ＷＥＢ絵本『女中奉公（金子文子）』第１３巻
秋原さんの世話で私は、浅草聖天町の仲木という砂糖屋に奉公することとなった．
この家には五十四、五になる夫婦と、若夫婦と、若夫婦の子供が２人に、弟が２人のほかに、店員と女中とが各々一人ずつ、それに私を混ぜて都合１１人の家族が住んでいた．
I got a job at Nakagi Sugar Store with the help of Ms. Akiyama.
It was located in Asakusashotencho Town.
There were an elder couple of 54 or 55 years old, an younger couple, two children of the younger couple and two brothers of the younger couple in the family. Its members were 11 including a live-in store employee, a live-in housekeeper and me.
老主人というのは店を息子に譲って自分は家のことは何ひとつせず、いつも家を空けて外にいたが五日に一度ぐらいしか戻って来なかった．
これは後で知ったことであるが、この老主人は何でも浅草公園附近の待合に入りびたって、似寄った連中と夜昼ぶっ通しに賭博をしたり飲んだりして日を送っているらしかった．
しかも、公園近くに妾をかこっているとかで、大抵の時はその方で日を暮らすようになっているのだった．
The elder head of the household already transferred his store to his oldest son.
And the elder head didn't do any housework. He was out always. He came back to home only a time in five days or so.
I heard this later on; The elder head spent a lot of time at a casino near the Asakusakoen Park; And he spent time drinking and gambling with the same type people night and day.
In addition, he kept a mistress near the park. So, he mostly stayed there.
私がこの家に行ってから一月ばかり経ったある日、
「久しぶりに聖天さまへお詣りに参りましたのでちょっとお寄りしました」
と言って来た二十五、六の女があったが、後で奥さんから私に、
「あれはお父さんの妾なのよ」
と教えられたことがある．疎い縞お召の羽織を引っ掛けて、束髪に巻いていたが、玄人染みた粋な女だった．
After I was employed at this house, about a month passed.
One day, a woman came. She appeared to be 25 or 26 years old. And she said "I visited and prayed before the Shoten Buddha for the first time in a long time. So, I have just dropped in."
The woman was wearing a coat with subtle stripes and her hair in a bun. She was a stylish woman like a hostess of night club. The wife of the younger head told me later on.
"She is the mistress of Father."
大奥さんというのは病的なまでに潔癖家で、部屋の中の畳の上をさえスリッパを穿かねば歩けないといった方であったが、それでいておかしいことには、そのスリッパで便所の板の間をじかに踏む矛盾を平気でやるのであった．
若い時にはちょっと好かっただろうと思われるほど、今もなお色艶のいい女で、風呂に行っても二時間はたっぷりかかるほどのおめかし屋であった．
The wife of the elder head abnormally obsessed with cleanliness. She couldn't walk on the floor of a room without carpet slippers. Strangely, she didn't hesitate to step on the floor of the toilet with her carpet slippers. She lacked consistency.
There can be no doubt that she was pretty when she was young. Now, she still had a good complexion. She was so careful about her appearance that she needed 2 hours for taking a bath.
たまに大旦那が帰って来ると、火鉢を中に向かい合わせに座って、ひっきりなし何か愚痴をこぼしているのだったが、何でもそれは妾のことについてらしかった．
「うるさいなあ、好い加減におし・・・」と、大旦那が怒って帰って来たばかりなのにまたも飛び出して行ってしまうのを、私は時々みとめた．
The elder head came home once in a while. Then he and his wife sat facing each other across a heater. She was continuously complaining about something. It seemed to be his mistress.
"It's noisy. Give it a rest!"
The elder head got angry and went out again, although he just came back.
I often met with such a situation.
若主人は別にこれという特徴を持たぬ平凡なそして品行方正な男であったが、奥さんはなかなかの器量よしであった．
夫婦仲も決してわるい方ではなく、むしろ並以上の睦まじさであった．
The younger head was an ordinary man of good behavior. And his wife had good looks.
Their marital relations weren't bad. They were a compatible married couple.
が、姑と嫁との間は余り面白くないらしく、嫁はいつもオドオドと小さくなっていた．それを夫が、陰になり日向になりして庇っているのは誰の眼にもわかった．
で、大奥さんはいつも、それが気に喰わぬといった風にブツブツと言っていたが、時にはじっと長火鉢の上におっかぶさったまま、ヒステリカルに泣いたりなんかしていた．
But, the wife of the younger head wasn't getting along with her mother-in-low. The younger wife always felt nervous. Everybody knew that the younger head supported his wife both openly and behind the scenes.
So, her mother-in-low always muttered complains to herself unsatisfactorily. She occasionally and hysterically cried covering over the heater.
（続く）
―― 奥付 ――
ＷＥＢ絵本『女中奉公（金子文子）』第１３巻
絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：金子文子
Title: A Housemaid (Kaneko Fumiko) volume 13
Illustrated and translated by: Akanemachi Haruhiko
Original author: Kaneko Fumiko
