Vocabulary

competitor; rival; competition

dissolution of a feudal clan by the shogunate and confiscation of its fief

starch-based portable ration pill used by ninja and soldiers

wild plant; native plant

fruit of the tachibana orange tree

natural object; something existing without human partake

skill; ability; facility

two people working together on one thing; doing something with two people

to slip through a gap; to pass through a narrow opening; to weave one's way (between obstacles)

Ittō-ryū; school of swordsmanship founded during the early Edo period, from which many later schools branched

hypoxic state; oxygen-deficient state

single-layer absorbent bathrobe (worn during or after a bath)

cinnabar; vermilion (mercury sulfide); red lead (trilead tetroxide)

Yingzhou Island (said to lie in the eastern sea and be inhabited by immortals)

face value (of a security, bond, or currency)

noble family; lord's family; master's family; another person's family

Tao; Dao; fundamental principle of the universe (in Taoism)

shijie (Taoist practice to become an immortal); deliverance by means of a simulated corpse

great master (e.g. of an art); leading authority; revered teacher

Taoist teachings; Taoist arts; path to becoming an immortal

Taixi (Taoist practice); embryonic breathing

shouyi; guarding the one; Taoist meditative practice of concentrating the mind to unite body and spirit

two dominant forces; two extremities; bipolarity

(writing) tablet

striking technique performed at a distance from one's opponent

theory of the five elements (in Chinese philosophy: wood, fire, earth, metal and water); five phases theory; wuxing theory

car rental agency; car rental shop

ill-mannered person; rude person; boor

chi ze; chize; acupuncture point LU-5 on the lung meridian

something that comes to mind (upon reflection); point one realizes; reason one can think of

female martial artist (Edo period); female martial arts instructor

killing of a commoner by a samurai as punishment for disrespectful conduct

loyal heart; loyalty; devotion; fidelity

straining; tensing up; putting strength into (one's body)

outer castle; outer fortification (surrounding the main castle)

inner castle; main keep; innermost enclosure of a castle

Hua Jin; technique in Chinese martial arts of absorbing or redirecting an opponent's attack

sakadane; yeast grown on rice kōji used as a fermentation starter

quick pace; fast tempo; rapid progress

swallowtail butterfly (esp. the citrus swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus)