Vocabulary

submerged shoreline

sediment; deposit; precipitate; sludge; lees

sedimentation; deposition

melancholy; gloom; depression

bedside; near one's pillow

(railway) sleeper; (railroad) tie; crosstie

bed(side) screen

bedding; bed

bedside

aestheticism; pursuit of beauty; obsession with beautiful things

aestheticism

aesthetic school

indulgence (in alcohol, women, etc.); debauchery; dissipation

absorption in reading

soup

porcupinefish (Diodon holacanthus); balloonfish

short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossidae spp.); spiny anteater

pincushion

seam; stitch

memorial service for old needles

pincushion

sounding each other out; probing each other

inquisitive mind; spirit of inquiry; spirit of enquiry

investigator; researcher

feel one's way (with one's feet)

searchlight

explorer

inquisitive questioning

local commissioner (Kamakura or Muromachi eras)

rook (species of crow, Corvus frugilegus)

Miyama cherry (Prunus maximowiczii); Korean cherry

deep mountain valleys

cutting a fingernail (or toenail) to the quick; cutting a nail too close

severe wound; serious wound; gash

intrusive igneous rock; plutonic rock

deeply sincere; profound; heartfelt

deep-sea fishery

heavy drinking

silent (esp. of the passing of the night)

deep affection; excessive love