Vocabulary

Mencius (372-289 BCE); Mengzi

preliminary investigation; preliminary inquiry

(waka) poetic sentiment; waka-composing mood; solid grounding in waka; meaning of a waka poem

brazier; hibachi

red-light district; pleasure quarters; world of the geisha; demimonde

chilly spring weather

art of drawing and painting

A Happy New Year!

meeting place; seats for the public

liberation from earthly desires and the woes of man; deliverance of one's soul; moksha; mukti; vimukti

pumice stone

light clothing; dressing light

dramatization; dramatisation

(attacking and) sinking (a ship); sending (a ship) to the bottom

high praise; lavish praise; enthusiastic praise; raving (about)

blood relative

master swordsman; skilled fencer

sword play; samurai drama

inspection of a meter; reading a meter

stool (feces) examination

trickery; wiles; finesse; Machiavellism

diligent study; devoting oneself to one's studies

unfavourable comparison; unfavorable comparison

wise person; sage

stencil (for a mimeograph)

motor

cutting down on food intake; reducing rations; reducing allowance of food

afterword; postscript

son of a distinguished family; son of a noble

marquis; second highest rank of the five ranks of nobility

brilliance; splendour; splendor; lustre; luster

slope; incline; gradient; grade; pitch

forbidding mentioning (something to others); imposing silence (on); ordering (someone) to keep quiet; muzzling (someone); gagging; hushing up

start broaching (a subject); opening remark; start; commencement; beginning

mouth ulcer; stomatitis

love of learning; desire to learn; passion for knowledge

pithead; minehead

skill; workmanship; dexterity; quality

armor and helmet

semi-cursive style (of writing Chinese characters); running style