at the critical moment; when the time comes; when it's most important; when necessary; in an emergency; when push comes to shove
inn town; post town; post-station town
public (facilities, service, etc.); communal
mail service; postal service; mail; mail; postal matter; postal items
to wear (sword, decoration, etc.); to carry; to be entrusted (e.g. with a mission); to take on; to have a trace of; to be tinged with
low-ranking soldier; graduation; moving on (from); outgrowing (something); low-ranking samurai (1870-1872); death (of a noble, etc.)
baton (relay, orchestral conducting, etc.)
cord used to tuck up the sleeves of a kimono; sash (worn across chest, e.g. by election candidate or relay runners); wrapper band on books, CDs, etc.
red and white; colours for festive or auspicious occasions (colors); two teams; two groups; Kōhaku Uta Gassen; annual contest between male and female popular singers on New Year's Eve (sponsored and broadcast by NHK)
container; receptacle; case; inserting; putting in
delivery; transfer; hand-over
to connect (with a different flight, train, etc.); to make a connection; to change (planes, trains, etc.)
daytime; during the day; time from sunrise until sunset; diurnal period
fire built in an iron basket (watch fire, fishing fire, etc.); bonfire; campfire; (arch.) brothel-keeper (Edo period)
whereabouts; place where one is; position; location
being enrolled (at a school); being registered; being a member (of a team, organization, etc.)
selection; choice; picking out
examination; exam; test; trial; experiment; test
lineage; pedigree; good family
study of (ancient) Japanese literature and culture; (arch.) provincial school (under Japan's ritsuryo system and pre-Sui Chinese law)
(Buddhist) lecture meeting; religious association; mutual assistance association (i.e. for financial assistance)
primary school; elementary school; grade school
order; ordering; beginning; start; foreword; preface
multiplication table; times table
junior high school; middle school; lower secondary school
school; school building; schoolhouse
senior high school; high school
elementary school; primary school; school for children over eight years old in ancient China; traditional Chinese philology
entering school; school attendance
Zuo zhuan (c. 4th century BC); The Zuo Tradition; The Commentary of Zuo
recitation; reciting from memory
small private school (esp. for cramming); private school (in the Edo period, orig. run by Confucianists)
demolition; taking down; dissolution (of an organization, company, etc.); breaking up; dissection (of a body); dismemberment
to have learning; to be educated
theological school; seminary
lesson; class work; teaching; instruction
past; after; too (much); over- (e.g. eating)
rote memorization (memorisation); rote learning; indiscriminate memorizing (memorising)
to knock at the gate; to request an apprenticeship; to ask to be made a pupil
belonging to (a group, organization, etc.); affiliation (with); being attached to; being under the control of