to become loose; to slacken (e.g. rope); to become less tense; to relax; to slacken (e.g. coldness, supervision); to become lax; to become softer (e.g. ground, facial expression)
crossroads; intersection; crossway; carrefour
reckless; (at) random; haphazard; blind; sudden; abrupt
(short) curtain hung at shop entrance; split curtain used to divide spaces in a house; reputation (of a store); good name; goodwill
folding book; counter for units of paper and nori (48 pages of Mino paper; 20 pages of hanshi; 10 sheets of nori); counter for folding books, folding screens, shields, etc.; counter for pairs (of curtains); counter for tatami mats
seat; bench; temporary job while looking for a better job or until one marries
Western clothing; Western binding
to swell (from inflammation); to become swollen
pictures drawn by child; pictures for children
deep red; crimson; rouge; lipstick
(not) at all; (not) in the slightest; wholly; entirely; extremely; very
anyone; anybody; everyone; everybody; whoever
superstition; superstitious belief
small amount; jot; nothing much; (to a) slight degree; wee bit
to loiter; to putter; to prowl; to be confused from not knowing what to do
grain thief; sharpened tube for testing rice in bags; sashimi (sliced raw fish); stabbing; piercing
to tuck (e.g. sleeves); to roll up
public bathhouse; bathhouse proprietor
bathing; to bathe; to take a bath; to enter a bath
going in and out; entering and exiting; visiting regularly; frequenting; income and expenditure; incomings and outgoings; increase and decrease
(insectile, especially moth) scales
watermark (in a stamp, banknote, etc.); openwork (engraving, carving, etc.)
carving; engraving; chiselled features
loincloth; waistcloth; kimono underskirt
pole on which to hang laundry for drying; clothesline
song; singing; classical Japanese poem (esp. tanka); modern poetry
discord; disharmony; false note; being out of tune
singing voice; (sound of) singing
partner for the night (e.g. at a brothel)
year in, year out; always; 24-7
to stick through; to force through; to spread throughout; to thoroughly diffuse; to make a path between two points; to proceed in a logical manner; to let pass
small tatami room; extension of the main room of a home (in traditional palatial-style architecture); room smaller than four and a half tatami (in tea ceremony)
dreary; bleak; monotonous; tasteless; unrefined
purificatory font at shrines and temples; kitchen; cupboard; room adjacent to a tea ceremony room, where utensils are washed; vendor of drinking water; building for taking refuge during a flood
Hotei; Budai; god of contentment, depicted as a pot-bellied monk who carries a large cloth bag on his back
beckoning cat; figure of a cat with one paw raised (usu. white porcelain)
vague; desultory; distracted; loose; half-hearted; diffuse