私の舊友は私の言葉通りに取計らつて呉れました。尤もそれは私が東京へ着いてから餘程經つた後の事です。田舍で畠地などを賣らうとしたつて容易には賣れませんし、いざとなると足元を見て踏み倒される恐れがあるので、私の受け取つた金額は、時價に比べると餘程少ないものでした。自白すると、私の財産は自分が懷にして家を出た若干の公債と、後から此友人に送つて貰つた金丈なのです。親の遺産としては固より非常に減つてゐたに相違ありません。しかも私が積極的に減らしたのでないから、猶心持が惡かつたのです。けれども學生として生活するにはそれで充分以上でした。實をいふと私はそれから出る利子の半分も使へませんでした。此餘裕ある私の學生々活が私を思ひも寄らない境遇に陷し入れたのです。
translation
"My old friend took care of me according to my words." Of course, that was after I had been in Tokyo for quite some time. If I were to sell farmland in the countryside, I would not be able to sell it easily, and in the event of an emergency, I might be knocked down by someone who saw my feet. . I confess that my fortune consists of a few bonds that I gave up and left home, and the money that this friend later sent me. As a parent's inheritance, it must have been much less than it was. Moreover, since I did not actively try to reduce the number, I had a bad feeling about it. But that was more than enough to make a living as a student. To tell you the truth, I didn't even use half of the interest I got from it. This extravagant academic life put me in an unexpected situation.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 言葉: language (けとば), language (ことば), dialect, dialect, word | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 呉: go (ご), soy beans soaked and mashed to a creamy paste (ingredient of tofu and soy milk), Wu (region in China, south of the lower Yangtze), Wu (kingdom in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era; 902-937 CE), Southern Wu |
| 東京: Tokyo (とうきょう), Tokyo (とうけい) | 着: arrival (ちゃく), arriving at …, counter for items or suits of clothing, nth place (in a race), counter for moves | 後: behind (あと), rear, after, later, remainder | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident |
| 容易: easy (ようい), simple, plain | 足元: at one’s feet (あしもと), underfoot, one’s step (as in “watch your step”), gait, pace | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 倒: reverse (さかしま), inversion, upside down, unreasonable, absurd |
| 受: vedana (sensation) (じゅ) | 取: taking (とり), taker, collecting, collector, remover | 金額: amount of money (きんがく), sum of money | 比: ratio (ひ), proportion, match, equal, equivalent |
| 財産: property (ざいさん), fortune, assets | 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself | 懷: inside the breast of one’s clothing (esp. kimono) (ふところ), bosom, (breast) pocket, space between one’s chest and outstretched arms, (one’s) reach | 家: house (いえ), residence, dwelling, family, household |
| 若干: some (じゃっかん), some (そくばく), some (そこば), some (そこばく), few | 公債: public debt (こうさい), public bond, government securities | 友人: friend (ゆうじん) | 親: parent (おや), parents, mother and father, dealer, banker |
| 非常: emergency (ひじょう), extreme, great, extraordinary, remarkable | 減: reduction (げん), decrease, subtraction, reduction of penalty (under the ritsuryō codes) | 相違: difference (そうい), discrepancy, variation | 積極的: positive (せっきょくてき), assertive, active, proactive, aggressive |
| 惡: evil (あく), wickedness, (role of) the villain (in theatre, etc.), the bad guy | 學生: student (esp. a university student) (がくせい) | 生活: life (せいかつ), living, livelihood, (one’s) living | 充分: enough (じゅうぶん), sufficient, plenty, adequate, satisfactory |
| 以上: not less than … (いじょう), … and over, … and above, … and upwards, … or more | 利子: interest (on a deposit, loan, etc.) (りし) | 半分: half (はんぶん), half minute (はんぷん) | 使: messenger (し), police and judicial chief (Heian and Kamakura periods), klesha (polluting thoughts such as greed, hatred and delusion, which result in suffering) |
| 境遇: one’s circumstances (きょうぐう), environment, situation (in life) | 入: entering (いり), setting (of the Sun), containing, content, audience |