one;  1;  best;  first;  foremost;  beginning;  start
 Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7);  reminiscent of the Shōwa era;  Shōwa- nostalgic;  old-fashioned
 year;  counter for years (e.g. of an era), grades (e.g. school);  period of an apprentice's contract (usu. ten years)
 December;  twelfth month of the lunar calendar
 eighth day of the month;  eight days
 Attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
 curtain;  bunting;  act (in play)
 to cut;  to cut through;  to sever (connections, ties);  to turn off (e.g. the light);  to terminate (e.g. a conversation);  to hang up (the phone);  to punch (a ticket)
 to drop;  to lose;  to clean off (dirt, makeup, paint, etc.);  to remove (e.g. stains or facial hair);  to lose (a match);  to reject (an applicant);  to lower (e.g. shoulders or voice)
 the Japanese;  Japanese side;  Japanese delegation;  Japanese representatives
 one-sided;  unilateral;  arbitrary
 (United States of) America;  USA;  US
 blow;  shock;  strike;  batting
 to give (esp. to someone of lower status);  to bestow;  to provide;  to afford;  to assign;  to cause
 in history;  ever;  historical
 military gains;  war results;  fruit of battle
 to bring;  to take;  to bring about
 information;  news;  report;  reward;  retribution
 to boil up;  to seethe;  to get excited;  to be in an uproar
 military authorities;  army circles
 to gather strength;  to take heart
 force;  vigor;  influence;  authority;  impetus;  momentum
 fierce;  intense;  severe;  violent;  strong;  vehement
 wartime fire;  war;  wartime destruction;  horrors of war
 magnification;  enlargement;  expansion;  amplification
 furthermore;  again;  after all;  more and more;  moreover;  even more
 Java (Indonesian island);  Java coffee
 offensive (movement);  aggression