"Smiles of Civilization" Senryu (24) 〽 Even the night-soil collector's child studies the Tangohen
〽 The path of civilization is a bright street lamp
* "Street lamp": There is a song that was popular around the 10th year of Meiji (1877) that goes like this.
A popular song from around the 10th year of Meiji goes, "Recently, everywhere is opening up, schools are Western-style, flags and beef lawyers, topknots are Tokyo-style and silver-gray, billiards and rickshaws, physics is telegraphs and mail, postcards and steam trains, steamships and carriages, loach long-beards, hats and pocket watches, capes and shoes, rings and street lamps, bat-wing umbrellas and evergreen plants and newspapers," but...
〽 Even the night-soil collector's child studies the Tangohen
〽 The night-soil collector holds his nose at the scent of mandarin oranges
* "Night-soil collector" refers to a person who collects human waste from toilets.
* "Tangohen" refers to the "Tangohen" (Vocabulary Volume), a textbook for characters and vocabulary compiled by the Ministry of Education in the 5th year of Meiji (1872).
A senryu about the "Tangohen" is published in Volume 1 of "Smiles of Civilization," so please take a look at my past notes if you like. 👀
→ "Smiles of Civilization" Senryu (8) 〽 A girl who hates pincushions goes to hell
* "Mandarin orange" might be a misreading.
* "Kaza" might mean "scent." The expression "scent of mandarin oranges" can be seen in haiku. Reference: "Complete Works of Basho" (Complete Works of Basho) (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 the "Self-Introduction/Disclaimer." 📖