Haru ya Mukashi (translation) (5)

On the day, Shin-san was walking along Dai-Kaidoh Street in the castle town, and was hailed by
"Uncle Ikeuchi,"
who was an ex-samurai. His name is Ikenouchi Nobuo. He is an old man, who used to hold a superintendent office of infantry samurai with Hiragoroh, and has been associating with Akiyama Family as close as relatives. For your information, the man's fourth son is named Kiyoshi, who will be adopted to Takahama Family, and will make haiku poet, Takahama Kyoshi.
"Rare sight, isn't it?"
Thus said Uncle. He says to regard him a curiosity more. In the third year of Meiji, the Prefecture allowed, or even recommended, ex-samurai to change their jobs to farming or commerce, and to live in where they want to. Ikeuchi Nobuo thought living in the caste town any more would lead them only to starvation, made the registration quickly to be a farmer, was given the gratuity of housing expenditure and outfit allowance by the Prefecture, and moved to Nishi-no-shita Village at Kazahaya County in the Prefecture with the whole family. Today, he comes to the castle town after a long while, so he insists to be thought "a curiosity more."
"We mustn't stand talking."
Thus Uncle looked around. Standing chatting is what town people and peasants do, and samurai must not do that. He cannot get rid of the custom from ex-Clan's days. As he looked around, he found a bench in front of a haberdashery. It was at the entrance of the shop that bears no relation to him, but he sat on it without permission. That shows he cannot get rid of the custom to be arrogant against town people.
"Do you know?"
Asked Uncle. Shin-san asked standing, "What are you talking about?"
"So you don't know it yet. They started a teachers college in Osaka. This is, you know, a free school."
Thus he told a serious information. Shin-san was surprised and asked again only to be replied:
"I don't know its details. However, what's the matter that your father, Hiragoroh, who works for the educational affairs section of the Prefecture, has't told you the information yet. Well, sometime,"
Uncle Ikenouchi stood up,
"Why don't you ask him?"
On hearing that, Shin-san started running without a word. When he ran back to his house, his father, Hiragoroh, was planting something like medical herbs.
"Is the information of a teachers college true?"
The question was responded with, "Who told you?" As the boy told what had happened, Hiragoroh replied,
"That's true."
Only with the word, he keeps digging the ground with a spatula. As the boy reproached why he had not been informed, Hiragoroh scorned that.
Hiragoroh said, as the information had not been made public yet, how could it be revealed just to his family?
Shin-san, however, was not interested in listening that official morals, but knowing entrance regulations. As he asked about them in a haste, Hiragoroh said,
"I can't tell you here. Why don't you come over to the office?"
He demanded his son to come as the general public do, and then the rules shall be taught. It shows he is, in any respect, just a conscientious castle officer who follows an old custom of ex-Clan.