smoked daikon pickles (famous product of Akita Prefecture)
lemon balm (Melissa officinalis); sweet balm
Konaki Jijii (a ghost in Japanese folklore with the shape of a small old man and having a baby's cry)
edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum)
chief of the general affairs department (bureau); chief of the executive section
tonkatsu; breaded pork cutlet
smelling of earth; rustic
underling; newbie; small fry; newcomer
setting oneself free from the life of a white-collar worker; quitting a job as a salaryman and launching an independent business
from outside; from the side
cerebral infarction; (ischemic) stroke
entertainment; hospitality; banishment (Edo period)
tsukemono; Japanese pickled vegetables
to smell sweet; to be fragrant
diabetes; diabetes mellitus
encircled flower seal (equiv. of a gold star awarded to children for good work at school)
to kindle; to build a fire; to instigate; to stir up; to incite
remote mountain; mountain recesses
cognitive impairment; senility; dementia
hay fever; pollinosis (allergy to pollen)
one's chance; the right time; target; objective
courtesy call; going around to say hello (or goodbye) to everybody; making the rounds
Qin dynasty (of China; 221-207 BCE); Ch'in dynasty
parents' day (day when parents observe their children in school)
bank employee; bank staff member; bank clerk
show; display; pretensions; pose (in kabuki); posture
my husband; one's family; family member
(in spite of) being old enough to know better
physical distribution; distribution of goods; logistics
to meet; to assemble; to gather; to encounter; to run into
Bonin white-eye (Apalopteron familiare)