検非違使に問われたる木樵りの物語
The Testimony of a Woodcutter, Questioned by the Police Commissioner
さようでございます。あの死骸を見つけたのは、わたしに違いございません。わたしは今朝いつもの通り、裏山の杉を伐りに参りました。すると山陰の藪の中に、あの死骸があったのでございます。あった処でございますか？ それは山科の駅路からは、四五町ほど隔たって居りましょう。竹の中に痩せ杉の交った、人気のない所でございます。
Yes, it is as you say. It was I who found the body — of that there is no doubt. I went out this morning, as I always do, to cut cedar on the hill behind my house. And there, in a grove on the shady side of the mountain, was the body. Where was it, you ask? It would be some four or five chō off the highway at Yamashina — a lonely place where a few gaunt cedars stand mixed in among the bamboo.
死骸は縹の水干に、都風のさび烏帽子をかぶったまま、仰向けに倒れて居りました。何しろ一刀とは申すものの、胸もとの突き傷でございますから、死骸のまわりの竹の落葉は、蘇芳に滲みたようでございます。いえ、血はもう流れては居りません。傷口も乾いて居ったようでございます。おまけにそこには、馬蠅が一匹、わたしの足音も聞えないように、べったり食いついて居りましたっけ。
The body lay on its back, dressed in a pale blue hunting-cloak, a city-style black lacquered cap still on its head. Though it was only a single stroke, it was a stab wound to the chest, so the bamboo leaves scattered around the body looked stained a deep reddish-brown. No — the blood had already stopped flowing by then. The wound looked as if it had dried. And on top of it all, there was a single horsefly clinging fast to it, so intent that it did not even seem to hear my footsteps.
太刀か何かは見えなかったか？ いえ、何もございません。ただその側の杉の根がたに、縄が一筋落ちて居りました。それから、――そうそう、縄のほかにも櫛が一つございました。死骸のまわりにあったものは、この二つぎりでございます。が、草や竹の落葉は、一面に踏み荒されて居りましたから、きっとあの男は殺される前に、よほど手痛い働きでも致したのに違いございません。何、馬はいなかったか？ あそこは一体馬なぞには、はいれない所でございます。何しろ馬の通う路とは、藪一つ隔たって居りますから。
Didn't I see a sword, or anything of the kind? No, there was nothing. Only, at the foot of a cedar nearby, a single length of rope had been dropped. And then — oh yes, besides the rope there was a comb as well. Those two things were all that lay around the body. But the grass and the fallen bamboo leaves had been trampled flat all over the place, so the man must surely have put up a hard fight before he was killed. What, was there no horse? No, a horse could never have gotten into that place at all. There is a whole stretch of grove between it and the path horses use.
検非違使に問われたる旅法師の物語
The Testimony of a Traveling Priest, Questioned by the Police Commissioner
あの死骸の男には、確かに昨日遇って居ります。昨日の、――さあ、午頃でございましょう。場所は関山から山科へ、参ろうと云う途中でございます。あの男は馬に乗った女と一しょに、関山の方へ歩いて参りました。女は牟子を垂れて居りましたから、顔はわたしにはわかりません。見えたのはただ萩重ねらしい、衣の色ばかりでございます。馬は月毛の、――確か法師髪の馬のようでございました。丈でございますか？ 丈は四寸もございましたか？ ――何しろ沙門の事でございますから、その辺ははっきり存じません。男は、――いえ、太刀も帯びて居れば、弓矢も携えて居りました。殊に黒い塗り箙へ、二十あまり征矢をさしたのは、ただ今でもはっきり覚えて居ります。
I did indeed meet the man who is now dead — yesterday. Yesterday, — let me see, it must have been around noon. It was on the road from Sekiyama toward Yamashina. The man was walking toward Sekiyama, together with a woman mounted on a horse. The woman had the veil of her travel-hat let down, so I could not see her face. All I could make out was the color of her robe, which looked to be a bush-clover layering. The horse was dun-colored, its mane cropped short like a monk's, if I recall right. Its height, you ask? It may have stood some four sun above the standard — but I am a man of the cloth, so I cannot say for certain about such things. The man — no, he wore a sword at his side, and carried a bow and arrows besides. I recall especially, even now, quite clearly, that his black lacquered quiver held upward of twenty war arrows.
あの男がかようになろうとは、夢にも思わずに居りましたが、真に人間の命なぞは、如露亦如電に違いございません。やれやれ、何とも申しようのない、気の毒な事を致しました。
I never dreamed that the man would come to such an end. Truly, human life is indeed like the dew, like the lightning flash. Ah, well — it is a pitiful thing, more than I know how to say.
