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
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)
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
rustic; unsophisticated; provincial; hick; cornball
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
to rage; to storm (at); to be furious; to enthuse; to speak enthusiastically; to speak with vigour
drink money; drinking money
bookworm; bibliophile; bibliophage
to evaluate; to appraise; to comment on
to seclude oneself; to shut oneself away
finely chopped katsuobushi, sometimes with soy sauce
it's not like; it isn't as if
to take part in; to be a party to; to side with; to support; to agree with
children and grandchildren; posterity; descendants
impoliteness; carelessness; misconduct; clumsiness
various matters; everything