contraception; birth control
to lend an ear (to); to hear out; to listen to
calm; quiet; gentle; moderate; reasonable; amicable
first shrine visit of the New Year
to spend time (on doing something)
congratulations!; well done!; best wishes!; all the best!
basic tone; underlying tone; trend; keynote
modern; current; contemporary; trendy; latest; up-to-date
bright and beautiful; gorgeous; showy; prosperous; flourishing; thriving
to wear one's hair up; to arrange one's hair
to collect; to put (it all) together; to summarize; to aggregate; to bring to a conclusion; to finalize
every month; trite; commonplace; conventional
destination; whereabouts; future; prospects
in the city; within the city
scale; scope; plan; structure
to receive favor; to receive assistance; to receive help; to be looked after; to be taken care of; to become dependent (on)
inquisitively; pryingly; nosily; thoroughly; persistently; through-and-through
he; she; that person; (arch.) you
coming home in the morning (after staying out all night)
to go in the direction of; to proceed toward; to become; to face (facts, circumstances, etc.); (arch.) to abide by; (arch.) to agree to
careless; thoughtless; stupid; heedless; unobservant; inadvertent
to doubt; to distrust; to be suspicious of; to suspect
Western-style clothes (cf. traditional Japanese clothes)
change; alteration; modification
imbalance; disproportion; disparity; mismatch; asymmetry
best; extra-fine; exceptionally; extraordinarily; jumping and slashing (e.g. at an enemy)
to put back up; to stand back up; to restore (to former strength); to revive (e.g. the economy); to make again (a plan, policy, etc.); to reformulate
tabi; traditional split-toe socks
zori; traditional Japanese thonged sandals
New Year's Day; first day of the year; New Year's morning; morning of New Year's Day
to be in confusion or commotion; to be in a turmoil; to be crowded or jammed with people
festive mood; holiday mood; festive atmosphere
just right (time, size, length, etc.)
going and worshipping (at a shrine or temple); visit (to a shrine or temple to worship)
to desire; to wish; to beg; to request; to have something done for oneself
to go smoothly; to turn out well; to do the trick; to have peaceful relations
digging deeply (below the surface); mining deep; probing deeply (issue, problem); investigating thoroughly; deepening relations
stand; stall; booth; kiosk; store
fortune slip (usu. bought at a shrine); omikuji
slightly good luck (esp. as an omikuji fortune-telling result)
right on; dead on; fitting to a T; on the button; perfectly correct
good luck to come (esp. as an omikuji fortune-telling result); future good luck