Vocabulary

a real man would (shut up and) ...

to turn to the right

(having) ups and downs

to take pride in; to pride oneself; to be proud of

only an idiot prunes cherry trees and only an idiot does not prune plum trees

have to; have no choice but to; cannot help (doing); be compelled to; be obliged to; be forced to

plate of assorted sashimi; selection of sashimi

to be worth the effort; to be worth the trouble

to yield; to give way to; to make way for

sense of humor; sense of humour

to lose a tooth; to lose one's teeth

another time; some other time

because; as; since; so; therefore

to become a wandering ghost; to appear as a spirit

imminent danger; threatened ruin

to look stern

it's OK to ...; it's best to ...; it's alright to ...

I wish I had ...; I should have ...; it would have been better if I had ...

to fly through the air; to hurtle through the air

to bask in the sun lying flat on one's stomach

to accumulate years of experience; to become proficient

to become skilled through years of experience

to add kana to; to add Japanese reading to

circumstances

apple of one's eye

apple of one's eye

bringing pungent vegetables or liquor inside the temple is prohibited

to gather momentum; to gather strength; (for a trend) to reach a peak

to lose one's composure; to lose one's temper

to become pregnant with an illegitimate child

de facto husband; common-law husband

to signal the winner of a match (by the referee raising his fan towards the winner)

words once spoken cannot be taken back

to vomit; to throw up; to spew

the best flowers are the cherry blossoms, the best individuals are the samurai; as the cherry blossom is first among flowers, so is the warrior first among men

Takenoko Tribe; teenagers who dressed flamboyantly and danced in Harajuku, Tokyo, from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s

having nothing to do; idling

to hit the mark; to hit the nail on the head

to hit the mark

lost decade (esp. of Japan, 1992-2002); decade of economic stagnation