検非違使に問われたる放免の物語
The Testimony of a Constable, Questioned by the Police Commissioner
わたしが搦め取った男でございますか？ これは確かに多襄丸と云う、名高い盗人でございます。もっともわたしが搦め取った時には、馬から落ちたのでございましょう、粟田口の石橋の上に、うんうん呻って居りました。時刻でございますか？ 時刻は昨夜の初更頃でございます。いつぞやわたしが捉え損じた時にも、やはりこの紺の水干に、打出しの太刀を佩いて居りました。ただ今はそのほかにも御覧の通り、弓矢の類さえ携えて居ります。さようでございますか？ あの死骸の男が持っていたのも、――では人殺しを働いたのは、この多襄丸に違いございません。革を巻いた弓、黒塗りの箙、鷹の羽の征矢が十七本、――これは皆、あの男が持っていたものでございましょう。はい。馬もおっしゃる通り、法師髪の月毛でございます。その畜生に落されるとは、何かの因縁に違いございません。それは石橋の少し先に、長い端綱を引いたまま、路ばたの青芒を食って居りました。
The man I seized, you ask? This is without doubt the notorious thief they call Tajomaru. As it happens, when I took hold of him he must have just fallen from his horse — he lay groaning, on and on, atop the stone bridge at Awataguchi. The time, you ask? It was around the first watch of last night. Once before, when I failed to catch him, he was wearing this same dark blue hunting-cloak, with a hammered sword at his waist, just as now. And now, as you can see, he has a bow and arrows besides. Is that so? The dead man had those too — then it must indeed be this Tajomaru who did the killing. A bow bound in leather, a black lacquered quiver, seventeen hawk-feathered war arrows — these must all be the dead man's own things. Yes. And the horse, just as you say, is a dun with a cropped mane. That he should be thrown by that very beast must be some kind of karma. It was a little way past the stone bridge, trailing its long lead-rope, cropping the green plume-grass by the roadside.
この多襄丸と云うやつは、洛中に徘徊する盗人の中でも、女好きのやつでございます。昨年の秋鳥部寺の賓頭盧の後の山に、物詣でに来たらしい女房が一人、女の童と一しょに殺されていたのは、こいつの仕業だとか申して居りました。その月毛に乗っていた女も、こいつがあの男を殺したとなれば、どこへどうしたかわかりません。差出がましゅうございますが、それも御詮議下さいまし。
This Tajomaru is, among all the thieves roaming the capital, one notorious for his love of women. Last autumn, on the hill behind the Binzuru statue at Toribe-dera, a lady who seemed to have come there on a pilgrimage was found murdered along with her young attendant — people said that was his doing too. As for the woman who was riding that dun horse, if it was this man who killed the dead man, there is no telling what has become of her. I know it is not my place to say so, but I hope you will look into that as well.
検非違使に問われたる媼の物語
The Testimony of an Old Woman, Questioned by the Police Commissioner
はい、あの死骸は手前の娘が、片附いた男でございます。が、都のものではございません。若狭の国府の侍でございます。名は金沢の武弘、年は二十六歳でございました。いえ、優しい気立でございますから、遺恨なぞ受ける筈はございません。
Yes, that dead man is the one my daughter married. But he was not from the capital. He was a samurai attached to the provincial office of Wakasa. His name was Kanazawa no Takehiro, and he was twenty-six years old. No — he was gentle-natured, so there is no reason he should have earned anyone's grudge.
娘でございますか？ 娘の名は真砂、年は十九歳でございます。これは男にも劣らぬくらい、勝気の女でございますが、まだ一度も武弘のほかには、男を持った事はございません。顔は色の浅黒い、左の眼尻に黒子のある、小さい瓜実顔でございます。
My daughter, you ask? My daughter's name is Masago, and she is nineteen years old. She is as strong-willed as any man, if not more so, but she has never known any man besides Takehiro. She has a small, oval face, somewhat dark of complexion, with a mole at the outer corner of her left eye.
武弘は昨日娘と一しょに、若狭へ立ったのでございますが、こんな事になりますとは、何と云う因果でございましょう。しかし娘はどうなりましたやら、壻の事はあきらめましても、これだけは心配でなりません。どうかこの姥が一生のお願いでございますから、たとい草木を分けましても、娘の行方をお尋ね下さいまし。何に致せ憎いのは、その多襄丸とか何とか申す、盗人のやつでございます。壻ばかりか、娘までも………（跡は泣き入りて言葉なし）
Takehiro set out for Wakasa together with my daughter only yesterday — what karma could have brought things to such a pass? But whatever has become of my daughter, that is the one thing I cannot bear not to know, even if I must give up all hope for my son-in-law. I beg you, as the one great favor of this old woman's life, search for my daughter, even if you must part every blade of grass to do it. Whatever else, the one I hate is that thief, that Tajomaru or whatever he calls himself. Not only my son-in-law, but even my daughter, too......... (Here she breaks down in tears, and can say no more.)
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多襄丸の白状
Tajomaru's Confession
あの男を殺したのはわたしです。しかし女は殺しはしません。ではどこへ行ったのか？ それはわたしにもわからないのです。まあ、お待ちなさい。いくら拷問にかけられても、知らない事は申されますまい。その上わたしもこうなれば、卑怯な隠し立てはしないつもりです。
It was I who killed that man. But I did not kill the woman. Then where did she go? That I do not know myself. Now, wait a moment. However much you torture me, I cannot tell you what I do not know. Besides, now that it has come to this, I don't intend to hide behind any cowardly pretense.
