元禄で
When I say they're washing their faces, bear in mind that the older two are still kindergarteners, and the youngest is too small to even tag along behind them. They're a far cry from proficient in preparing themselves for the start of the day. The small one has grabbed the wet cleaning rag out of the bucket and is rubbing it over her face. It can't be the best of feelings to rub one's face with this rag, but this is the same child who shrieks with delight when tremblers shake the house, so her antics here hardly merit mention. Then again, perhaps she's an ascetic, already outracing Yagi Dokusen on the path to self-awareness. The eldest sister, the self-anointed leader of this small crew, pushes aside the rinsing cup with a clank. "Little gal, that there is a rag!" She reaches to pull it away. The little gal, firm in her convictions, is not about to reliquish her rag to this older sister. "Uh uh! Babu!" With that, she yanks it back. No one knows the meaning or origin of this word "Babu!" It's exclusively heard, though, when Little gal is upset. The rag is being pulled back and forth between the older sister's hand and Little gal's hand and dripping incessantly onto Little gal's legs as it's center is wrung out. Wet legs are one thing, but it's also dousing her knees and her lap. Little gal is wearing a genroku. This word "genroku," as I've gathered from asking around, can refer to just about any outfit at all, as long as the fabric is modestly-patterned. I've no idea where they get these words. "Little gal, let's stop this before your genroku's soaked," the older sister wisely advises. Wise though her counsel may be, this well-informed older sibling was known previously to confuse "genroku" with the board game "sugoroku."
This recalls to my mind how often these children confuse words, often at the expense of personal embarassment. A fire sends mushrooms (kinoko) rather than sparks (hinoko) through the air. The girls' school isn't in Cha-no-mizu, but rather Cha-no-miso. The companion god of Ebisu is daidoko (kitchen) rather than Daikoku. "I'm no straw shop girl," is a common retort. This one confused me until I realized it was a mix-up of straw shop (waradana) and backstreet (uradana). The master smirks at such blunders. Then he heads off to the school, steps up onto the classroom podium with all seriousness, and instructs his charges in blunder-laden and cringeworthy English.