vanguard (leading units of an army) / forward (player nearest to the opposing soccer team), lineman (playing position in football), or similar positions in tennis, volleyball, and other sports

Echizen (a city in Fukui Prefecture, Japan) / Echizen Province, an old province of Japan

Hizen Province, an old province of Japan

Short for 陸前国 (Rikuzen-no-kuni): Rikuzen Province, one of the provinces of Japan separated from the older 陸奥 (Mutsu) Province in the early Meiji period; today part of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures

previous remarks, last statement, earlier words / preamble

grey plover / Short for 大膳職.

an independent state

(dated) developing country, backward country

Middle-earth

Short for 葦原の中つ国 (ashihara no nakatsukuni, “mortal realm”).