私は其うち先生の留守に行つて、奧さんと二人差向ひで話をする機會に出合つた。先生は其日横濱を出帆する汽船に乘つて外國へ行くべき友人を新橋へ送りに行つて留守であつた。横濱から船に乘る人が、朝八時半の汽車で新橋を立つのは其頃の習慣であつた。私はある書物に就いて先生に話して貰ふ必要があつたので、豫じめ先生の承諾を得た通り、約束の九時に訪問した。先生の新橋行は前日わざ／＼告別に來た友人に對する禮義として其日突然起つた出來事であつた。先生はすぐ歸るから留守でも私に待つてゐるやうにと云ひ殘して行つた。それで私は座敷へ上つて、先生を待つ間、奧さんと話をした。
translation
Before long, I went to Sensei's absence and had the opportunity to speak with his wife face-to-face. Sensei was away from Shimbashi that day to drop off a friend who was on a steamer sailing from Yokohama to go abroad. In those days, it was customary for people taking a boat from Yokohama to leave Shinbashi on the train at 8:30 in the morning. I needed to talk to Sensei about a certain book, so I went to see him at nine o'clock as promised. Sensei's visit to Shimbashi was a sudden event that day as a courtesy to a friend who had come to say goodbye on purpose. Sensei told me that he would be back soon, so that I could wait for him even though he was away. So I went up to the tatami room and talked with Okusan while I waited for Sensei.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 其: that (それ), it, then, that point (in time), that time | 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 留守: absence (るす), being away from home, house-sitting, house-sitter, being left unattended to (of one’s studies, 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) | 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 | 出合: meeting (であい), rendezvous, encounter, confluence |
| 汽船: steamship (きせん), steamboat, steamer | 友人: friend (ゆうじん) | 新橋: Shinbashi (Tokyo) (しんばし) | 船: ship (ふね), boat, watercraft, vessel, seaplane |
| 時半: half past (the hour) (じはん), one hour (ときなか) | 汽車: train (esp. long distance train) (きしゃ), steam train | 習慣: habit (しゅうかん), (social) custom, practice, convention | 書物: book (しょもつ), volume |
| 承諾: consent (しょうだく), approval, acceptance, agreement, compliance | 得: profit (とく), advantage, benefit, gain, rebirth in paradise, entering nirvana | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 約束: promise (やくそく), agreement, arrangement, one’s word, contract |
| 訪問: call (ほうもん), visit | 新橋: Shinbashi (Tokyo) (しんばし) | 行: line (of text) (ぎょう), row, verse, carya (austerities), samskara (formations) | 前日: previous day (ぜんじつ), previous day (まえび), day before, day before, eve |
| 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) | 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) | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit |