after an interval of ... years; for the first time in ... years
lower back; waist; hips; body (of hair, noodles, paper, etc.); resilience; spring
thanks to ...; owing to ...; because of ...
tension; strain; tensions (between countries, groups, etc.); tonus; muscle tone
to be solved; to be worked out; to come loose; to come untied; to be removed (of restrictions); to be lifted (e.g. of a ban)
surplus; margin; leeway; composure; placidity; complacency
to be born; to come into the world
to run away; to flee; to avoid (a question, responsibility, etc.); to evade; to win without being overtaken; to hold off the other contenders (until the finish)
to contribute; to play a part in; to have a hand in; to finance
to express in a refined fashion; to weave a web of words
increasingly; more and more; decreasingly; less and less
serious look (on one's face); straight face
strong impression conveyed by one's eyes; eyes that convey a strong sense of purpose
honest; frank; candid; honestly; frankly
a little; a few; small; only; just; merely
to open (one's eyes) wide
bewilderment; perplexity; embarrassment; discomfiture; bafflement
withering; shrivelling; shrinking; contraction; atrophy
to cheer up; to be encouraged (by); to be in high spirits
to be opposite; to face each other; to confront (an issue); to face
to be ...-ing; to have been ...-ing
very; greatly; immense; enormous; serious; grave
to come off (of a button, handle, lid, etc.); to go away (of a fever, pain, swelling, etc.); to disappear; to be harvested; to be picked; to be interpreted (as); to be taken (as)
to be decided; to be settled; to be unchanging; to be the same (as always); to be a fixed rule; to be destined; to be well executed (of a manoeuvre in a sport, game, etc.)
to soothe; to calm; to pacify
mess; sorry state; -ways; -wards; in the act of ...; just as one is ...
way of saying (something); way of putting it; wording; phrasing; language; expression
to get irritated; to get annoyed; to be on the edge; to fret; to lose patience
to occur to; to remind of; to come to mind
innocent; naive; artless; unaffected; genuine; childlike
forcibly; by force; against one's will
confidence; trust; faith; credit
to go away; to become more distant; to fade away; to be estranged
to notice; to realize; to be attentive; to be scrupulous; to regain consciousness; to come to (one's senses)
thickheaded; insensitive; dull; thick-skinned
irritation; annoyance; frustration
violent emotion; passion; fury
to keep away; to keep at a distance
swing; shake; appearance; behaviour; pretence; pretense; (a customer) coming to restaurant, ryokan, etc. without a reservation or introduction
to persevere; to persist; to insist that; to stick to (one's opinion); to remain in a place; to stick to one's post
easy; trifling; harmless; nothing of the sort; not at all
all; entire; whole; altogether
misunderstanding; mistaken idea; wrong guess
past; after; too (much); over- (e.g. eating)
the best one can do; one's best effort; with all one's might; to the best of one's ability; as hard as possible