其頃から見ると私も大分大人になつてゐました。けれども未だ自分で餘所行の着物を拵えるといふ程の分別は出なかつたのです。私は卒業して髯を生やす時代が來なければ、服裝の心配などはするに及ばないものだといふ變な考を有つてゐたのです。それで奥さんに書物は要るが着物は要らないと云ひました。奥さんは私の買ふ書物の分量を知つてゐました。買つた本をみんな讀むのかと聞くのです。私の買ふものゝ中には字引もありますが、當然眼を通すべき筈でありながら、頁さへ切つてないのもあつたのですから、私は返事に窮しました。私は何うせ要らないものを買ふなら、書物でも衣服でも同じだといふ事に氣が付きました。其上私は色々世話になるといふ口實の下に、御孃さんの氣に入るやうな帶か反物を買つて遣りたかつたのです。それで萬事を奥さんに依頼しました。
translation
"By that time, I had become quite an adult." However, I still didn't have the wisdom to make a kimono for the Yusho line by myself. I had the strange idea that unless I graduated and grew a beard, I wouldn't have to worry about clothes. So I told Okusan that I needed books, but not clothes. Okusan knew how much I bought. I asked if everyone read the books I bought. Some of the things I bought included encyclopedias, but I was at a loss to answer them, as some of them I should have read, but they weren't cut to the page. I realized that if you buy things you don't need anyway, it's the same with books and clothes. On top of that, I wanted to buy a belt or cloth that would please the daughter, on the pretext that I would be of great help to her. So I asked my wife to do everything.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 大分: considerably (だいぶ), considerably (だいぶん), greatly, greatly, a lot | 大人: adult (おとな), adult (だいにん), grown-up, grown-up, person of virtue (たいじん) |
| 未: the Sheep (eighth sign of the Chinese zodiac) (ひつじ), the Ram, the Goat, hour of the Sheep (around 2pm, 1-3pm, or 2-4pm), south-southwest | 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself | 所行: deed (しょぎょう), act | 着物: kimono (きもの), Japanese traditional clothing (esp. full-length), clothing, clothes, something to wear (きるもの) |
| 分別: discretion (ふんべつ), prudence, good sense, judgement, judgment | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 卒業: graduation (そつぎょう), completion (of a course), moving on (from), outgrowing (something), leaving (a group, company, etc.) | 髯: moustache (ひげ), moustache (ヒゲ), beard, beard, whiskers |
| 時代: period (じだい), epoch, era, age, the times | 心配: worry (しんぱい), concern, anxiety, uneasiness, fear | 及: and (および), as well as | 變: strange (へん), odd, peculiar, weird, curious |
| 有: existence (ゆう), possession, having, limited company, bhava (becoming, existence) (う) | 奥: inner part (おく), interior, back (of a drawer, one’s throat, etc.), depths (e.g. of a forest), recesses (e.g. of a cave) | 書物: book (しょもつ), volume | 要: pivot (かなめ), vital point, cornerstone, keystone, Japanese photinia |
| 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) | 本: origin (もと), source, base, basis, foundation | 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 字引: dictionary (じびき) |
| 筈: should (be) (はず), bound (to be), expected (to be), must (be), nock (of a bow) | 頁: page (ページ), nth page, page …, kanji “big shell” radical (おおがい) | 切: eager (せつ), earnest, ardent, kind, keen | 返事: reply (へんじ), answer, response |
| 衣服: clothes (いふく) | 同: the same (どう), the said, likewise | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 氣: spirit (き), mind, heart, nature, disposition |
| 色々: various (いろいろ), all sorts of, variety of, various colors (colours) | 世話: care (せわ), looking after, help, assistance, aid | 世話: care (せわ), looking after, help, assistance, aid | 下: below (した), down, under, younger (e.g. daughter), bottom |
| 帶: obi (kimono sash) (おび), obi (strip of paper looped around a book, CD, etc. containing information about the product), band, belt, strip | 反物: fabric (たんもの), cloth, textiles, drapery, dry-goods | 依頼: request (いらい), commission, entrusting (with a matter), dependence, reliance |