buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum); soba; Japanese buckwheat noodles; Chinese-style wheat noodles
katsuobushi; pieces of sliced dried bonito
kombu (usu. Saccharina japonica); konbu; kelp; any edible species from the family Laminariaceae
dashi; Japanese soup stock made from fish and kelp
juice; sap; soup; broth; (dipping) sauce
happy; auspicious; propitious; naive
red and white; colours for festive or auspicious occasions (colors); two teams; two groups; Kōhaku Uta Gassen; annual contest between male and female popular singers on New Year's Eve (sponsored and broadcast by NHK)
kamaboko; steamed seasoned fish paste, usu. in a semicylindrical shape on a strip of wood and sliced to go in soup, etc.
expression of appreciation (for someone's efforts); thanks
Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum); Japanese bunching onion; green onion; spring onion; scallion
making a prayer (to a god or Buddha)
abura-age; thin deep-fried slices of tofu; deep-frying; deep-fried food
long life; longevity; long-lived; long-running (e.g. TV program)
prayer (for something); supplication
sky; heaven; God; svarga (heaven-like realm visited as a stage of death and rebirth); deva (divine being of Buddhism); top (of a book); sole (of a Japanese sandal)
porcelain bowl; donburi; bowl of meat, fish, etc. served over rice; front pocket in a haragake
anchorage; anchoring; mooring
ship; boat; tank; tub; counter for boat-shaped containers (e.g. of sashimi)
simultaneously; all at once; in unison
to resound; to echo; to reverberate
to sit up straight; to straighten one's posture; to straighten up
to face each other; to be opposite (to)
soba noodles eaten at night on New Year's Eve
to set up (a house, store, etc.); to build; to have at the ready (e.g. a gun); to hold in preparation (e.g. a camera); to adopt a posture; to assume a stance; to put on an air
to go; to come; to lose; to be defeated; to be stumped (by); to be at a loss; to visit (a shrine, grave, etc.)
festival; feast; carnival; matsuri
such; this sort of; like this
to be excited; to be nervous; to be thrilled
grounds (esp. of shrines and temples); compound; churchyard; precincts
entrance; entry; gate; approach; mouth
torii (Shinto shrine archway)
main hall (of a Shinto shrine); main shrine; inner sanctuary
road approaching a shrine
to fill to capacity; to pack; to complete; to tessellate
surging crowd; wave of humanity; stampede
left and right; right and left; (asserting) control; influence; one's attendants; people accompanying one