初声*


1st January 2009


The first day of the year and a man's voice woke me.

Someone outside, beyond my curtains, beyond sleep, called out to another man. 'Omedetou!' he said - the way you wish a friend a happy new year.

I fumbled for the clock behind my pillow. 8.26, it said. Omedetou.

Too early, I said and went back to sleep.




* Hatsu goe: first voice (of the year). There are a number of hatsu pairs in Japanese - hatsu yume, first dream, for instance - but first voice is not one of them.