わたしは昨日の午少し過ぎ、あの夫婦に出会いました。その時風の吹いた拍子に、牟子の垂絹が上ったものですから、ちらりと女の顔が見えたのです。ちらりと、――見えたと思う瞬間には、もう見えなくなったのですが、一つにはそのためもあったのでしょう、わたしにはあの女の顔が、女菩薩のように見えたのです。わたしはその咄嗟の間に、たとい男は殺しても、女は奪おうと決心しました。
I came upon that couple yesterday, a little past noon. Just then a gust of wind blew up, lifting the veil of her travel-hat, and I caught a glimpse — just a glimpse — of the woman's face. A glimpse, — the instant I thought I saw it, it was already hidden again, and perhaps that was partly why, but to me the woman's face looked like that of a bodhisattva. In that instant I made up my mind: even if I had to kill the man, I would take the woman.
何、男を殺すなぞは、あなた方の思っているように、大した事ではありません。どうせ女を奪うとなれば、必ず、男は殺されるのです。ただわたしは殺す時に、腰の太刀を使うのですが、あなた方は太刀は使わない、ただ権力で殺す、金で殺す、どうかするとおためごかしの言葉だけでも殺すでしょう。なるほど血は流れない、男は立派に生きている、――しかしそれでも殺したのです。罪の深さを考えて見れば、あなた方が悪いか、わたしが悪いか、どちらが悪いかわかりません。（皮肉なる微笑）
What, killing a man is nothing so great a matter as you all seem to think. Once it comes to taking a woman by force, the man is bound to be killed one way or another. It's only that when I kill, I use the sword at my waist, while you people do not use swords — you kill with authority, you kill with money, and sometimes you'll kill a man with nothing more than words that pretend to be for his own good. True enough, no blood is spilled, the man goes on living splendidly, — but you have killed him all the same. Weigh the depth of the sin, and I could not tell you whether you are the more wicked, or I. (A sardonic smile.)
しかし男を殺さずとも、女を奪う事が出来れば、別に不足はない訳です。いや、その時の心もちでは、出来るだけ男を殺さずに、女を奪おうと決心したのです。が、あの山科の駅路では、とてもそんな事は出来ません。そこでわたしは山の中へ、あの夫婦をつれこむ工夫をしました。
Still, if I could take the woman without killing the man, I would have had no complaint at all. In fact, what I resolved at that moment was to take the woman, if I possibly could, without killing the man. But on that highway at Yamashina, such a thing was simply not to be done. So I set about devising a way to draw the couple off into the mountains.
これも造作はありません。わたしはあの夫婦と途づれになると、向うの山には古塚がある、この古塚を発いて見たら、鏡や太刀が沢山出た、わたしは誰も知らないように、山の陰の藪の中へ、そう云う物を埋めてある、もし望み手があるならば、どれでも安い値に売り渡したい、――と云う話をしたのです。男はいつかわたしの話に、だんだん心を動かし始めました。それから、――どうです。欲と云うものは恐しいではありませんか？ それから半時もたたない内に、あの夫婦はわたしと一しょに、山路へ馬を向けていたのです。
This too was no trouble at all. Falling in with the couple as a fellow traveler, I told them a story — that on the mountain over there was an old burial mound, and that when I dug it open I found any number of mirrors and swords; that I had buried these things, where no one else knew of it, in a grove in the shadow of the mountain; and that if anyone wished to buy them, I would let them go cheap, any of them. The man's heart, little by little, began to be moved by my story. And then — well, isn't greed a frightening thing? Before an hour had passed, that couple had turned their horse together with me, onto the mountain path.
わたしは藪の前へ来ると、宝はこの中に埋めてある、見に来てくれと云いました。男は欲に渇いていますから、異存のある筈はありません。が、女は馬も下りずに、待っていると云うのです。またあの藪の茂っているのを見ては、そう云うのも無理はありますまい。わたしはこれも実を云えば、思う壺にはまったのですから、女一人を残したまま、男と藪の中へはいりました。
When we came in front of the grove, I said the treasure was buried inside it, and asked him to come and see. The man, thirsty for gain as he was, could hardly have any objection. But the woman said she would not get down from the horse, and would wait there. Seeing how thick that grove was, there was no unreasonableness in her saying so, either. And this, to tell the truth, suited my own plan exactly — so, leaving the woman alone there, I went into the grove together with the man.
