Vocabulary

military service; conscription

alteration; defacement; debasement; falsification; forgery

convenience; handiness; usefulness

information; news; report

eradication; extermination; destruction; suppression

bonsai; miniature potted plant

every night

all countries; the whole world; universal; all nations

full bloom (esp. of cherry blossom); full blossom

gold (colour, color)

bowstring

duplication; repetition; overlapping; redundancy; restoration

human nature; human heart; human spirit; kindness; sympathy

humanity; civilization; civilisation; culture

(public) notice; attention; public eye; public gaze

waterfowl; water bird; shorebird

western direction

kite

heavenly god; heavenly gods

island country

inland sea; inlet; gulf; bay

unofficial announcement; private notice; informal notification

beginning of the year

lending (money, commodities, etc.); finance; loan

installment; instalment; premium; bill

cost price; purchase price; cost

good luck; fortune

illustration (in a book, newspaper, etc.); picture

omen; portent; sign; presage; harbinger; premonition

prop; strut; support; brace; bar

exit and entrance

jump; plunge; dive

taking in; bringing in

half and half; fifty-fifty

seed leaves (of a dicot); cotyledons; bud; sprout

one's post; one's station; department; bureau; section

manzai; comic dialogue; two-person comedy act, usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit

retiring voluntarily; resigning one's post (to make way for others); stepping down; bowing out

Muromachi period (1336-1573)

end of the rainy season