Vocabulary

grasp (of the situation, meaning, etc.); understanding; control; hold; grip

radius

edition; version; printing; impression; implementation (of software)

han (estate of a daimyo in the Edo and early Meiji periods); feudal domain; fief; province

rejection; negation; voting down

kidney

diagram; graph; schema

mercury (Hg)

water tank; cistern

decline; degeneration; decay; waning; ebbing

end of a century (esp. 19th); fin-de-siècle

to hold back (e.g. emotions); to rein in (e.g. a horse, unruly people); to bridle

maturity; ripeness

normalization; normalisation

living; being alive

living thing; living creature; animal; life

birth (esp. of a famous person); nativity

refining; purification

sacred precincts; sanctuary; consecrated ground; holy ground

stillness; rest; being stationary; standing still; coming to a standstill

taxation law

stone wall

posing a question

vindication of honour; vindication of honor; making up for loss; revenge

deciding first; settling (a matter) first; first priority

upper reaches of a river; upstream

senryū; comic haiku; humorous seventeen-mora poem

washing; cleansing; cleaning; laundering

washing machine; (clothes) washer

suffrage; right to vote

the former; the first

the whole company

height of prosperity

to aim at (with a weapon, etc.)

quick; swift; nimble; agile

to keep someone from doing; to stop; to prevent; to check; to hinder; to obstruct

twins; twin

Kurashiki (city)

relative

the whole; all