Vocabulary

miso mixed with mustard

manually powered loom; hand loom

traditional Japanese treadle-operated tall loom

deep forest

type of informal noh musical performance

to pieces; into shreds

whichever person (indefinite pronoun); everyone; every person; all

naturally growing tree; tree that does not grow in a tree plantation

very rare; exquisite

side locks

sideburns; hair at the sides of the head

bow-shaped whale-bone or copper hairpins used to increase the volume on the side of a woman's hair (Edo period)

both cheeks

moon, snow and flowers; beauty of the four seasons

pompadour-like hair style, popular for unmarried women in the Edo period; shimada coiffure

indefinite pronoun

ceremony honouring the spirits of ancestors (esp. the Bon festival)

collapse; crumbling; breaking down; caving in

scent of a flower floating about in the air; lingering scent of a flower in the darkness

to look (into); to peek; to peep

obi that is not tied but merely wrapped around the body

disheveled hair; dishevelled hair; unkempt hair

town girl; girl raised in a town

dancing together in unison (in noh, kyogen, etc.)

dance done by two persons or more

kabuki actor who is also a male prostitute

prank; joke

not to write to or visit someone; road of the weasel (it is believed that if someone blocks the path a weasel, he will never take that path again)

restricting and controlling

one's predestined length of life

mad; insane

lie; fib; falsehood; untruth

lantern with a silk cloth-covered frame

leading female role actor (in kabuki)

Kyoto's children

Kyoto's children

broad leaf

unamiability

to use (the same thing) for multiple purposes; to reuse

fireplace or hearth dug into the ground or floor