"Smiling in the Age of Enlightenment" Senryu (25) 〽 The thief is held down by a three-foot staff
〽 A dark road, illuminated by the patrolman's hanging lamp
〽 A crooked fellow, seeing the patrolman, strays from the path
* "Sakō" (patrolman) is an honorific for a police officer. Reference: "Dai Nihon Kokugo Jiten Vol. 2 (Sakō)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
* "Wōdō" means deviating from the righteous path as a human being.
〽 A twisted fellow, intimidated by a straight staff
〽 The rickshaw man, 'Mō', flees when the patrolman comes
* "Igantaru" means distorted or twisted.
〽 The thief is held down by a three-foot staff
〽 Evening cool, the sound of sandals rushing in naked
* The "three-foot staff" refers to the three-foot-long staff carried by the "Bantarō" (watchman) in the Edo period; it is said that after the Bantarō were abolished in the Meiji period, police officers carried them. Reference: "Dai Nihon Kokugo Jiten Vol. 2 (Three-foot staff)" "Dai Nihon Kokugo Jiten Vol. 4 (Bantarō)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
In the fifth year of Meiji, these watchmen were abolished and people called "police" were created, but they still wore Nirayama hats, Western clothes, and shoes, and carried an oak staff about three feet long. (Omitted) Three or four years later, the "police" became "rasotsu" (patrolmen), and two or three years after that, the name changed to "junsa" (police officer), and police boxes were established as they are today. These combined the functions of the old street watch stations and self-governing watch stations, and in the old days, people would ask for directions at the street watch stations...
〽 Speaking nonsense to the patrolman with a tongue that won't turn
〽 Urinating on the roadside, it cannot be done for one shu
* "Isshu" is a currency that circulated in the Edo period. Isshu gold, Isshu silver. Reference: "Dai Nihon Kokugo Jiten Vol. 1 (Isshu gold) (Isshu silver)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
* Reference: "Yokohama City History: Customs Edition (Control of Urination)" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
Author's Note: ● indicates characters that could not be deciphered. I will update as appropriate when new characters are deciphered or when I notice typos or misreadings. For details, please read "Self-Introduction / Disclaimer". 📖