手紙の内容は簡單でした。さうして寧ろ抽象的でした。自分は薄志弱行で到底行先の望みがないから、自殺するといふ丈なのです。それから今迄私に世話になつた禮が、極あつさりした文句で其後に付け加へてありました。世話序に死後の片付方も頼みたいといふ言葉もありました。奥さんに迷惑を掛けて濟まんから宜しく詫をして呉れといふ句もありました。國元へは私から知らせて貰ひたいといふ依頼もありました。必要な事はみんな一口づゝ書いてある中に御孃さんの名前丈は何處にも見えません。私は仕舞迄讀んで、すぐＫがわざと囘避したのだといふ事に氣が付きました。然し私の尤も痛切に感じたのは、最後に墨の餘りで書き添へたらしく見える、もつと早く死ぬべきだのに何故今迄生きてゐたのだらうといふ意味の文句でした。
translation
"The content of the letter was simple." It was rather abstract. I'm weak and have no hope of a destination, so I'm going to commit suicide. After that, Rei, who has been indebted to me until now, added an extremely polite phrase. There was also a word that I would like to ask the care order to clean up after death. There was also a phrase saying that he should apologize for causing trouble to his wife. There was also a request to Kunimoto to let me know. Everything you need is written down one bite at a time, but the daughter's name is nowhere to be seen. As soon as I read until the end, I realized that K had deliberately avoided it. However, what struck me most poignantly was the last sentence, which seemed to have been left out of the ink, and which meant that he should have died sooner, but why have he been living all this time.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 手紙: letter (てがみ), missive, note, mail | 内容: contents (ないよう), content, substance, matter, detail | 寧: rather (むしろ), better, instead, if anything | 抽象的: abstract (ちゅうしょうてき) |
| 薄志弱行: infirm of purpose and lacking in decision (はくしじゃっこう) | 到底: (cannot) possibly (とうてい), (not) by any means, (not) at all, utterly, absolutely | 行先: destination (いきさき), destination (ゆきさき), whereabouts, whereabouts, future | 行先: destination (いきさき), destination (ゆきさき), whereabouts, whereabouts, future |
| 自殺: suicide (じさつ) | 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 今迄: until now (いままで), so far, up to the present | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) |
| 極: quite (ごく), very, 10^48, quindecillion, pole (きょく) | 文句: complaint (もんく), grumbling, objection, phrase, words | 其後: after that (そのあと), after that (そのご), after that (そののち), afterwards, afterwards | 付: furnished with (つき), furnished with (づき), furnished with (ツキ), including, including |
| 世話: care (せわ), looking after, help, assistance, aid | 序: opportunity (ついで), occasion, chance, order, sequence | 死後: after death (しご) | 付方: way of affixing something (つけかた), way of recording something (to a logbook, etc.) |
| 奥: 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) | 迷惑: trouble (めいわく), bother, annoyance, nuisance, inconvenience | 掛: credit (かけ), money owed on an account, bill, hanger, holder | 宜: truly (うべ), truly (むべ), indeed, indeed |
| 句: section (i.e. of text) (く), sentence, passage, paragraph, phrase | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) | 依頼: request (いらい), commission, entrusting (with a matter), dependence, reliance |
| 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 一口: mouthful (ひとくち), morsel, bite, gulp, sip | 書: letter (ふみ), writings, book (しょ), document, calligraphy (esp. Chinese) | 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle |
| 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than | 何處: where (いずく), where (いずこ), where (いづこ), where (いどこ), where (どこ) | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 仕舞: end (しまい), close, finish, termination, noh dance in plain clothes |
| 氣: spirit (き), mind, heart, nature, disposition | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) | 尤: superb (ゆう), outstanding | 痛切: keen (つうせつ), acute, heartfelt |
| 最後: end (さいご), conclusion, last, final, latest | 墨: sumi (すみ), India ink, Chinese ink, ink stick, ink-cake | 餘: other (よ), another, remaining, leftover, over | 早: already (はや), now, by this time, quick, early |
| 何故: why (なぜ), why (なにゆえ), how, how | 意味: meaning (いみ), significance, sense |