monolith; large slab of rock; unity (of a group, organization, etc.); unanimity; solidarity
inheritance dispute; succession dispute
head of family; head house; sōke; founder (of a style, etc.); originator
unconnected; weakly related; alien; having little prospect of marriage
main course (of a river); mainstream; main current (e.g. of thought)
territory; dominion; grounds (e.g. school)
conferral of honors (honours), according to merits
Imperial Palace; Imperial Court
settlement (of a matter); sorting out; winding up (affairs); cleaning up afterwards; tidying up (when finished)
discipline; punishment; reprimand
powerful local clan; local strongman
mansion; palace; (arch.) nobleman; (arch.) noblewoman; (arch.) temporary residence
setting on fire; setting afire
scuttling (to escape in a panic, in shame, etc.); scurrying; scrambling
to avoid misfortune; to escape danger
from what I've heard; according to reports; from what they say
receiving (from a superior); bestowed
out of one's league; facing a too tough opponent; outclassed
trial and tribulation; hardships; privations; difficulties
alliance (of the Six Kingdoms against the Qin dynasty, and of individual Kingdoms with the Qin dynasty); (tactic of) making and breaking alliances (to benefit oneself as the occasion demands); resorting to alliances as a diplomatic expedient
mostly; almost; nearly; roughly; approximately; about
loyalty; sincerity; allegiance; fidelity; integrity
merchant; store; shop; merchant house; merchant family
indicates two contrasting actions; (arch.) indicates possessive (often found in place names and compound words)
military family; warrior class
country in civil war; country disarrayed by war; Warring States period (Japan, China); competition in which there are several evenly matched participants; hotly contested game (match, market, etc.)
to pass down (a story) from generation to generation; to hand down
Bakumatsu period; closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate; end of the Edo period
mutation; change; transition
this world; this life; current epoch (i.e. the Holocene epoch)
generation; lifetime; age
large country; major nation; great power; province of the highest rank (ritsuryō system)
detestable; despicable; abhorrent
to one's heart's content; as much as one wants; as hard as one can; resolution; decisiveness; determination
kneeling down on the ground; prostrate oneself
to reseat oneself; to correct one's posture
nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...
to relax; to feel at home
to make oneself available (free)