當時の私の眼に映つた先生と奧さんの間柄はまづ斯んなものであつた。そのうちにたつた一つの例外があつた。ある日私が何時もの通り、先生の玄關から案内を頼まうとすると、座敷の方で誰かの話し聲がした。能く聞くと、それが尋常の談話ではなくつて、どうも言逆ひらしかつた。先生の宅は玄關の次がすぐ座敷になつてゐるので、格子の前に立つてゐた私の耳に其言逆ひの調子丈は略分つた。さうして其うちの一人が先生だといふ事も、時々高まつて來る男の方の聲で解つた。相手は先生よりも低い音なので、誰だか判然しなかつたが、何うも奧さんらしく感ぜられた
translation
That was the kind of relationship that Sensei and Okusan had in my eyes at the time. There was one exception in the meantime. One day, as usual, when I went to the teacher's entrance to ask for directions, I heard someone talking in the tatami room. When I listened carefully, I realized that this was no ordinary discourse, and that I was speaking out loud. At Sensei's house, the tatami room was right next to the entrance, so I could almost hear his rebellious tone when I was standing in front of the latticework. I could tell from the occasional rising male voice that one of them was Sensei. The other party had a lower pitch than the teacher, so I couldn't make out who it was, but I felt that it was very much like Mrs. Okusan.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 眼: eye (め), eyeball, eyesight, sight, vision | 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 奧: 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) |
| 一: one (いち), 1, best, first, foremost | 例外: exception (れいがい) | 何時: when (いつ), at what time, how soon, normal times, ordinary days | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. |
| 案内: guidance (あない), guidance (あんない), leading (the way), leading (the way), showing around | 座敷: tatami room (ざしき), tatami mat room, formal Japanese room, dinner party in a tatami room (esp. when a geisha or maiko attends) | 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman | 誰: who (た), who (たれ), who (だあれ), who (だれ) |
| 聲: voice (こえ), singing (of a bird), chirping (of an insect), hoot, voice | 能: talent (のう), gift, function, noh (theatre) | 尋常: common (じんじょう), usual | 談話: talk (だんわ), conversation, dialogue, informal expression of opinion, off-the-cuff remarks |
| 次: next (つぎ), following, subsequent, stage, station | 格子: lattice (こうし), latticework, window bars, grid, grating | 前: point (さき), tip, end, nozzle, head (of a line) | 耳: ear (みみ), hearing, ear (for music, etc.), edge, crust |
| 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 其: that (それ), it, then, that point (in time), that time | 一人: one person (いちにん), one person (ひとり), being alone, being alone, being by oneself | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident |
| 高: quantity (たか), quantity (だか), amount, amount, volume | 男: man (おっこ), man (おとこ), male, male, fellow | 解: solution (of an equation, inequality, etc.) (かい), root (e.g. of a polynomial), solution (to a given problem), answer, explanation | 相手: companion (あいて), partner, company, other party, addressee |
| 音: sound (おと), sound (おん), sound (ね), noise, noise | 判然: clear (はんぜん), distinct, evident, definite | 何: what (なに), what (ナニ), you-know-what, you-know-what, that thing | 感: feeling (かん), sensation, emotion, admiration, impression |