protagonist; main character; hero(ine) (of a story); head of household
(mental) agony; anguish; suffering; distress
creator (of a work); author; writer; artist; composer; playwright
to be piled up; to lie on top of one another; to come one after another; to happen over and over; to overlap (each other); to occur at the same time
acutely (feel); keenly; severely; tightly; hard
masterpiece; best work; amusing blunder; funny mistake; boner
judgment; judgement; divination; judgement
painstaking piece of work; work of great effort; tour de force; toil; labor; labour
certain; sure; doubtless; I have no doubt; You can depend on it; It's a safe bet
character (in a play or novel); dramatis personae
dot; spot; mark (in an exam, etc.); grade; point (in a game); score; point (in geometry)
to paw (at) the ground; to struggle (using one's arms and legs); to flounder; to struggle (to escape an adverse situation); to strive
birth; giving birth; creating; bringing into the world
pain; anguish; distress; suffering; hardship
speech; words; one's lines; remarks
shuddering; shivering; trembling; being horrified; being disgusted
adjustment; tweaking; improvement; modification; tinkering; minor alteration
association; socializing; socialising; fellowship
publisher; publishing house; publishing company
to take something into ...; to bring in; to lodge (a complaint); to file (a plan); to bring to (a state: tied game, vote, trial, etc.)
editor (in publishing, etc.)
something; something or other; so-and-so; somehow; anyhow; one way or another
smallness; small item; short month (i.e. having fewer than 31 days); elementary school; smaller (of two things, places, etc. with the same name); inferior; younger (of two people with the same name)
number of copies; circulation
to row (a boat) to (a pier, shore, etc.); to reach (a goal after considerable effort); to arrive at; to (finally) manage to do
derisory; negligible; minimal; nominal; imperceptible
additional printing (esp. of books, etc.); additional run
one day; (on) a certain day
coincidence; chance; by chance; unexpectedly; contingency
library; book storage; stack room; archive (file)
not caring; not giving a damn
day by day; with each passing day; as the days go by
several times; once or twice
(within) the (Tokyo) metropolitan area
large; big; great; prominent; -sized; as big as; university
to see; to witness; to observe; to catch sight of; to get a glimpse of; to encounter
to overflow from something full
floor; stage (for the narrator and the shamisen player); dining platform built across a river
to pile up; to make a heap; to lay (e.g. bricks); to acquire (e.g. experience); to build (a reputation)
to feel depressed; to be down
song lyrics; words of a song; libretto