Vocabulary

abandoned railway line; closed railway line; discontinued line

decommissioned warship

rejected goods

water bucket suspended from a weighted rod

lively; vigorous; sprightly; animated; vivid

offerings of rope, paper, etc. hung on trees in Shinto shrines

poor village; our own (little or poor) village

evil or corrupt or abusive practice

glance; glimpse; cursory view

to be balding in the front; to have a receding hairline

overarm stroke (type of traditional Japanese swimming style)

sudden dissolution of a legislature

shrewd; astute; cunning; alert

to draw swords and face off

drawn thread

fool; dimwit; blockhead

stealthily

stealthy footsteps; walking on tiptoe

pilgrimage to the Ise Grand Shrine without a travel permit or permission from one's parents or relatives (Edo period)

to unsheathe one's sword

drawing one's sword

addition and deletion

sticky (situation); finding oneself trapped

pilfered goods

extract; excerpt

to fall out and be replaced; to shed; to moult (molt)

byway; bypass

skimming a text

stealing a march on; getting a head start; secretly acting before others

weighing anchor; setting sail

shrewd face; knowing look

afterword; epilogue; postscript

wandering

barber; barbershop; barber shop

hair oil; hair cream

Edo-era barbershop

rope made of hair

cross-examination

performance in return; quid pro quo

opposition movement