藪はしばらくの間は竹ばかりです。が、半町ほど行った処に、やや開いた杉むらがある、――わたしの仕事を仕遂げるのには、これほど都合の好い場所はありません。わたしは藪を押し分けながら、宝は杉の下に埋めてあると、もっともらしい嘘をつきました。男はわたしにそう云われると、もう痩せ杉が透いて見える方へ、一生懸命に進んで行きます。その内に竹が疎らになると、何本も杉が並んでいる、――わたしはそこへ来るが早いか、いきなり相手を組み伏せました。男も太刀を佩いているだけに、力は相当にあったようですが、不意を打たれてはたまりません。たちまち一本の杉の根がたへ、括りつけられてしまいました。縄ですか？ 縄は盗人の有難さに、いつ塀を越えるかわかりませんから、ちゃんと腰につけていたのです。勿論声を出させないためにも、竹の落葉を頬張らせれば、ほかに面倒はありません。
For a while the grove was nothing but bamboo. But some half chō in, there was a stand of cedars, somewhat more open — no place could have suited my purpose better. Pushing my way through the brush, I told him the plausible lie that the treasure was buried beneath the cedars. Once I said this, the man pressed on with all his might toward where the gaunt cedars could be seen showing through. Before long the bamboo thinned out, and a number of cedars stood in a row, — the moment we reached there, I threw myself on him without warning and pinned him down. Being a man who wore a sword, he had a fair amount of strength, but there was no help for it once he was taken by surprise. In no time he was bound fast to the foot of a cedar. The rope, you ask? Being a thief, and never knowing when I might have to scale a wall, I always keep one at my waist, just for such use. As for keeping him from crying out, there was no trouble at all — I simply stuffed his mouth full of fallen bamboo leaves.
わたしは男を片附けてしまうと、今度はまた女の所へ、男が急病を起したらしいから、見に来てくれと云いに行きました。これも図星に当ったのは、申し上げるまでもありますまい。女は市女笠を脱いだまま、わたしに手をとられながら、藪の奥へはいって来ました。ところがそこへ来て見ると、男は杉の根に縛られている、――女はそれを一目見るなり、いつのまに懐から出していたか、きらりと小刀を引き抜きました。わたしはまだ今までに、あのくらい気性の烈しい女は、一人も見た事がありません。もしその時でも油断していたらば、一突きに脾腹を突かれたでしょう。いや、それは身を躱したところが、無二無三に斬り立てられる内には、どんな怪我も仕兼ねなかったのです。が、わたしも多襄丸ですから、どうにかこうにか太刀も抜かずに、とうとう小刀を打ち落しました。いくら気の勝った女でも、得物がなければ仕方がありません。わたしはとうとう思い通り、男の命は取らずとも、女を手に入れる事は出来たのです。
Once I had the man dealt with, I went back to the woman and told her that the man had suddenly fallen ill, and asked her to come and see him. This too struck home exactly as I meant it to — needless to say. The woman came into the depths of the grove, her wide sedge hat already off, letting me lead her by the hand. But when she came and saw the man bound to the foot of the cedar, — the instant she saw it, before I even knew when she had drawn it from inside her robe, she flashed out a dagger. Never before or since have I seen a woman of such fierce spirit. If I had let my guard down even for a moment, she would have driven it straight into my side. No — even if I had dodged that thrust, the way she went on slashing wildly, without a moment's pause, there is no telling what wound I might have taken. But I too am Tajomaru, and somehow or other, without even drawing my sword, I managed at last to knock the dagger from her hand. However fierce a woman's spirit, there is nothing to be done once she has no weapon left. And so, just as I had wished, I got the woman into my hands, without having to take the man's life.
男の命は取らずとも、――そうです。わたしはその上にも、男を殺すつもりはなかったのです。所が泣き伏した女を後に、藪の外へ逃げようとすると、女は突然わたしの腕へ、気違いのように縋りつきました。しかも切れ切れに叫ぶのを聞けば、あなたが死ぬか夫が死ぬか、どちらか一人死んでくれ、二人の男に恥を見せるのは、死ぬよりもつらいと云うのです。いや、その内どちらにしろ、生き残った男につれ添いたい、――そうも喘ぎ喘ぎ云うのです。わたしはその時猛然と、男を殺したい気になりました。（陰鬱なる興奮）
Without taking the man's life, — yes. Even beyond that, I had no intention of killing the man. But when I left the woman weeping there and turned to flee from the grove, she suddenly clung to my arm like one gone mad. And what I heard her cry out, in broken gasps, was this: either you die or my husband dies — one of you must die, for to be shamed before two men is more painful to me than death. No — she gasped out, too, that whichever man survived, it was with him she wished to go on living. It was then that a fierce desire to kill the man came over me. (A dark and troubled excitement.)
