On a given sentences
Translated by Google
Given
After the lectures and seminars at Wako University were over and the students had gone home,
When I speak with the professor one-on-one in the quiet laboratory,
It was an irreplaceable moment for me.
The conversation moved beyond lectures and exercises, covering a wide range of topics.
The topics covered a wide range, including my time at the former First Higher School, my research at university, and my involvement with Mount Hiei after graduation.
In particular, the professor is a pioneer in philosophy and modern Buddhist studies, having pioneered languages such as Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Pali.
They showed deep respect.
At the end of those lectures, the teacher occasionally said:
The words were, "I've only been doing what was given to me."
I didn't understand what the teacher was trying to convey to me with the phrase "given."
It is generally taken as a humble remark, but I did not ask my teacher about it.
I knew that the professor rarely gave me more detailed answers to those kinds of questions.
In the summer of 1982 , when the editing of the three-volume historical writings collection to be published by the University of Tokyo Press was almost complete and it was in the proofreading stage,
The authors, the editors of each section of the anthology, and the publishing company were all involved in the process,
Because I was involved in creating the chronology and bibliography, the publisher also asked me to proofread the entire text of the anthology.
Since the university was already on summer break and my evening shifts were almost over,
From July to the beginning of September , I was solely dedicated to proofreading the text of all three volumes.
This was my first time undertaking such a thorough and responsible proofreading project.
Since I didn't know the proper proofreading methods, I worked by repeatedly going back and forth between the text and the typesetting.
And at that moment, the figures of people who had lived their lives wholeheartedly throughout history, figures that I, with my limited talent, had never seen before, began to emerge from each and every sentence of the professor's essay.
The teacher had quoted a perfectly placed and exquisite poem.
When I carefully read the first volume of the anthology dealing with the relationship between ancient literature and history, I found that when a single poem by a poet whose works are included only one or a few times in the Manyoshu was placed within the description of the professor's essay, it was as if the poet's entire life was being surveyed.
More than any explanation of the poet or the waka poem itself, the deep and broad world that the poet had experienced emerged from the poem itself, with only 31 syllables.
The professor simply quoted that one poem in a particular place in his essay.
He was simply "doing what was given to him."
However, through this encounter,
Ultimately, it faded from history.
To me, the professor's world was completely separate.
From this point onward, I will return to the world of language, which was my original subject.
The path from there on was long, winding, and complicated.
The professor, faintly revealed my own place in this world. I realized that I, too, must do what I am given.
Taking language itself as a given.
Tanaka Akio
Sekinan Library
Tokyo
26 June 2026
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