食卓は約束通り座敷の縁近くに据ゑられてあつた。模樣の織り出された厚い糊の硬い卓布が美くしく且清らかに電燈の光を射返してゐた。先生のうちで飯を食ふと、屹度此西洋料理店に見るやうな白いリンネルの上に、箸や茶碗が置かれた。さうしてそれが必ず洗濯したての眞白なものに限られてゐた。
translation
As promised, the dining table was set near the edge of the tatami room. The hard, thick, starchy table cloth woven in a pattern reflected the light of the electric lamp beautifully and purely. When I ate at Sensei's house, chopsticks and rice bowls were often placed on top of the white linen that you often see in Western restaurants. As such, it was always limited to freshly laundered, pure white clothes.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 食卓: dining table (しょくたく) | 約束: promise (やくそく), agreement, arrangement, one’s word, contract | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 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) |
| 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 厚: thickness (あつ) | 糊: paste (のり), glue, clothing starch | 硬: hardness (こう) |
| 電燈: electric light (でんとう) | 光: light (ひかり), illumination, ray, beam, gleam | 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 飯: cooked rice (めし), meal, food, one’s living, livelihood |
| 屹度: surely (きっと), surely (キッと), undoubtedly, undoubtedly, almost certainly | 料理店: restaurant (りょうりてん) | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 白: white (しろ), innocence, innocent person, blank space, white go stone |
| 箸: chopsticks (はし) | 茶碗: rice bowl (ちゃわん), tea cup, teacup | 必: definiteness (ひつ), certainty | 洗濯: washing (せんたく), washing (せんだく), laundry, laundry, relaxing |