私は伯父が市の方に妾を有つてゐるといふ噂を聞きました。私は其噂を昔し中學の同級生であつたある友達から聞いたのです。妾を置く位の事は、此伯父として少しも怪しむに足らないのですが、父の生きてゐるうちに、そんな評判を耳に入れた覺のない私は驚ろきました。友達は其外にも色々伯父に就いての噂を語つて聞かせました。一時事業で失敗しかゝつてゐたやうに他から思はれてゐたのに、此二三年來又急に盛り返して來たといふのも、その一つでした。しかも私の疑惑を強く染め付けたものゝ一つでした。
translation
I heard rumors that my uncle had a mistress in the city. I heard the rumor from a friend who used to be my junior high school classmate. As my uncle, the fact that he had a mistress was nothing to be suspicious of, but I, who had never heard of such rumors during my father's lifetime, was surprised. My friend also told me many other rumors about my uncle. One of the reasons was that, although others thought that the business was on the verge of failure at one point, it has suddenly recovered in the last two to three years. Moreover, it was one of the things that strongly stained my suspicions.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 伯父: uncle (おじ), uncle (しゅくふ), uncle (はくふ), uncle (one’s father’s older brother) (えおじ) | 市: market (いち), fair, city (し) | 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman |
| 有: existence (ゆう), possession, having, limited company, bhava (becoming, existence) (う) | 噂: rumour (うわさ), rumor, report, hearsay, gossip | 昔: olden days (むかし), former | 同級生: classmate (どうきゅうせい) |
| 位: throne (くらい), crown, (nobleman’s) seat, government position, court rank | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident | 伯父: uncle (おじ), uncle (しゅくふ), uncle (はくふ), uncle (one’s father’s older brother) (えおじ) | 少: small (しょう), little, few |
| 足: foot (あし), paw, arm (of an octopus, squid, etc.), leg, gait | 父: father (あて), father (かそ), father (かぞ), father (しし), father (ちち) | 生: pure (き), undiluted, raw, crude, raw (なま) | 評判: reputation (ひょうばん), (public) estimation, popularity, rumour, rumor |
| 入: entering (いり), setting (of the Sun), containing, content, audience | 色々: various (いろいろ), all sorts of, variety of, various colors (colours) | 伯父: uncle (おじ), uncle (しゅくふ), uncle (はくふ), uncle (one’s father’s older brother) (えおじ) | 伯父: uncle (おじ), uncle (しゅくふ), uncle (はくふ), uncle (one’s father’s older brother) (えおじ) |
| 一時: a (short) time (いっとき), a (short) time (ひととき), a while, a while, moment | 事業: project (ことわざ), project (じぎょう), enterprise, enterprise, business | 事業: project (ことわざ), project (じぎょう), enterprise, enterprise, business | 失敗: failure (しっぱい), mistake, blunder |
| 盛: serving (of food) (もり), helping, chilled soba served on a dish (often on a wicker basket or in a shallow steaming basket) with dipping sauce | 返: number of times (へん), reply, answer | 一: one (いち), 1, best, first, foremost | 疑惑: doubt (ぎわく), misgivings, distrust, suspicion |
| 染: dyeing (そめ), printing | 付: furnished with (つき), furnished with (づき), furnished with (ツキ), including, including |