; strategy; tactics
drink money; drinking money
bookworm; bibliophile; bibliophage
to evaluate; to appraise; to comment on