in tatters; in pieces; wiped out
unpleasant; disgusting; loathsome; shameful; scandalous
at last; finally; barely; narrowly; just
bloody; gory; covered in copious amounts of blood; desperate; frantic
not the time for; not the place for; far from; anything but; ... is out of the question; ... isn't the word for it
meek; quiet; docile; mysterious; marvelous; marvellous
nodding off (while sitting); dozing
as (e.g. "do as one is told", "as we age we gain wisdom"); wherever (e.g. "wherever my fancy took me")
unreliable; uncertain; indefinite; unclear
even so (expressing frustration, etc.); still
at this juncture; after all this time; at this stage; now
evaporation; disappearance (of people intentionally concealing their whereabouts); unexplained disappearance
personal affairs; private matter; personal secret; privacy
to bring (someone) back home; to take (someone) back home
lineage; pedigree; family line
country in civil war; country disarrayed by war; Warring States period (Japan, China); competiton in which there are several evenly-matched participants; hotly-contested game (match, market, etc.)
period; time; opportunity; chance; age; term (e.g. in office); session (e.g. of parliament)
samurai; warrior; military family
ramification; branching off
head house (family); birthplace; originator
agreement (e.g. business, dispute); understanding; compromise; mutual relations (between family members, coworkers, etc.)
branch family; cadet family; establishing a branch family
to serve; to work for; to attend
outward appearance; ostensible; public; official
manager; steward; factotum; useful person
(your) business; (your) concern; (customer's) order; official business (of the government, Imperial Court, etc.); arrest; capture
kitchen manager; chef; cook
to work (for); to be employed (at); to serve (as); to act (as); to conduct a religious service
secret information; intelligence
activity (of a person, organization, animal, volcano, etc.); action; movie (esp. during the silent movie period)
covert action; covert operations
main constituent; core; nucleus; subject (philosophical); protagonist
on the occasion of; circumstances; juncture
taking a story with a grain of salt; discounting half the story
cleanly (cutting, snapping off, etc.); in a single blow
ninja; person trained in ninjutsu and employed for covert purposes in feudal Japan
valid; effective; yuko (judo)
practical use; application; conjugation; inflection