Vocabulary

bamboo sheath; bamboo peel

art supply store

shoji screen with a wooden panel in the bottom part

disc golf (flying disc sport)

obstacle; impediment; hindrance; barrier; difficulty

Quercus gilva (species of oak)

eyebrow trimming

beautiful eyebrows

beautiful eyelashes

over-belief in (the importance of) academic credentials; academic credentialism

red envelope (New Year's gift in Sinic cultures)

big boom; big craze; big thing; all the rage

earliest stage; very beginning; earliest phase; earliest days

genome analysis; genomic analysis

healthcare worker; medical care provider; medical personnel; medical staff

target gene

deficiency; lack; being missing

noodle shop

mythological growth (tumour) that takes the shape of a human face

view of Mount Fuji with the sun aligned with the summit

Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans)

civil engineer

marine engineer

lingual orthodontics (e.g. braces)

yukahon; books with large characters placed on the floor to be read from by the narrator in jōruri and bunraku

folding fan shop

barbarian country; uncivilized country

events of the year; happenings of the year

library corner; mini-library

ehōmaki; uncut sushi roll eaten during setsubun for good luck

spending extravagantly (esp. in the red light districts); extravagant spending spree; spending money in royal style

being superstitious; superstitious person

festive food; food associated with a particular seasonal celebration

digital printing

print-on-demand; POD

hand-carving

machine-carving

key block (in woodblock printing)

Zero-COVID; COVID-Zero

dragon card (in unsun karuta)