Vocabulary

part of a province midway from the capital

this transient world

perfectly white skin (woman); skin as white as snow

lost twenty years; first two decades of economic stagnation in Japan that began ca. 1991

family crest shaped as a hemp leaf

with people jostling against one another; teeming; heaving; jam-packed

to pretend to be out

to enjoy prosperity

to perform the last rites over the deceased

to be better than; to be ahead of; to outdo; to surpass; to exceed

confused mess; utter confusion

to look disheartened

to forget one's troubles by doing something enjoyable

to flee from one's enemy; to turn tail

to turn one's back (on the enemy)

to do something with painful reluctance; to have one's hair pulled from behind

to vent one's frustration; to relieve one's pent-up anger; to let off one's pent-up feelings; to let off steam

to look on with arms folded

to polish one's skills

to be onto a good thing; to make money without working; to line one's pockets

peremptorily; willy-nilly; forcibly

to avenge oneself

to collect evidence

to draw upon one's profound knowledge

to master the secrets of

to hit someone where they least expect it; to take revenge on someone in an unlikely place; to get revenge on someone in a different contest; to attack the Edo enemy in Nagasaki

to be superstitious; to believe in omens

to rev (up) an engine; to race an engine

to be left behind

some things can be learned from the young; a fool may give a wise man counsel; to be led across the shallows by the child on one's shoulders

to boast; to brag; to exaggerate

to swing one's arms greatly while walking

to make drastic cuts; to take an axe to

to talk big; to be bombastic

to declare confidently; to declare proudly; to declare dramatically

to get scolded severely

to beat someone at their own game; to outdo someone in their specialty

to rake over the coals; to scold; to chastise; to roast

to be a willing cats-paw; to willingly act as someone's tool

to evade (questions); to reply evasively; to beat around the bush; to throw up a smoke screen