Vocabulary

to interfere (with); to hinder; to be hindered (from doing); to become impeded; to have difficulty; to suffer inconvenience

ready wit; quick wits; resourcefulness; talent; acumen; powers

(religious) festival

long and narrow

versification; verse making

strategy; artifice

dreary; bleak; monotonous; barren

crescent moon; young moon

to go; to come

miserable; wretched; unhappy; sad; pitiable

prose

speculative stock

absolute; complete; utter; pure; sheer

first marriage

early autumn (fall)

lifeboat

promotion; encouragement; fostering; furtherance

to hear; to be told; to know

grilled fish

raising and lowering

up-train; train heading toward the starting point of its route

will (esp. of shogun); decree; emperor's wishes

flowerpot; plant pot

overeating

sprout; bud; shoot

depth

(right at the) side; just beside

gods and Buddha

artificial; man-made; imitation; synthetic

to be used up; to be run out; to be exhausted; to be consumed; to come to an end

kidney failure; renal failure

kitchen; galley

to be blown off; to blow off; to blow away

inference; deduction; induction; reasoning

drop of water

submersion; inundation; being flooded

Mercury (planet)

sluice gate; water gate; flood gate

random thoughts; occasional thoughts; desultory thoughts

right or wrong