たしか十月の中頃と思ひます、私は寐坊をした結果、日本服の儘急いで學校へ出た事があります。穿物も編上などを結んでゐる時間が惜しいので、草履を突つかけたなり飛び出したのです。其日は時間割からいふと、Ｋよりも私の方が先へ歸る筈になつてゐました。私は戻つて來ると、其積で玄關の格子をがらりと開けたのです。すると居ないと思つてゐたＫの聲がひよいと聞こえました。同時に御孃さんの笑ひ聲が私の耳に響きました。私は何時ものやうに手數のかゝる靴を穿いてゐないから、すぐ玄關に上がつて仕切の襖を開けました。私は例の通り机の前に坐つてゐるＫを見ました。然し御孃さんはもう其所にはゐなかつたのです。私は恰もＫの室から逃れ出るやうに去る其後姿をちらりと認めた丈でした。私はＫに何うして早く歸つたのかと問ひました。Ｋは心持が惡いから休んだのだと答へました。私が自分の室に這入つて其儘坐つてゐると、間もなく御孃さんが茶を持つて來て呉れました。其時御孃さんは始めて御歸りといつて私に挨拶をしました。私は笑ひながらさつきは何故逃げたんですと聞けるやうな捌けた男ではありません。それでゐて腹の中では何だか其事が氣にかゝるやうな人間だつたのです。御孃さんはすぐ座を立つて縁側傳ひに向ふへ行つてしまひました。然しＫの室の前に立ち留まつて、二言三言内と外とで話しをしてゐました。それは先刻の續きらしかつたのですが、前を聞かない私には丸で解りませんでした。
translation
I believe it was around mid-October when I hurried off to school in Japanese clothes as a result of sleeping. Since I didn't have enough time to tie up my kimono and lacing, I jumped out as soon as I poked my sandals. According to the timetable that day, I was supposed to be back before K. When I came back, I used the money to open the front door's lattice. Then I heard K's voice, which I thought was not there. At the same time, the laughter of the daughter echoed in my ears. As I usually don't wear shoes that take a lot of effort, I immediately went up to the front door and opened the sliding door. As usual, I saw K sitting in front of his desk. But the daughter was no longer there. As if to escape from K's room, I caught a glimpse of him afterward. I asked K why he had come home so early. K replied that he was resting because he was feeling unwell. As soon as I entered my room and sat there, the young lady brought me some tea. At that time, the daughter said hello to me for the first time. I'm not the kind of guy who laughs and asks why Satsuki ran away. And yet, in my heart, I was the kind of person who felt like this was something that bothered me. The daughter immediately got up and went to the porch. However, I stopped in front of K's room and talked a few words inside and outside. It was a continuation of what I said a while ago, but I didn't understand it because I hadn't heard anything before.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 十月: October (じゅうがつ), tenth month of the lunar calendar | 中頃: about the middle (なかごろ) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 寐坊: sleeping in late (ねぼう), oversleeping, late riser, sleepyhead |
| 學校: school (がっこう) | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 時間: time (じかん), hour, period, class, lesson |
| 草履: zori (じょうり), zori (ぞうり), traditional Japanese thonged sandals, traditional Japanese thonged sandals | 突: very (とっ), much | 飛: rook (ひ), fly ball | 時間割: timetable (esp. a weekly school timetable) (じかんわり), schedule |
| 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman | 先: a short while ago (さっき), a moment ago, just now, some time ago, point (さき) | 筈: should (be) (はず), bound (to be), expected (to be), must (be), nock (of a bow) | 玄關: entrance (げんかん), front door, entryway, entranceway, entry hall |
| 居: residence (きょ), being (somewhere) (い), sitting | 聲: voice (こえ), singing (of a bird), chirping (of an insect), hoot, voice | 同時: simultaneous (どうじ), concurrent, same time, synchronous, together | 笑: laugh (わらい), laughter, smile, sneer, sex aids (e.g. dildos, pornographic books, erotic woodblock prints, etc.) |
| 響: echo (ひびき), reverberation, sound (esp. the distinctive sound of an object or activity, e.g. rain, gun, gallop, drum), noise, quality of a sound (e.g. a fine phrase, clear voice, resonant bell) | 何時: when (いつ), at what time, how soon, normal times, ordinary days | 靴: shoe (くつ), shoes, boots, footwear, footgear | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit |
| 襖: fusuma (ふすま), Japanese sliding screen, everyday garment worn by men in ancient Japan (あお) | 例: example (れい), instance, illustration, case, precedent | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 机: desk (つき), desk (つくえ) |
| 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) | 其所: there (place relatively near listener) (そこ), there (place just mentioned), that place, then (of some incident just spoken of), that (of point just raised) | 室: room (しつ), wife (of someone of high rank), scabbard, Chinese “Encampment” constellation (one of the 28 mansions), greenhouse (むろ) |
| 姿: figure (すがた), form, shape, appearance, dress | 後姿: (a person’s) appearance from behind (うしろすがた), person as seen from behind, back view, retreating figure | 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 何: what (なに), what (ナニ), you-know-what, you-know-what, that thing |
| 問: question (とい), query, counter for questions (もん) | 心持: feeling (こころもち), mood, sensation, disposition, mental attitude | 惡: evil (あく), wickedness, (role of) the villain (in theatre, etc.), the bad guy | 答: answer (こたえ), reply, response, answer, solution |
| 其儘: without change (そのまま), without change (そのまんま), as is, as is, just like | 間: space (between) (あいだ), space (between) (あわい), gap, gap, interval | 茶: tea (ちゃ), tea plant (Camellia sinensis), tea preparation, making tea, brown | 持: draw (in go, poetry contest, etc.) (じ), tie |
| 挨拶: greeting (あいさつ), greetings, salutation, salute, condolences | 何故: why (なぜ), why (なにゆえ), how, how | 捌: eight (はち), eight (や), 8, 8 | 男: man (おっこ), man (おとこ), male, male, fellow |
| 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 其事: that (そのこと), the matter in question | 氣: spirit (き), mind, heart, nature, disposition | 人間: human being (にんげん), human, person, man, mankind |
| 縁側: engawa (えんがわ), external corridor on the outer side of traditional Japanese houses, bone at the base of a fin (esp. of a flatfish), meat at the base of a fin | 行: line (of text) (ぎょう), row, verse, carya (austerities), samskara (formations) | 留: ruble (Russian currency) (ルーブリ), ruble (Russian currency) (ルーブル), rouble, rouble, stationary point (りゅう) | 二言: double-dealing (にげん), double-dealing (にごん), double tongue, double tongue, going back on what one has said |
| 内: inside (うち), within, while (e.g. one is young), during, within (e.g. a day) | 外: outside (そと), outside (と), exterior, exterior, the open (air) | 話: talk (はなし), speech, chat, conversation, topic | 先刻: a short while ago (せんこく), already |
| 解: solution (of an equation, inequality, etc.) (かい), root (e.g. of a polynomial), solution (to a given problem), answer, explanation |