こんな事を申し上げると、きっとわたしはあなた方より残酷な人間に見えるでしょう。しかしそれはあなた方が、あの女の顔を見ないからです。殊にその一瞬間の、燃えるような瞳を見ないからです。わたしは女と眼を合せた時、たとい神鳴に打ち殺されても、この女を妻にしたいと思いました。妻にしたい、――わたしの念頭にあったのは、ただこう云う一事だけです。これはあなた方の思うように、卑しい色欲ではありません。もしその時色欲のほかに、何も望みがなかったとすれば、わたしは女を蹴倒しても、きっと逃げてしまったでしょう。男もそうすればわたしの太刀に、血を塗る事にはならなかったのです。が、薄暗い藪の中に、じっと女の顔を見た刹那、わたしは男を殺さない限り、ここは去るまいと覚悟しました。
Telling you this, I have no doubt I must look to you like a crueler man than any of you. But that is only because you have not seen that woman's face — above all, that burning look in her eyes in that one instant. When my eyes met the woman's, I thought that even if I were struck dead by a thunderbolt, I wanted to make this woman my wife. To make her my wife, — that alone was in my mind. It was not, as you all must think, some base lust. If lust had been the only thing I wanted at that moment, I would surely have kicked the woman down and fled. Then my sword would never have been stained with the man's blood. But in that one instant, gazing at the woman's face there in the dim grove, I resolved that I would not leave that place without killing the man.
しかし男を殺すにしても、卑怯な殺し方はしたくありません。わたしは男の縄を解いた上、太刀打ちをしろと云いました。（杉の根がたに落ちていたのは、その時捨て忘れた縄なのです。）男は血相を変えたまま、太い太刀を引き抜きました。と思うと口も利かずに、憤然とわたしへ飛びかかりました。――その太刀打ちがどうなったかは、申し上げるまでもありますまい。わたしの太刀は二十三合目に、相手の胸を貫きました。二十三合目に、――どうかそれを忘れずに下さい。わたしは今でもこの事だけは、感心だと思っているのです。わたしと二十合斬り結んだものは、天下にあの男一人だけですから。（快活なる微笑）
But even in killing the man, I had no wish to do it in some cowardly way. I untied his rope and told him to fight it out with swords. (The rope you found lying at the foot of the cedar is the one I forgot to pick up, then.) The man, his face changed with rage, drew his heavy sword. And no sooner had he done so than, without a word, he flew at me in fury. — What came of that swordfight, I need hardly tell you. My sword pierced his chest on the twenty-third clash. On the twenty-third clash, — I beg you not to forget that. Even now, that alone is a thing I take pride in. For he is the only man under heaven who ever crossed swords with me as far as twenty bouts. (A cheerful smile.)
わたしは男が倒れると同時に、血に染まった刀を下げたなり、女の方を振り返りました。すると、――どうです、あの女はどこにもいないではありませんか？ わたしは女がどちらへ逃げたか、杉むらの間を探して見ました。が、竹の落葉の上には、それらしい跡も残っていません。また耳を澄ませて見ても、聞えるのはただ男の喉に、断末魔の音がするだけです。
The instant the man fell, my blood-stained sword still hanging at my side, I turned back toward the woman. And then — what do you think? She was nowhere to be found! I searched among the cedars to see which way she had fled. But there was no trace of her, not on the fallen bamboo leaves. And when I strained my ears to listen, all I could hear was the death-rattle sounding in the man's throat.
事によるとあの女は、わたしが太刀打を始めるが早いか、人の助けでも呼ぶために、藪をくぐって逃げたのかも知れない。――わたしはそう考えると、今度はわたしの命ですから、太刀や弓矢を奪ったなり、すぐにまたもとの山路へ出ました。そこにはまだ女の馬が、静かに草を食っています。その後の事は申し上げるだけ、無用の口数に過ぎますまい。ただ、都へはいる前に、太刀だけはもう手放していました。――わたしの白状はこれだけです。どうせ一度は樗の梢に、懸ける首と思っていますから、どうか極刑に遇わせて下さい。（昂然たる態度）
It may well be that the woman, the moment I began that swordfight, slipped away through the grove to call for help. — Once that thought came to me, it was my own life at stake now, so I took his sword and his bow and arrows and made straight for the mountain path again. There, the woman's horse was still quietly cropping grass. As for what happened after that, it would only be so many useless words to tell you. Only this — before I entered the capital, I had already gotten rid of the sword. — That is the whole of my confession. Since I have always known that sooner or later my head would hang from a chinaberry bough, I ask only that you sentence me to the harshest penalty there is. (A proud, defiant bearing.)
