founding a country; opening of a country (e.g. Japan) to the world; ending (a policy of) national seclusion
site; point on a map; spot
foreigner; foreign citizen; foreign national; alien; non-Japanese
to cut down; to slay; to truncate; to round down; to omit; to discard
firm; strong; unbending; unyielding; uncompromising; stubborn
rejection; expulsion; boycott; ostracism
aggression; invasion; raid
culture; civilization; civilisation; Bunka era (1804.2.11-1818.4.22)
absorption; suction; attraction
very; greatly; immense; enormous; serious; grave
Western learning (introduced to Japan in the late-Edo and early-Meiji eras)
Western ways; Western customs; Western habits
to be indelibly stained or ingrained; to be dyed in deeply
Japanese spirit with Western learning
Occident and Orient (esp. the Occident); ocean; sea; foreign; Western
ability; gift; talent; sai; traditional unit of volume, approx. 1.8 ml
how; in what way; by what means
to exploit; to extort; to squeeze (someone); to squeeze (e.g. oil, juice); to wring out; to press out
terrific; staggering; tremendous; frightful; ghastly; horrific
to be dyed; to be tainted; to be infected; to be stained
Sinologist; scholar of the Chinese classics
middle period; medium-term
China; Chūgoku region (western part of Honshu comprising the prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tottori and Shimane); central part of a country; main region; province of the second lowest rank (ritsuryo system)
The Book of Changes; Yijing; I Ching
whole life; a lifetime; all through life; (the only, the greatest, etc.) of one's life
to spend; to expend; to waste; to squander; to devote
one person; being alone; being by oneself; being single; being unmarried; by oneself
understanding; comprehension; grasp; perception; appreciation; mastery (of an art or skill)
to be separated; to be apart; to leave; to go away; to leave (a job, etc.); to quit
extraction; abstraction; selection (from a group); sampling
furthermore; again; after all; more and more; moreover; even more
weak point; weakness; shortcoming; defect; flaw; sore spot
strong point; merit; virtue; advantage
distinction; differentiation; classification
to forge; to temper; to drill; to train; to discipline
to make (the best) use of; to put to good use; to let live; to keep alive; to revive; to resuscitate
very; extremely; terrible; horrid; remarkable; extraordinary
whether or not (in phrases like "I don't know whether or not I can come")
(real) ability; true strength; merit; arms; force
to conform to; to agree with; to be adapted to; to be based on