custom; convention; tradition; mores; conventional practice
mystery; mysteriousness; secret
tower; steeple; spire; stupa; pagoda; dagoba
foreshadowing; preparation; precautionary measures
to stick; to paste; to stretch; to spread; to form (e.g. ice on a pond); to fill; to swell
after an interval of ... years; for the first time in ... years
small; little; slightly less than; just about; somewhat; somehow
cause and effect; causality; karma; fate; unfortunate; unlucky
based on; on the basis of
junior high school; middle school; lower secondary school
retrogression; reversal; relapse; doubling back; backtracking
to bring back; to restore
to be useful; to be helpful; to serve the purpose
to collect oneself; to cool off; to recover oneself
to dig; to excavate; to delve into; to dig up (e.g. vegetables); (for two men) to have anal sex
handsome youth (male); pretty boy
friendship; companionship; fraternity; comradeship
formidable; not to be sneered at; not to be made light of
base (military, expedition, etc.)
to creep in; to steal in; to sneak in
to be affected; to be theatrical; to be pompous
to ward off (e.g. an attack); to fend off (e.g. a question); to elude; to evade; to dodge; to turn aside (e.g. a joke)
to shed light; to cast light
point in common; common feature
intonation; accent; modulation; inflection
until then; till then; to that extent; the end of it; all there is to it
to lay bare; to expose; to reveal
question and answer session
pronunciation; production of sound
letter; missive; note; mail
polite; courteous; civil; careful; close; thorough
preface; introduction; lead in (to a joke, question, etc.); lead up; payment in advance (by bank transfer); swinging (one's body) forward
to pile up; to accumulate
by the way; in this connection; incidentally; in passing
modern Japanese (esp. as a school subject)
progress; advance; improvement; development
to stiffen; to become stiff
to be solved; to be resolved; to loosen; to come untied; to be removed (of restrictions); to be lifted (e.g. a ban)