清水寺に来れる女の懺悔
The Confession of a Woman Who Came to Kiyomizu-dera
――その紺の水干を着た男は、わたしを手ごめにしてしまうと、縛られた夫を眺めながら、嘲るように笑いました。夫はどんなに無念だったでしょう。が、いくら身悶えをしても、体中にかかった縄目は、一層ひしひしと食い入るだけです。わたしは思わず夫の側へ、転ぶように走り寄りました。いえ、走り寄ろうとしたのです。しかし男は咄嗟の間に、わたしをそこへ蹴倒しました。ちょうどその途端です。わたしは夫の眼の中に、何とも云いようのない輝きが、宿っているのを覚りました。何とも云いようのない、――わたしはあの眼を思い出すと、今でも身震いが出ずにはいられません。口さえ一言も利けない夫は、その刹那の眼の中に、一切の心を伝えたのです。しかしそこに閃いていたのは、怒りでもなければ悲しみでもない、――ただわたしを蔑んだ、冷たい光だったではありませんか？ わたしは男に蹴られたよりも、その眼の色に打たれたように、我知らず何か叫んだぎり、とうとう気を失ってしまいました。
— After that man in the dark blue hunting-cloak had violated me, he looked at my bound husband and laughed, as if in mockery. How bitter my husband must have felt. But however he writhed, the ropes binding his whole body only bit into him all the more cruelly. Without thinking, I ran stumbling toward my husband's side. No — I tried to run to him. But the man, in an instant, kicked me down where I stood. It was at that very moment that I became aware of a light in my husband's eyes, a light I cannot describe in words. A light I cannot describe, — even now, whenever I recall those eyes, I cannot help but shudder. My husband, who could not even speak a single word, conveyed the whole of his heart through his eyes in that one instant. But what flashed there was neither anger nor sorrow, — was it not only a cold light of contempt for me? I was struck, not so much by his kick, as by the color of those eyes, and I cried out something without knowing what, and finally lost consciousness.
その内にやっと気がついて見ると、あの紺の水干の男は、もうどこかへ行っていました。跡にはただ杉の根がたに、夫が縛られているだけです。わたしは竹の落葉の上に、やっと体を起したなり、夫の顔を見守りました。が、夫の眼の色は、少しもさっきと変りません。やはり冷たい蔑みの底に、憎しみの色を見せているのです。恥しさ、悲しさ、腹立たしさ、――その時のわたしの心の中は、何と云えば好いかわかりません。わたしはよろよろ立ち上りながら、夫の側へ近寄りました。
By the time I finally came to myself, the man in the dark blue hunting-cloak had already gone off somewhere. All that remained was my husband, still bound to the foot of the cedar. I raised myself, at last, from the fallen bamboo leaves, and gazed steadily at my husband's face. But the look in his eyes had not changed in the least from before. Beneath that same cold contempt, there was still a color of hatred showing through. Shame, sorrow, anger, — I do not know what to call the state of my heart at that moment. I rose to my feet, unsteadily, and drew near to my husband's side.
「あなた。もうこうなった上は、あなたと御一しょには居られません。わたしは一思いに死ぬ覚悟です。しかし、――しかしあなたもお死になすって下さい。あなたはわたしの恥を御覧になりました。わたしはこのままあなた一人、お残し申す訳には参りません。」
"My husband. Now that it has come to this, I cannot go on living together with you. I am resolved to die at once. But — but I beg you to die as well. You have seen my shame. I cannot leave you behind alone, to live on after this."
わたしは一生懸命に、これだけの事を云いました。それでも夫は忌わしそうに、わたしを見つめているばかりなのです。わたしは裂けそうな胸を抑えながら、夫の太刀を探しました。が、あの盗人に奪われたのでしょう、太刀は勿論弓矢さえも、藪の中には見当りません。しかし幸い小刀だけは、わたしの足もとに落ちているのです。わたしはその小刀を振り上げると、もう一度夫にこう云いました。
With all my strength, this much I managed to say. Even so, my husband only went on gazing at me, as though I were something loathsome. Pressing down my breaking heart, I searched for my husband's sword. But it must have been taken by that thief, for neither the sword nor even the bow and arrows were anywhere to be found in the grove. Fortunately, though, the dagger alone lay fallen at my feet. I raised it high, and spoke to my husband once more.
「ではお命を頂かせて下さい。わたしもすぐにお供します。」
"Then let me take your life. I will follow you at once."
夫はこの言葉を聞いた時、やっと唇を動かしました。勿論口には笹の落葉が、一ぱいにつまっていますから、声は少しも聞えません。が、わたしはそれを見ると、たちまちその言葉を覚りました。夫はわたしを蔑んだまま、「殺せ。」と一言云ったのです。わたしはほとんど、夢うつつの内に、夫の縹の水干の胸へ、ずぶりと小刀を刺し通しました。
When my husband heard these words, his lips moved at last. Of course, his mouth was stuffed full of dwarf-bamboo leaves, so no sound at all could be heard. But the moment I saw it, I understood at once what he was saying. Still looking at me with contempt, my husband said one word: "Kill me." Almost as if in a dream, I drove the dagger, with a single thrust, deep into my husband's chest, through his pale blue hunting-cloak.
