takoyaki; octopus dumplings
prosperity; flourishing; thriving
molding; moulding; shaping; modelling (i.e. plastic arts); modeling
to avoid; to refrain from; to shun; to detest
another's eyes; other people's eyes; casual observer
okonomiyaki; savoury pancake containing meat or seafood and vegetables
Frankfurt (Germany); frankfurter; frank
Bon festival; Feast of Lanterns; Buddhist ceremony held on July 15; ullambana
mixture (synthesis) of Buddhism and Shintoism
jumble; hodgepodge; potpourri; heterogenous mixture
ancestral spirit; collective of ancestral spirits which have lost their individualities; ancestor deified as a kami; spirit of a kami
origin; beginning; source; rise
ancestral; hereditary; imported; transmitted; handed down
indigenousness; being native (to a region); settling (of people); native; indigenous; aboriginal
ancestor; forefather; foremother
to have a smattering knowledge of
patching (clothing); darning; cobbling together (other people's writings, thoughts, etc.); gathering
hereabouts; around there; that area
geta; Japanese wooden clogs; turn (in set-type proofing); upside-down character
dispensable chopsticks; throwaway chopsticks
Milky Way; luminous band corresponding to the plane of the galaxy
splendid; magnificent; gorgeous
to look upwards; to look up
person who enlivens an atmosphere; person who lifts the mood of others; person who inspires a team; life of the party
to be softened; to calm down
column; beam; girder; digit; decade; order of magnitude
tender; warm; meticulous; detailed; deep (of a colour); thick (e.g. fog)
relieved; refreshed; frank; candid; easy-going
clear solution; clean decision
to feel gloomy; to feel blue; to feel melancholy
very bad condition; awful state; night-soil reservoir dug in a field; night-soil pot; earthenware vessel; earthen urn