一里塚

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 一里塚, read いちりづか, means an old distance-marker mound and can figuratively name a milestone in a long process.
• Basic usage: In この受賞は長い研究生活の一里塚にすぎない。, the award is described as only one milestone in a long research career.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A milestone along the way
  • A road's 一里塚 marks progress along a route, and 一里塚にすぎない places the research award at one stage of a longer journey. It emphasizes the process still ahead rather than presenting the award as the final goal achieved.