How can we understand and translate はず used with facts of known truth?


I've thought for a while that there was something a little "strange" about the
way はず is used in Japanese, and I recently thought of a way of explaining it
that I've not seen elsewhere.

Half of this post might be better split into an answer instead... (if someone
with power to do that thinks it's a good idea and has an idea for how to split
it, then...)

As it stands, for answers I'm looking for second opinions, further sources or
discussion, and suggestions for how to translate these kinds of sentences.

# So, my thoughts on はず

はず is a strange creature that seems to express both conviction and doubt
simultaneously.

Daijirin says of た + はず:

> ④ （矢の筈は，弓の弦と当然合致するということから）連体修飾語を受けて，形式名詞的に用いられる。  
>  ㋒ 不審な物事や納得のいかない事柄を，何らかの事情を根拠にして納得する意を表す。 「寒い－だ，窓が開いている」  
>  ㋓ （ **「たはずだ」の形で** ）事柄についての確信・確認の意を表す。 **その確信していた事柄と事実とが違っている**
> ことを不信に思う気持ちを込めていう。 「君にたのんだ－だ」

It doesn't have anything similar for non-た uses, but Daijisen offers
something:

> ４ 《矢筈と弦とがよく合うところから》 当然そうなるべき道理であることを示す。また、 **その確信をもっていることを示す** 。「君はそれを
> **知っている―だ** 」「来ない―はない」

(I believe this can take the same nuance as Daijirin's ④㋓.)

According to the dictionary, both conviction and doubt are thrown onto the
statement preceding はず.

However, I can't help feeling as if はず is often used in ways that conflict
with this definition. In many cases, it seems as if the speaker does **not**
hold the fact before はず in any doubt, but rather, はず expresses **an
observation that the (often unstated) implications of the fact don't hold**
(due to some unexpected situation?). Here are some examples where I felt this
way:

* * *

1.

> **今夜は晴れのはず** 。…だから本当は、無数の星が広がっているはずなのだ。…しかし、地上の灯りが眩しすぎて、それらが見えることは決してない。

(note, the second はず is not under discussion -- I think it is a different
sense of はず showing what "should naturally be")

This is narration, and the setting is outside at night, so the narrator, whose
role is to describe the scene, should certainly know whether it is clear out
or not; if it's from the perspective of the character in the scene, then they
can physically **see** whether there are clouds or not, so either way there
should be no doubt that it is clear. It seems strange that the speaker
"doubts" this. What is meant seems less like "it should be clear out", i.e.:

[code]

    I believe that tonight's sky is clear. (Conviction)
    But I wonder if it is really? (Doubt)
    
[/code]

and more like

[code]

    I believe firmly that tonight's sky is clear. (Conviction)
    ( This should imply that I can see the stars.
    Yet I can't. ) (Unstated implication [although it is made explicit in sentence 2])
    Isn't that odd? Something is wrong. (Observation of unusual contradiction)
    
[/code]

Note that in this situation, the speaker is not only aware of the weather, but
also aware of the reason why the stars are not visible, and that is not
because the sky's not clear, but because of the lights. So はず really does seem
like just an observation that things are "odd", and not a doubt about the core
fact that the sky is clear.

* * *

2.

> 空腹感が嗅覚を敏感にさせるのだろうか。 **離れているはず** の厨房から、美味しい匂いが漂ってくるように感じ、一層、空腹の胃袋を刺激する。

In this example, the speaker has been serving as a servant in this house for
ten years and is well aware of the location of the kitchen within the house as
it relates to their current position. There should not be any doubt that the
kitchen is where it is. What is meant seems less like "From the kitchen, which
should be far away", i.e.:

[code]

    I believe that the kitchen is far away. (Conviction)
    But I wonder if it is really? (Doubt)
    
[/code]

and more like

[code]

    I believe firmly that the kitchen is far away. (Conviction)
    ( This should imply that smell from the kitchen cannot reach me.
    Yet it does. ) (Unstated implication)
    Isn't that odd? Something is wrong. (Observation of unusual contradiction)
    
[/code]

* * *

  3. 

> あの注文は取り消すと **お伝えしたはず** ですが。  
>  I thought I told you to cancel that order.  
>  _(from 英辞郎 on the WEB)_

Not:

[code]

    I believe I told you to cancel.
    But did I? My memory isn't so clear.
    
[/code]

But:

[code]

    I firmly believe I told you to cancel.
    ( This should imply that you would cancel.
    You didn't cancel. ) (Unstated implication)
    What's going on here, mister? Care to explain my contradiction?
    
[/code]

* * *

# My questions

Are there any problems with the above interpretation? Am I right that はず can
be used "without doubting the core fact"?

Are there any published examples demonstrating this usage, or any papers
discussing it?

How would you translate the first two examples, 離れているはずの厨房 when the speaker
**knows and doesn't doubt** that the kitchen is far away, and 今夜は晴れのはず when
the speaker **knows and doesn't doubt** that it is clear out?

Maybe "The kitchen, which [should be/I thought was] far away" is actually
different enough from the intent of the Japanese to be a translation error,
and there is too great an attachment to "はず=should". Are such phrases as
"should" and "thought" which express doubt really always appropriate for
translating such instances of はず, or are there some better alternatives? Maybe
there's some overlap with English (example 3 makes me think so)... it's not a
complete overlap, though, right?




In this context, "離れているはずの厨房" should be "The kitchen, which I thought was far
away". Because, In this case, "はず" enphases hungry feeling.

"今夜は晴れのはず" / "I believe that tonight's sky is clear." is good. he is expecting
clear sky, but, Its not in fact.

In many cases, "はず" includes feeling of expectation.

