肝心の御孃さんに、直接此私といふものを打ち明ける機會も、長く一所にゐるうちには時々出て來たのですが、私はわざとそれを避けました。日本の習慣として、さういふ事は許されてゐないのだといふ自覺が、其頃の私には強くありました。然し決してそれ許が私を束縛したとは云へません。日本人、ことに日本の若い女は、そんな場合に、相手に氣兼なく自分の思つた通りを遠慮せずに口にする丈の勇氣に乏しいものと私は見込んでゐたのです。
translation
While I was in the same place for a long time, there were occasional opportunities to tell my dear daughter directly, but I deliberately avoided it. At that time, I had a strong feeling that such a thing was not permitted as a custom in Japan. However, I can't say that it restrained me. I assumed that Japanese people, especially Japanese young women, would not have the courage to say what they thought without hesitation.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 肝心: essential (かんじん), important, crucial, vital, main | 直接: direct (ちょくせつ), immediate, personal, firsthand | 打: dozen (ダース), hitting a ball (with a bat, golf club, etc.) (だ), batting, stroke | 明: vidya (wisdom) (みょう), mantra, the coming (July 4, etc.), brightness (めい), discernment |
| 一所: one place (いっしょ), one place (ひとところ), the same place, the same place, one person | 時々: sometimes (ときどき), occasionally, at times, from time to time, now and then | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) |
| 習慣: habit (しゅうかん), (social) custom, practice, convention | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 許: only (ばかり), only (ばっかり), merely, merely, nothing but | 強: a little over (きょう), a little more than, strength, the strong, powerhouse |
| 決: decision (けつ), vote | 束縛: restraint (そくばく), restriction, fetters, yoke, shackles | 日本人: Japanese person (にっぽんじん), Japanese person (にほんじん) | 若: youth (わか), child (esp. of the young son of someone of high social standing), young, new, like (こと) |
| 場合: case (ばあい), occasion, situation, circumstances, case (ばやい) | 相手: companion (あいて), partner, company, other party, addressee | 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. |
| 口: mouth (くち), opening, hole, gap, orifice | 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 見込: hope (みこみ), promise, possibility, chance, probability |