わたしはまたこの時も、気を失ってしまったのでしょう。やっとあたりを見まわした時には、夫はもう縛られたまま、とうに息が絶えていました。その蒼ざめた顔の上には、竹に交った杉むらの空から、西日が一すじ落ちているのです。わたしは泣き声を呑みながら、死骸の縄を解き捨てました。そうして、――そうしてわたしがどうなったか？ それだけはもうわたしには、申し上げる力もありません。とにかくわたしはどうしても、死に切る力がなかったのです。小刀を喉に突き立てたり、山の裾の池へ身を投げたり、いろいろな事もして見ましたが、死に切れずにこうしている限り、これも自慢にはなりますまい。（寂しき微笑）わたしのように腑甲斐ないものは、大慈大悲の観世音菩薩も、お見放しなすったものかも知れません。しかし夫を殺したわたしは、盗人の手ごめに遇ったわたしは、一体どうすれば好いのでしょう？ 一体わたしは、――わたしは、――（突然烈しき歔欷）
I must have lost consciousness again, at that. When at last I looked about me, my husband was already dead, still bound as he was. On his pale, ashen face there fell a single shaft of the westering sun, through the sky above the cedars mixed among the bamboo. Swallowing my sobs, I untied the rope from the corpse. And then — and then what became of me? That much, I no longer have the strength to tell you. In any case, try as I might, I had no strength left to die outright. I drove the dagger at my own throat, I threw myself into a pond at the foot of the mountain, I tried any number of things — but since I am still here, unable to finish dying, this too is nothing to be proud of. (A lonely smile.) A woman as spiritless as I am must surely have been abandoned even by the great mercy and compassion of Kannon Bosatsu. But I, who killed my husband, I, who was violated by that thief, — what on earth am I to do? What on earth am I — I — (Suddenly, a fit of violent sobbing.)
巫女の口を借りたる死霊の物語
The Story of the Dead Man's Spirit, Told Through the Mouth of a Medium
――盗人は妻を手ごめにすると、そこへ腰を下したまま、いろいろ妻を慰め出した。おれは勿論口は利けない。体も杉の根に縛られている。が、おれはその間に、何度も妻へ目くばせをした。この男の云う事を真に受けるな、何を云っても嘘と思え、――おれはそんな意味を伝えたいと思った。しかし妻は悄然と笹の落葉に坐ったなり、じっと膝へ目をやっている。それがどうも盗人の言葉に、聞き入っているように見えるではないか？ おれは妬しさに身悶えをした。が、盗人はそれからそれへと、巧妙に話を進めている。一度でも肌身を汚したとなれば、夫との仲も折り合うまい。そんな夫に連れ添っているより、自分の妻になる気はないか？ 自分はいとしいと思えばこそ、大それた真似も働いたのだ、――盗人はとうとう大胆にも、そう云う話さえ持ち出した。
— Once the thief had violated my wife, he sat himself down there and began, in one way and another, to console her. I, of course, could not speak. My body, too, was bound to the foot of the cedar. But in that while, I signaled to my wife with my eyes, again and again. Don't believe a word this man says — whatever he tells you, think it a lie, — that was the meaning I wished to convey. But my wife only sat there, dejected, on the fallen bamboo leaves, her eyes fixed steadily on her own knees. And yet — did it not look, somehow, as though she were listening closely to the thief's words? I writhed with jealousy. But the thief went on, cunningly, from one thing to the next. Once her body had been defiled even once, things could hardly go smoothly again with her husband — wouldn't she rather become his own wife, than stay bound to such a husband? It was only, he said, because he loved her so, that he had done so reckless a thing, — the thief, in the end, was bold enough even to put it to her in these terms.
盗人にこう云われると、妻はうっとりと顔を擡げた。おれはまだあの時ほど、美しい妻を見た事がない。しかしその美しい妻は、現在縛られたおれを前に、何と盗人に返事をしたか？ おれは中有に迷っていても、妻の返事を思い出すごとに、嗔恚に燃えなかったためしはない。妻は確かにこう云った、――「ではどこへでもつれて行って下さい。」（長き沈黙）
When the thief said this to her, my wife lifted her face, as if in a trance. Never, before or since, have I seen my wife look so beautiful as she did at that moment. But that beautiful wife of mine — what answer did she give the thief, with me bound there before her eyes? Even now, lost as I am in this state between death and rebirth, I have never once failed to burn with rage whenever I recall her answer. My wife said, without question, these words, — "Then take me wherever you like." (A long silence.)
