私はとう／＼萬世橋を渡つて、明神の坂を上つて、本郷臺へ來て、夫から又菊坂を下りて、仕舞に小石川の谷へ下りたのです。私の歩いた距離は此三區に跨がつて、いびつな圓を描いたとも云はれるでせうが、私は此長い散歩の間殆んどＫの事を考へなかつたのです。今其時の私を囘顧して、何故だと自分に聞いて見ても一向分りません。たゞ不思議に思ふ丈です。私の心がＫを忘れ得る位、一方に緊張してゐたと見ればそれ迄ですが、私の良心が又それを許すべき筈はなかつたのですから。
translation
Finally, I crossed the Mansei Bridge, climbed up the slope of Myojin, arrived at Hongodai, descended from my husband again down the Kikuzaka, and finally descended into the valley of Koishikawa. It could be said that the distance I walked straddled these three districts and drew a distorted circle, but during this long walk I hardly thought about K. Looking back on my life at that time and asking myself why, I have no idea. It's just a strange length. My mind was so tense that I could forget about K, but my conscience should not have allowed it.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 明神: emperor (あきつかみ), living god, great god (みょうじん), gracious deity, miracle-working god | 坂: slope (さか), incline, hill, milestone, (age) mark | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit |
| 夫: husband (おっと), male (お), manly, brave, heroic | 下: below (した), down, under, younger (e.g. daughter), bottom | 仕舞: end (しまい), close, finish, termination, noh dance in plain clothes | 小石: pebble (こいし), small stone |
| 石川: Ishikawa (prefecture) (いしかわ) | 谷: valley (たに) | 歩: pawn (ふ), step (ほ), stride, counter for steps, walking (あゆみ) | 距離: distance (きょり), range, interval, difference (e.g. in opinion), gap |
| 散歩: walk (さんぽ), stroll | Ｋ: K (ケイ), K (ケー), k, k, kilo- | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 考: thought (こう), report on one’s investigation into …, deceased father |
| 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 一向: intently (ひたすら), single-mindedly, devotedly, solely, earnestly | 分: minute (unit of time) (ふん), fun (one tenth of a monme, 5.787 grains), one-tenth (ぶ), one percent (one-tenth of a wari), 3 mm (one-tenth of a sun) |
| 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 心: mind (こころ), heart, spirit, the meaning of a phrase (riddle, etc.), heart (しん) | 得: profit (とく), advantage, benefit, gain, rebirth in paradise, entering nirvana | 一方: one (esp. of two) (いっぽう), the other, one way, the other way, one direction |
| 迄: until (a time) (まで), till, to, up to, to (a place or person) | 良心: conscience (りょうしん) | 又: again (また), once more, once again, another time, some other time | 許: only (ばかり), only (ばっかり), merely, merely, nothing but |