Vocabulary

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

freedom of choice; discretion

timing-wise; timewise; seasonal; depending on the time

dragon card (in unsun karuta)

cliffhanger

eating (something) whole

studying a language abroad

musical item being performed; performed song

smartphone app

kunrei-shiki romanization (government-authorized system of romanizing Japanese); kunrei system

this work; this title

heavy downpour of volcanic ash (in a short amount of time)

person who loves to explain or teach things (without being asked); know-all

fan art

televised Olympics and Paralympics; watching the Olympics and Paralympics on TV

body-positive

feeling that something has been done properly; well-done feel; professional feel

quipping back at something said by oneself; poking fun at one's own comment

leading edge (wing, propeller, etc.)

trailing edge

national shrine of middle grade

national shrine of major grade

to warm (up); to heat (up)

to fully express one's feelings; to say everything that is on one's mind

to have a narrow view of things; to peek at the sky through the eye of a needle

school history; history of a school

collation; examining and comparing

Okinawan time (i.e. a relaxed attitude to punctuality sometimes ascribed to Okinawans); island time