Vocabulary

the Big Dipper seen on a winter night

interstellar gas

Pleiades (in Greek mythology)

Pleiades (esp. in winter)

visitors' book; guest book

turning point; turnaround point (e.g. in a race); turning back point

aortic dissection

creative urge

Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei); Harpagornis eagle

common buzzard (Buteo buteo)

long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus)

altricial; altricious

flightless bird

brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)

white bean jam; sweet white bean paste

rice granules; coarse glutinous rice flour (often used in candy production)

rice flour dough

rice flour

Day-of-the-Boar Festival

mutual financing association

driving away moles by hitting the ground with straw bundles prepared by children (esp. as an event on Koshōgatsu)

first lighting of the hearth in a Zen temple (first day of the 10th or 11th month)

closing of the fireplace in a Zen temple (first day of the 2nd month)

homosocial

antipope

unlikely; improbable

unlikely; improbable

person who tends to trees (e.g. in a garden)

soup with fried tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, sweet potatoes and daikon flavored with salt or soy sauce and thickened with potato starch

big star; superstar

fishermen's banner hoisted to indicate a rich haul; big-catch flag

rationing; rationing system

Battle of Leyte Gulf (October 23-25, 1944)

faulty maintenance; poor maintenance; inadequate maintenance

human papilloma virus; HPV

HPV test; test for human papilloma virus

condyloma

corn; clavus

plantar wart

neuroma