to manipulate (someone); to make (someone) dance to one's tune; to lead astray; to make (someone) dance; to let dance
waste (of money, time, etc.); squandering; frittering away
to master (e.g. a skill); to become accustomed to (e.g. a lifestyle); to acquire (e.g. a habit); to retain
to change; to exchange; to convert; to renew; to throw a switch; to replace
plight; fix; bind; awkward situation; difficult situation; mess
inevitable; necessary; certain; inevitability; necessity
iroha karuta; matching card game usu. consisting of 47 reading cards and 47 picture cards
Kanto; region consisting of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures; Kanto; north-eastern half of Japan (during the feudal era)
(apparently) that's what it's like, isn't it
encyclopedia; encyclopaedia
Edo (shogunate capital, now Tokyo); Yedo
three kinds; three varieties
to understand everything from only one part; to be perceptive; to be quick to understand; to be quick on the uptake
an inch ahead; the immediate future
darkness; the dark; bewilderment; despair; hidden place; secrecy
the proof of the pudding is in the eating; (lit.) evidence is better than debate
child; boy; (arch.) I; (arch.) me
knowing a theory without being able to apply it
inubō karuta (type of iroha karuta originating in Edo)
karuta; traditional Japanese playing cards
traditional ordering of the Japanese syllabary; fundamentals; the ABCs of ...
(in) the shape of the character hachi (eight)
how long; how far; how much
contest; comparison; competition
particle indicating that the speaker is trying to recall some information
counter for generations; epoch
to hesitate; to have scruples; to be afraid of what others may think; to lord it over; to have great influence
let me see; well; errr ...; uhh ...
with a slap; with a pop; without batting an eyelid; generously; cutesy suffix applied to names
to express sudden recognition and being impressed; (lit.) to slap one's knee
function over aesthetics; (lit.) dumplings over flowers
waste of labor or energy; waste of labour; vain effort
waste of effort; thankless task
buttocks; behind; undersurface; bottom; last place; end
to close (of flowers); to shut; to get narrower
to fail; to blunder; to mess up; to be dismissed; to be fired
to cling to; to hold on to; to grapple; to set about doing; to begin; to take hold of