top; top position; senior management; senior bureaucrat
reigning; controlling; dictating
real intention; true motive; true will; original intention; original purpose; original hope
ignorance; innocence; stupidity
pity; sorrow; pitiable; pitiful; alack; alas
what did you just say (to me)?; what's that?
hiding at all costs; desperate cover-up; doing one's best to keep (something) secret
prosperity; thriving; flourishing
at this juncture; after all this time; at this stage; now
blow; shock; strike; batting
fighting spirit; (will to) fight
to refuse; to decline; to deny
I told you so; you see that?
merchant; trader; tradesman; dealer; shopkeeper
planning; scheming; maneuvering; manoeuvring
three branch Tokugawa families (Owari, Kii, and Mito); big three; top three
implicitly; indirectly; tacitly; by implication; obscurely
farce; charade; person who serves tea; short and humorous improvised sketch (originating from Edo-era kabuki)
on the surface; ostensibly; superficially; apparently
to stand in a row (e.g. shops on a street); to line in a row; to line; to be equal to; to be on a par with
to brace one's legs; to stand firm; to plant one's feet (firmly on the ground); to hold out; to persist; to make an effort
flower; blossom; cherry blossom; beauty; blooming (esp. of cherry blossoms); ikebana; hanafuda
one way or the other; either way
to do for (someone); to take in; to deceive; to hoodwink
rise; increase; income; takings; completion; end; end result (e.g. of crafts)
exclusion; removal; rejection; elimination; abatement; lifting (sanctions, etc.)
consent; approval; acceptance; agreement; compliance
that child; that kid; that boy; (arch.) you
loud laughter; roaring with laughter
nape of the neck; back of the neck; scruff of the neck
to seize; to capture; to arrest; to hold down; to subdue
clicking one's tongue; tut-tut; smacking one's lips (with relish)
to disdain; to look down on; to make light of; to hold in contempt; to scorn; to despise
to grovel; to go down on one's hands and knees
very fast; in a twinkle; before one's eyes
life; vitality; verve; vigor; vigour; animation
only natural; no wonder; as expected; of course; as it should be