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ゆかたの右前
近所の盆おどりは明日の夜です。アイシャさんは、初めてゆかたを着てみることにしました。スマホで着方の動画を流しながら、帯を結びます。ところが、一回目はリボンが斜めになり、二回目は少し歩いただけで帯が下がってきました。三回目は、どうしても形になりません。
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The neighbourhood Bon dance was the next evening, and Aisha had decided to try wearing a yukata for the first time. She played a how-to video on her phone and tied the sash as she watched. But the first time, the bow came out crooked; the second time, the sash slipped down after only a few steps; and the third time, she just couldn’t get it into shape.
困ったアイシャさんは、ゆかたのまま下の階の松井さんをたずねました。「すみません、帯を見てもらえませんか。」松井さんはドアを開けるとすぐに笑って、「帯より先に、えりが反対よ」と言いました。
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At a loss, Aisha went downstairs in her yukata to see Mrs Matsui. “Sorry to bother you. Could you have a look at my sash?” Mrs Matsui laughed the moment she opened the door. “Never mind the sash. Your collar’s crossed the wrong way.”
松井さんによると、ゆかたは「右前」に着ることになっているそうです。ただし、右を上にするのではありません。自分から見て右側を先に体に合わせて、その上に左側を重ねるのです。反対の「左前」は亡くなった人に着せるときの合わせ方なので、気をつけたほうがいいそうです。アイシャさんは動画の先生を鏡のようにまねしていたので、左右が逆になっていたのでした。
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According to Mrs Matsui, a yukata is always worn 「右前」, “right front”. But that doesn’t mean the right side goes on top. You first wrap the side on your own right against your body, then lay the left side over it. The opposite, 「左前」, is how the dead are dressed, so it is best to take care, she said. Aisha had been copying the teacher in the video as if she were a mirror, and so she had got left and right the wrong way round.
松井さんにえりを直してもらい、帯も一緒に結び直しました。リボンは今度はまっすぐです。「明日は、やぐらの近くにいるからね。」部屋に戻ったアイシャさんは、忘れないように、鏡の横に小さなメモを貼りました。「右が先、左が上。」
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Mrs Matsui put her collar right for her, and together they tied the sash again. This time the bow was straight. “Tomorrow I’ll be near the yagura tower, all right?” Back in her room, so that she wouldn’t forget, Aisha stuck a little note next to the mirror: “Right first, left on top.”
Three expressions
友だちに引っ越しを手伝ってもらいました。
A friend helped me move house.
「〜てもらう」: to have someone do something for you, to get help from someone. The helper takes 「に」; to ask, say 「〜てもらえませんか」. In the story, 「えりを直してもらい」 means “she had her collar put right for her”.
この寮では、夜十一時までに玄関のかぎを閉めることになっています。
In this dormitory, the rule is that the front door is locked by eleven at night.
「〜ことになっている」: “the rule is that …”, “… is supposed to …”. It is about rules or customs that everyone follows; for a habit you set yourself, use 「〜ことにしている」. In the story, 「ゆかたは『右前』に着ることになっている」 means “a yukata is supposed to be worn 「右前」”.
忘れないように、カレンダーに丸をつけました。
I drew a circle on the calendar so that I wouldn’t forget.
「〜ように」: “so that …”, to make a state come about. Before it usually comes a nai form, a potential form, or a verb you can’t control, such as 「わかる」 or 「聞こえる」; before an action you can control, use 「〜ために」. In the story, 「忘れないように、鏡の横に小さなメモを貼りました」 means “so that she wouldn’t forget, she stuck a little note next to the mirror”.
One small thing to do
Tip
Put a shirt or jacket round your shoulders and cross the two front edges: your right side goes against your body first, and the left goes on top. That is 「右前」. Then look in the mirror and see how left and right are reversed.