二人はそれぎり話を切り上げて、小石川の宿の方に足を向けました。割合に風のない暖たかな日でしたけれども、何しろ冬の事ですから、公園のなかは淋しいものでした。ことに霜に打たれて蒼味を失つた杉の木立の茶褐色が、薄黒い空の中に、梢を竝べて聳えてゐるのを振り返つて見た時は、寒さが脊中へ噛り付いたやうな心持がしました。我々は夕暮の本郷臺を急ぎ足でどしどし通り拔けて、又向ふの岡へ上るべく小石川の谷へ下りたのです。私は其頃になつて、漸やく外套の下に體の温味を感じ出した位です。
translation
The two of them cut the conversation short and turned to the inn in Koishikawa. It was a relatively warm day with no wind, but since it was winter, the park was lonely. In particular, when I looked back at the dark brown groves of cedar trees that had lost their bluishness due to the frost, towering over the treetops in the gloomy sky, the cold bit my spine. I felt like I was attached. We hurried through Hongodai in the evening and descended into the valley of Koishikawa to climb the hill on the other side. Around that time, I finally began to feel the warmth of my body beneath my overcoat.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 二人: two persons (ににん), two persons (ふたり), two people, two people, pair | 話: talk (はなし), speech, chat, conversation, topic | 切: eager (せつ), earnest, ardent, kind, keen | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit |
| 川: river (かわ), river (がわ), stream, stream, River | 石川: Ishikawa (prefecture) (いしかわ) | 宿: outcasts common around the Kyoto region from the Kamakura period to the Edo period (しゅく), lodging (やど), inn, hotel, house | 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman |
| 割合: rate (わりあい), ratio, percentage, proportion, comparatively | 風: swing (ふり), shake, wave, swinging, appearance | 暖: warming (だん), warmth | 日: day (ひ), days, sun, sunshine, sunlight |
| 冬: winter (ふゆ) | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 公園: (public) park (こうえん) | 霜: frost (しも), white hair, grey hair, gray hair |
| 失: loss (of something) (しつ), disadvantage, mistake, error, failure | 杉: Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) (すぎ), Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) (スギ) | 木立: cluster of trees (こだち), grove, thicket | 茶褐色: dark reddish-brown (ちゃかっしょく), liver color |
| 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 梢: treetop (こずえ), tip of a branch | 返: number of times (へん), reply, answer | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook |
| 寒: midwinter (かん), cold season, coldest days of the year, cold (さぶ), cold (さむ) | 付: furnished with (つき), furnished with (づき), furnished with (ツキ), including, including | 心持: feeling (こころもち), mood, sensation, disposition, mental attitude | 我々: we (われわれ) |
| 本郷: one’s hometown (ほんごう) | 急: sudden (きゅう), abrupt, unexpected, urgent, pressing | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 岡: hill (おか), height, knoll, rising ground, bonus points awarded to the winner at the end of a game |
| 下: below (した), down, under, younger (e.g. daughter), bottom | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 漸: a little (やや), partially, somewhat, slightly, semi- | 外套: overcoat (がいとう), greatcoat, cloak, wrap, mantle |
| 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 位: throne (くらい), crown, (nobleman’s) seat, government position, court rank |