Minister of War (Zhou dynasty China)
history of a nation; Japanese history
Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher, later warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi; the main villain of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms
Swiss roll; jelly roll; roll cake
fifth degree (of the Japanese and Chinese pentatonic scale)
uchiwa; type of traditional Japanese handheld fan
to start with the looks; to get the trappings right as the first step; to start (at the wrong end) by focusing on the superficial
newspaper; paper; counter for newspapers
carpenter's square; instigation; suggestion; metal wire with a prop animal (e.g. butterfly, bird) attached to the end; rod used to control the arm of a puppet (in bunraku)
favourite book; favorite book
partly open; in half bloom
very hungry; starving; bowing repeatedly; kowtowing; denting; buckling
lazybones; good-for-nothing; idler; slacker; loafer
flapping (of a flag, fan, etc.); fluttering; pitter-patter (of footsteps); quickly (making progress); in quick succession
to fan; to incite; to instigate
voice recognition; speech recognition
talkativeness; garrulity; loquacity
Japanese flying squirrel (Pteromys momonga); small Japanese flying squirrel; Japanese dwarf flying squirrel
immediately; right away; at once; easily; readily
coarse, low-grade tea; tea (often used when offering someone a cup)
Japanese style; Nihon-shiki romanization (of Japanese)
seasonal greeting; conventional opening phrase in a letter, appropriate to the season
uncle; old man; mister; manybar goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus)
individual concrete phenomenon (as opposed to a general principle)
officers and soldiers; soldiers
to accrete; to become whole; to come together
to keep in mind; to bear in mind; to try; to aim to do; to endeavor; to endeavour
idiom derived from historical events or classical literature of China
implication; significance; connotation; depth of meaning; complications of a problem
driving on the left side of the road; driving on the left-hand side of the road; left-hand side driving
guess; speculation; supposition
three-part joke, where the first two parts are similar and mundane, while the third is the punchline (e.g. How do you get to my place? Go down to the corner, turn left, and get lost.); rule of three (in comedy writing)
dropping; unloading; grated vegetables, fruit, etc.; grater; using new tools (or clothes, etc.); new tools (or clothes, etc.)
politics of fear; terrorism; reign of terror (esp. in the French revolution)
filleting a fish (into boneless left and right halves and a piece with the skeleton)