dramatic (improvement); remarkable (difference); marked; (far) better; exceptional
great war; great battle; world war
wartime fire; war; wartime destruction; horrors of war
prosperity; bustle; activity; crowd; turnout
quiet unsociable person; obstinate person; blockhead
especially; above all; inter alia; among others
barbarian tribes surrounding ancient China
advance; moving forward; progress
cruelty; coldheartedness; relentless; ruthless
peerless; unparalleled; unparallelled
toil; drudgery; penal servitude; imprisonment (with hard labour)
with great vigour; in leaps and bounds; (lit.) with the force of surging waves
sole; single; solo; independence; singleness; singularity
surrounding countries; neighboring countries; neighbouring countries
union; alliance; combination; RENGO (Japanese Trade Union Confederation)
Hi (former province located in present-day Nagasaki, Saga and Kumamoto prefectures; later split into Hizen and Higo provinces)
unique; rare; exceptional; unparalleled; incomparable
beautiful face; good looks; beauty
to win fame; to be widely-known; to be well known; to make a name for oneself
mishmash; miscellany; medley; jumble; mixture; odds and ends
after a short while; not long after; soon; before long; shortly thereafter
precarious situation; precarious state
to gather up; to scrape up together; to rake
hills and fields; countryside
birds and wild animals; wildlife
800; eight hundred; multitude; large number
to arise; to break out; to well up; to burst
one's predestined length of life; destiny; fate
appalling; awful; extreme pain; deep sorrow
to decide; to choose; to clinch (a victory); to decide (the outcome of a match); to persist in doing; to go through with; to always do
sludge; slime; dregs; hopeless situation; hell; despair
ankle; malleolus; ankle bone
to be submerged; to be soaked; to be pickled; to be well seasoned; to be totally immersed (in a condition, e.g. laziness)
long (time); longstanding; for a long time
downfall; ruin; collapse; destruction
setting sail; putting out to sea; starting anew; embarking on something new
to set foot into; to enter; to step inside; to cross the threshold
to obey respectfully; to humble oneself; to sit straight (upright, respectfully, attentively)