私は私の過去を善惡ともに他の參考に供する積です。然し妻だけはたつた一人の例外だと承知して下さい。私は妻には何にも知らせたくないのです。妻が己れの過去に對してもつ記憶を、成るべく純白に保存して置いて遣りたいのが私の唯一の希望なのですから、私が死んだ後でも、妻が生きてゐる以上は、あなた限りに打ち明けられた私の秘密として、凡てを腹の中に仕舞つて置いて下さい」。
translation
"I am a product of my past, both good and bad, for others to refer to." However, please understand that my wife is the only exception. I don't want my wife to know anything. My only hope is to preserve the memories my wife has of my past as pure as possible, so even after my death, as long as she is alive, As my secret that has been confided to you, please keep everything in your belly."
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 過去: the past (かこ), bygone days, one’s past (that one would prefer remained secret), past (tense), preterit | 他: another place (ほか), some other place, somewhere else, outside, another (person or thing) | 參考: reference (さんこう), consultation |
| 積: product (せき), volume, area | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) | 妻: wife (つま), garnish (esp. one served with sashimi), trimmings, accompaniment, side (remark) | 一人: one person (いちにん), one person (ひとり), being alone, being alone, being by oneself |
| 承知: knowledge (しょうち), awareness, acceptance, consent, assent | 下: below (した), down, under, younger (e.g. daughter), bottom | 何: what (なに), what (ナニ), you-know-what, you-know-what, that thing | 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) |
| 對: versus (たい), against, vs., v., to (e.g. score of 4 to 2, ratio of 3 to 1, vote of 320 to 180) | 記憶: memory (きおく), recollection, remembrance, memory, storage | 純白: pure white (じゅんぱく), snow white | 保存: preservation (ほぞん), conservation, storage, maintenance, saving (e.g. to disk) |
| 希望: hope (きぼう), wish, aspiration, (bright) prospects, expectation | 死: death (し), death (ﾀﾋ), decease, decease, (an) out | 後: behind (あと), rear, after, later, remainder | 生: pure (き), undiluted, raw, crude, raw (なま) |
| 限: end (きり), finish, place to stop, bound, limit | 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 | 秘密: secret (ひみつ), secrecy, confidentiality, privacy, mystery |
| 腹: abdomen (はら), belly, stomach, womb, one’s mind | 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 仕舞: end (しまい), close, finish, termination, noh dance in plain clothes |