level ground; horizon; field of view
reader (person); person who reads the cards (in karuta games); composer (of a poem)
criticism; judgement; judgment; comment
intensive; concentrated; focused
at that time; in those days
announcement; publication; presenting; statement; communique; making known
unconnected; weakly related; alien; having little prospect of marriage
coexistence; living together; symbiosis; paragenesis
author; writer; novelist; artist
to stare fixedly at; to fix one's gaze on; to make sure of; to set one's eyes on (e.g. the future); to focus on
before one's very eyes; under one's nose; imminence; close at hand
to bring to a finish; to bind firmly; to superintend
beginning (of a century, etc.)
Shōwa era (1926.12.25-1989.1.7); reminiscent of the Shōwa era; Shōwa- nostalgic; old-fashioned
while; during (the time when)
notification; pre-1886 administrative order
protocol; written evidence; record (investigation, interrogation, etc.); preliminary memo; charge sheet
conversion; diversion; changeover; commutation; switchover
(sudden) change; reversal; turn-around; coming from behind (baseball)
to live in hiding; to live as a recluse
one (esp. of two); the other; on the one hand; on the other hand; whereas; although
football (incl. soccer, rugby, American football, etc.; esp. used for soccer)
first year (of an imperial era); year something (important) first happened or began
Man'en era (1860.3.18-1861.2.19)
degeneration; decadence; deterioration; laxness; corruption
childish; child-like; innocent; naive
to exert (influence); to exercise; to cause (e.g. damage); to do (e.g. harm); to bring about (e.g. benefits); to extend
literary style; form of (written) language (e.g. classical, modern)
difference; disparity; gap
I-novel; novel narrated in the first person
traditional; conventional
our country; our land; one's own country
to be piled up; to lie on top of one another; to come one after another; to happen over and over; to overlap (each other); to occur at the same time
(full-length) novel; long novel
starting point; point of departure
detonation by contact; contact detonation; touching off (something); triggering; sparking
to be born; to come into the world
action; operation; effect; function