admission (to a society, club, etc.); joining; entrance; enrollment; enrolment; becoming a member
unrelated; irrelevant; unconcerned; unconnected
several people; a few people
recommendation; referral; endorsement
the strait gate (in the Bible); the narrow gate; high barrier (to enter a highly competitive school, company, etc.); difficult hurdle; difficulty
someone; a certain person
hard to please; difficult; particular; bad-tempered; in a bad mood; displeased
old gentleman; elderly gentleman
good feeling; good will; favourable impression; favorable impression
to walk about; to walk around; to walk to and fro; to pace around; to wander
moustache; mustache; whiskers (on a cat, etc.); feelers (on an insect, etc.); shadow (on a candlestick chart)
Dynastic period (the Nara period and esp. the Heian period, characterized by the rule of the emperor as opposed to shogunate)
early days; early years; early stages; initial stages; beginning
abundant; plentiful; rich; wealthy; open (mind); relaxed
gorgeous; brilliant; dazzling; ornate; gaudy; flowery
culture; civilization; civilisation; Bunka era (1804.2.11-1818.4.22)
to blossom; to flower; to bloom; to flower (of a civilization, talent, etc.); to flourish; to become widespread
masterpiece; masterwork; chef d'oeuvre; (unintentionally) hilarious; absurd (e.g. blunder); outrageous
devoting oneself to; concentrating on; being an ardent admirer of; (arch.) tipping over and collapsing
not to mention ...; needless to say ...; not to speak of ...; (arch.) negligent; (arch.) neglectful; (arch.) careless
rise (e.g. of a movement); emergence; rearing one's head; gaining prominence; coming to the fore; gaining power
denial; negation; negation; NOT operation
each place; every place; various places; all parts (of the country, world, etc.)
record; document; minutes; record (e.g. in sports); setting (a record); recording (a record high, etc.)
chief; main; principal; important
purpose; goal; aim; objective; intention; motive
cheap; inexpensive; calm; peaceful; quiet
switching on and off (of a light); flashing; blinking; flickering
versus; against; to (e.g. score of 4 to 2, ratio of 3 to 1, vote of 320 to 180); toward ...; to ...; equal footing
to wish (for); to pray (for); to hope (for); to pray silently; to recite (Buddha's name, sutras, etc.) in one's mind; to chant (a silent prayer)
in fact; as a matter of fact; actually; in reality; to tell the truth
fragment; broken piece; one of the same group; accomplice; one of a pair; counterpart
voice; speech; phone (as opposed to a phoneme); speech sound; audio; sound (as opposed to the picture)
restoration to life; coming to life again; reformation; rehabilitation; recycling; reclamation; playback
startup; booting up; activation; starting (e.g. engine, computer); launch
with a rushing sound (of rain, waves, etc.); with a whoosh (e.g. when pouring rice); in a sudden collapse; with a clatter; swarming (e.g. of insects); surging