companion; fellow; group; company; member of the same category (family, class)
twentieth day of the month; twenty days
meeting; assembly; party; society; association; club
pastime; hobby; favorite amusement; dissipation; debauchery; loose living
upper class; upper echelons of society; the rich and powerful; the elite
ordinary; run-of-the-mill; usual
stimulus; impetus; incentive; encouragement; motivation; provocation
fixed number (of people); prescribed number (of regular personnel, students, etc.); quota; capacity (of a bus, boat, theatre, etc.); seating capacity
admission; joining; enrollment; enrolment
effect; result; worth; use; avail
it is assuredly that ...; can say with confidence that ...
provocation; stirring up; arousal; excitement; stimulation
to often be the case; to occur frequently; to be common; to be popular
event; festivities; function; social gathering; auspices; opening
every month; each month; monthly
to gather; to collect; to assemble
to startle; to surprise; to astonish; (lit.) to make (someone) say "oh!"
these days; nowadays; present day; at this time (of the day)
to perform; to do; to conduct oneself; to carry out
stealthily; secretly; in secret
imitation; copy; make-believe; doing something in a way that only superficially resembles the real thing
on one occasion; once; at one point; at one time
being on duty; person on duty
plausible (but untrue); credible (e.g. of a lie); specious; truthy
liver; innards; courage; spirit; crux; essential point
to cool (from room temperature); to chill; to calm down; to cool off; to be frightened (at); to be scared (of)
half in doubt; half-convinced; dubious; incredulous
to listen repeatedly; to listen again; to ask a question in return; to ask again; to ask for a repeated explanation
every corner; every nook and cranny; all the ins and outs
cinch; pushover; easy matter; light snack; cake served with tea
man of virtue; wise man; person of high rank; the four gentlemen (plum, chrysanthemum, orchid, and bamboo)
in short; in a nutshell; in a word; to cut a long story short
meeting place; assembly hall
common knowledge; widely known; known to everybody
city; Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly
portion; part; snapshot; glimpse
thundering; purring; something large and heavy starting to roll; scattered about; common; idleness; idling about