smuggling oneself into a country; illegal immigration
trigger (of a gun, etc.); trigger (for something); immediate cause
terauke system; system established by the Edo shogunate that required citizens to register with a temple in order to prove their Buddhist (i.e. non-Christian) faith
fumi-e; fumie; tablet bearing Christian images, on which Edo-period authorities forced suspected Christians to trample; allegiance test; loyalty test
underground Christian; secret Christian (during the Edo period)
ceremony; etiquette; courtesy; (Catholic) liturgy
curtain; hanging; bunting
Maria Kannon; statue of the Virgin Mary disguised as a Buddhist Kannon statue, used by hidden Christians during the Edo period
storage room; storeroom; closet; grayish blue
Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan; group of Japanese and foreign Catholics who were crucified in 1597 at Nagasaki
Julian; Julien; Jullian; Jurian
hanging; suspending; sling
loyalty; devotion; fidelity; inspector of the Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office (ritsuryo system)
hired thief taker (Edo-period); private detective; private secret policeman
religious mission; religious proclamation
to come back (to); to return to a starting point
silence; being silent; quiet; reticence; inaction
leading figure; influential figure; mogul
to digest; to break down; to break to pieces; to be able to use; to be good at; to finish; to complete
to become indisposed; to feel unwell; to have one's physical condition deteriorate
administrative organization
be (that) as it may; having said that
to declare; to assert; to state definitively; to finish saying; to say it all; to finish one's sentence
superior; excellent; brilliant; outstanding
cheerful; lively; lighthearted
Ise pilgrimage; pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine; Ise pilgrim
distress; wretched condition