upper class; upper echelons of society; the rich and powerful; the elite
riddle; puzzle; enigma; enigmatic; mysterious
near; neighbourhood; nearly (e.g. "it took nearly one year"); close to; shortly; soon
concerning; regarding; per (e.g. 100 yen per person); for every
permission; approval; authorization; to permit; to authorize
construction; architecture (of buildings)
village headman; village mayor
person in charge (including a supervisory role for other staff); person responsible for ...; responsible party; supervisor; manager
surprise; astonishment; wonder; amazement
calmness; composure; coolness; serenity; presence of mind
to search for; to look for; to hunt for; to search (a house, pocket, etc.); to search through; to rummage in (e.g. a drawer)
may; might; perhaps; may be; possibly
trouble; bother; trouble; difficulty; care; attention
in the first place; to begin with; after all; anyway; beginning; start
to be helpful; to be useful
something like ...; things like ...; someone like ...; the likes of ...
(period of) a year; during an era
under (influence, control, conditions, etc. of); during (war, occupation, etc.)
-ness; indicates assertion; come; come now
elegant; graceful; refined; leisurely; comfortable; easy
by all means; at any cost; whether (one is) willing or not; willingly or unwillingly; on no account; by no means
to become familiar with; to fit in; to adapt oneself; to get used to; to grow accustomed to
dimly; faintly; absentmindedly; vacantly; idly; aimlessly
to turn one's head; to look over one's shoulder; to turn around; to think back (on); to reminisce; to look back (on)
to work; to labor; to function; to operate; to commit (e.g. a crime); to perpetrate
one after another; one after the other; in rotation; exchanging one after the other; changing repeatedly
lover; sweetheart; boyfriend; girlfriend
long time; long interval; for quite some time
to go out (e.g. on an excursion or outing); to leave; to depart; to be about to leave; to be just going out
daytime; during the day; time from sunrise until sunset; diurnal period
to sleep (lying down); to go to bed; to lie in bed; to lie down; to sleep (with someone, i.e. have intercourse); to lie flat (e.g. of hair); to lie idle (of funds, stock, etc.)
to pass (time); to spend; to overdo (esp. of one's alcohol consumption); to drink (alcohol); (arch.) to take care of; (arch.) to support
to be tired of; to be sick of; to get fed up with
to start working; to take action