Milky Way; luminous band corresponding to the plane of the galaxy
the House of Tokugawa; the Tokugawas
mountain river; mountain stream
Tokugawa shogunate (i.e. the Edo shogunate, 1603-1867)
Akutagawa Prize (literary award)
Tokugawa period (i.e. the Edo period, 1603-1867)
ditch with running water; drainage channel
imagawayaki; thick pancake containing bean jam, served hot
Sanzu River (Buddhist equivalent of the River Styx)
river in which worshippers wash their hands (and rinse their mouth) prior to entering a shrine
Calopteryx cornelia (species of damselfly)
river raised above the surrounding land
Metagonimus yokogawai (species of intestinal fluke)
river in which worshippers purify themselves before praying