[Footnote 5: Tankei is the name of a place in China where a certain kind
of stone suitable for writing purposes was produced.]

[Footnote 6: "Gan" may be understood as a kind of natural mark on the
stone peculiar to the stone from Tankei.]

Shortly afterwards, I began to get sick of the school. One certain
night, while I was strolling about a street named Omachi, I happened to
notice a sign of noodles below of which was annotated "Tokyo" in the
house next to the post office. I am very fond of noodles. While I was in
Tokyo, if I passed by a noodle house and smelled the seasoning spices, I
felt uncontrollable temptation to go inside at any cost. Up to this time
I had forgotten the noodle on account of mathematics and antique curios,
but since I had seen thus the sign of noodles, I could hardly pass it by
unnoticed. So availing myself of this opportunity, I went in. It was not
quite up to what I had judged by the sign. Since it claimed to follow
the Tokyo style, they should have tidied up a little bit about the room.
They did not either know Tokyo or have the means,--I did not know which,
but the room was miserably dirty. The floor-mats had all seen better
days and felt shaggy with sandy dust. The sootcovered walls defied the
blackest black. The ceiling was not only smoked by the lamp black, but
was so low as to force one involuntarily bend down his neck. Only the
price-list, on which was glaringly written "Noodles" and which was
pasted on the wall, was entirely new. I was certain that they bought an
old house and opened the business just two or three days before. At the
head of the price-list appeared "tempura" (noodles served with shrimp
fried in batter).

"Say, fetch me some tempura," I ordered in a loud voice. Then three