冷戦

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 冷戦, read れいせん, means a cold war: sustained political or diplomatic confrontation rather than direct warfare.
• Basic usage: It describes historical patterns of confrontation or the tensions surrounding a novel’s setting.
  • 歴史の授業で冷戦の構図を学んだ。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A compound describing the setting
  • 下 in 冷戦下 indicates being under those conditions or within that system. 冷戦下の緊張 packages the idea of tension within a Cold War setting.