important; serious; valuable; precious; serious matter; major incident
finally; at last; barely; narrowly; gradually; little by little
being independent; standing on one's own; becoming independent
to start; to begin; to challenge; to pick (a fight); to set (traps); to plant (explosives)
concerning; regarding; per (e.g. 100 yen per person); for every
consideration; guess; conjecture; judgment; judgement
lovely; wonderful; nice; great; fantastic; superb
one's own style; self-taught manner
favour; favor; favourite; favorite; patron; supporter
upper stream; upper course; upstream; upper classes
to meet (by chance); to come across; to meet (e.g. of rivers, highways, etc.); to emerge and engage (an enemy)
following (e.g. someone's opinion); being servile to; adherence; compliance; emulation; mimicking
flattery; sycophancy; adulation
established; existing; accomplished; accepted; completed
(political) power; authority; influence
upstart; parvenu; jumped-up person
protagonist; main character; hero(ine) (of a story); head of household
to get; to earn; to understand; to comprehend; to receive something undesirable (e.g. a punishment); to get (ill)
to reach; to get to; to arrive at
hot; warm; passionate; impassioned; on everybody's mind; on the radar
after (practically) no time; immediately after; just; having no time to
many; numerous; large amount of; large quantity of; frequent; common
wobbling; tottering; wavering (e.g. over a decision); dithering; boiling up; dizzily
koku; traditional unit of volume, approx. 180.4 litres; measure of a Japanese-style boat's loading capacity (approx. 278.26 liters)
stone signpost; milepost; boundary stone; stone marker (benchmark, triangulation pillar, etc.)
instability; insecurity; crankiness
strange; odd; unexpected; change; incident; disturbance
in addition; furthermore; above (which); on top of (which)
dangling heavily; swaying to and fro; strolling; rambling; idly; lazily
to indulge in; to give oneself up to; to be obsessed by; to be engrossed in; to be lost in; to be absorbed in
cattle (Bos taurus); cow; beef; Chinese "Ox" constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
giant; great man; Tokyo Giants (baseball team)
grandmother; old woman; female senior citizen
open; spacious; extensive
scenery; scene; landscape
secret; private; surreptitious
to raise; to raise up; to wake; to wake up; to cause; to bring about; to start