#71 - View from the highway.

Maruya Saiichi

#71　丸谷才一『樹影譚』

高速道路を行つて霞ヶ関の出口から出る、ほんのすこし前の景色が好きだ。といつても格別の眺めではないから、ほかの人は気に留めないと思ふ。

---

Vocabulary:

• 丸谷才一　　まるやさいいち　Maruya Saiichi (author, 1925-2012)

• 高速道路　　こうそくどうろ　highway

• 霞ヶ関　　　かすみがせき　　Kasumigaseki (place in Tokyo)

• 景色　　　　けしき　　　　　scenery, view

• 格別　　　　かくべつ　　　　particular, special, exceptional

• 眺め　　　　ながめ　　　　　view

• 気に留める　きにとめる　　　to mind, to pay attention

---

Notes:

1. 行つて、といつて、思ふ

   You might notice that the use of kana is a bit strange here. This is called 旧仮名遣い (きゅうかなづかい), referring to the old, pre-WWII kana notation. This means that a small っ in 行って or いって becomes a large つ, and the う at the end of 思う becomes a ふ. The current usage of kana finds its origins in the writing reforms that took place under the American occupation of Japan (1946-1952). Maruya Saiichi, however, resisted this development by only using old kana in his writing until his death. This story, for instance, was written in 1987. The fact that Maruya uses old kana in modern language makes his work an ideal way to get used to old kana before you venture into actual pre-WWII literature.

---

Translation:

I'm fond of the view at the point slightly before the highway exit at Kasumigaseki. Having said that, it's not a particularly special view, so I don't think anyone else would pay any attention to it.

---

Amazon.jp link for the book I used:

丸谷才一『樹影譚』