Vocabulary

Star Festival (held in July or August); Tanabata; Festival of the Weaver

figure of a person; figures of people

cultivated rice field

lowdown; inside information; hidden circumstances; inside facts; inner workings; undisclosed circumstances

prostitute

editor; compiler

tombstone; gravestone

smuggling oneself into a country; illegal immigration

fallen leaves; leaf litter; falling leaves

(death from) starvation; starving to death

wisdom; intelligence; sagacity

fabric; cloth; material

parcel; package

(railway) crossing gate; barrier (at a toll booth, parking lot, etc.)

circuit breaker

attachment; adhesion; insistence; tenacity; fixation; obsession

lyricism; description of one's feelings

imperial government; imperialism; monarchical rule

skillfulness

disclosure; exposure; revelation

taking over; handing over; transfer of control; inheriting; passing on the baton

encyclopedia; encyclopaedia

reading matter; reading material

queue jumping; breaking into a line; muscling in on; wedging oneself in; interruption; sharing a theater box (theatre)

mother

reading with pleasure

bad smell; foul smell; offensive odor; stench; stink

grasping; gripping; grasp; grip; clutch

highlight; best part

great achievement; great feat; great work; great undertaking

enclosure; fence; wall; pen; paling

entrusting; charge; delegation; authorization

surprise; something unexpected

chair; seat; stool; bench

heresy; nonconformism; heathenism; paganism

change (e.g. season)

posthumous works

(complete) set; outfit; kit; suite

(some small) help; an aid; some assistance

one leaf (of a book bound in Japanese style)