Vocabulary

straw zori

dusky-red; color of cypress bark

head and body

to wrench someone down to the ground

to draw a sword

stubborn; persistent

trembling from fear; trembling all over

carnivorous bird

how much; how many; how; to what extent

enjoying a long life is a matter for congratulation; cranes live for 1000 years, turtles live for 10,000 years

tosa (dog breed)

edge of town; outskirts of a village

with a click (e.g. camera shutter); with a snap

dirty joke; blue joke

protection money

bedmaking

did; (have) done

smallish; on the small side

short cycle; short period

tending to break out or project easily

rock plate

to sink (into)

non-support; disapproval (e.g. in an opinion poll)

to attract notice; to catch the eye; to stand out

to grab attention; to attract notice; to be eye-catching

to make a splash; to draw attention

aging (of a population); ageing

free to link without restriction (e.g. of a website)

fish and chips

to shut one's eyes to (one's own faults, etc.); to pretend not to see; to pay no attention to; to forget; to fail to notice; to put on a shelf

Windows (Microsoft operating system)

one or two sizes (bigger, etc.); one or two levels (better, more mature, etc.)

man among men; manly man; alpha male

initial consonant; syllable onset

initial (part of Chinese syllable)

oral consonant (as opposed to nasal)

final consonant

yunwei (secondary vowel or consonant following the primary vowel of a Chinese character)

qieyun (ancient Chinese dictionary arranged by rhyme, displaying characters' meanings and representing their pronunciation with fanqie)

denghu (phonetic method of classifying Chinese finals)