妻の罪はそれだけではない。それだけならばこの闇の中に、いまほどおれも苦しみはしまい。しかし妻は夢のように、盗人に手をとられながら、藪の外へ行こうとすると、たちまち顔色を失ったなり、杉の根のおれを指さした。「あの人を殺して下さい。わたしはあの人が生きていては、あなたと一しょにはいられません。」――妻は気が狂ったように、何度もこう叫び立てた。「あの人を殺して下さい。」――この言葉は嵐のように、今でも遠い闇の底へ、まっ逆様におれを吹き落そうとする。一度でもこのくらい憎むべき言葉が、人間の口を出た事があろうか？ 一度でもこのくらい呪わしい言葉が、人間の耳に触れた事があろうか？ 一度でもこのくらい、――（突然迸るごとき嘲笑）その言葉を聞いた時は、盗人さえ色を失ってしまった。「あの人を殺して下さい。」――妻はそう叫びながら、盗人の腕に縋っている。盗人はじっと妻を見たまま、殺すとも殺さぬとも返事をしない。――と思うか思わない内に、妻は竹の落葉の上へ、ただ一蹴りに蹴倒された、（再び迸るごとき嘲笑）盗人は静かに両腕を組むと、おれの姿へ眼をやった。「あの女はどうするつもりだ？ 殺すか、それとも助けてやるか？ 返事はただ頷けば好い。殺すか？」――おれはこの言葉だけでも、盗人の罪は赦してやりたい。（再び、長き沈黙）
My wife's sin was not that alone. If that had been all, I would not be suffering as I am now, even here in this darkness. But as my wife, as though in a dream, let the thief take her hand and turned to leave the grove, she suddenly went pale, and pointed at me where I lay bound to the cedar. "Kill him. I cannot go on living with you while that man is alive." — My wife, like one gone mad, cried this out again and again. "Kill him." — Even now, that cry threatens to blow me headlong down into the depths of this far, dark place, like a storm. Has such a hateful word as this ever once come from a human mouth? Has such a cursed word as this ever once touched a human ear? Has such a word, even once, — (Suddenly, a burst of scornful laughter.) When the thief heard those words, even he turned pale. "Kill him." — My wife went on crying this out, clinging to the thief's arm. The thief only looked steadily at my wife, and gave no answer, whether he would kill me or not. — Before I could even think whether he would or wouldn't, my wife was sent sprawling onto the fallen bamboo leaves with a single kick. (Again, a burst of scornful laughter.) The thief quietly folded his arms, and turned his eyes on me. "What do you want done with that woman? Kill her, or let her go? You need only nod your answer. Shall I kill her?" — For these words alone, I would gladly forgive the thief his sin. (Again, a long silence.)
妻はおれがためらう内に、何か一声叫ぶが早いか、たちまち藪の奥へ走り出した。盗人も咄嗟に飛びかかったが、これは袖さえ捉えなかったらしい。おれはただ幻のように、そう云う景色を眺めていた。
While I hesitated, my wife let out some sort of cry and, no sooner had she done so, ran off into the depths of the grove. The thief lunged after her at once, but it seems he did not so much as catch her sleeve. I could only watch that scene as though it were some vision.
盗人は妻が逃げ去った後、太刀や弓矢を取り上げると、一箇所だけおれの縄を切った。「今度はおれの身の上だ。」――おれは盗人が藪の外へ、姿を隠してしまう時に、こう呟いたのを覚えている。その跡はどこも静かだった。いや、まだ誰かの泣く声がする。おれは縄を解きながら、じっと耳を澄ませて見た。が、その声も気がついて見れば、おれ自身の泣いている声だったではないか？ （三度、長き沈黙）
After my wife had fled, the thief took up the sword and the bow and arrows, and cut through my ropes in just one place. "Now it's my own turn to look out for myself." — I remember him muttering this as he vanished out of the grove. After that, everything was silent. No — someone was still weeping, somewhere. As I worked at untying the rope, I strained my ears to listen. But when I came to my senses, was that voice not my own, weeping? (A third time, a long silence.)
おれはやっと杉の根から、疲れ果てた体を起した。おれの前には妻が落した、小刀が一つ光っている。おれはそれを手にとると、一突きにおれの胸へ刺した。何か腥い塊がおれの口へこみ上げて来る。が、苦しみは少しもない。ただ胸が冷たくなると、一層あたりがしんとしてしまった。ああ、何と云う静かさだろう。この山陰の藪の空には、小鳥一羽囀りに来ない。ただ杉や竹の杪に、寂しい日影が漂っている。日影が、――それも次第に薄れて来る。――もう杉や竹も見えない。おれはそこに倒れたまま、深い静かさに包まれている。
At last I raised my exhausted body from the foot of the cedar. Before me, the dagger my wife had dropped lay gleaming. I took it in my hand, and drove it into my own chest with a single thrust. Something rank and clotted rose up into my mouth. But there was no pain at all — none. Only, as my chest went cold, everything around me grew all the more still. Ah, what a stillness it was. In the sky above this grove in the mountain's shadow, not a single bird came to sing. Only, at the tips of the cedars and bamboo, a lonely sunlight drifted. The sunlight, — that too gradually grew faint. — Now even the cedars and bamboo could no longer be seen. There I lay, fallen, wrapped in a deep stillness.
その時誰か忍び足に、おれの側へ来たものがある。おれはそちらを見ようとした。が、おれのまわりには、いつか薄闇が立ちこめている。誰か、――その誰かは見えない手に、そっと胸の小刀を抜いた。同時におれの口の中には、もう一度血潮が溢れて来る。おれはそれぎり永久に、中有の闇へ沈んでしまった。………
It was then that someone came stealing toward me on quiet feet. I tried to look that way. But by then a faint darkness had already settled all around me. Someone — that someone, with a hand I could not see, gently drew the dagger from my chest. At the same moment, the blood welled up once more into my mouth. And from that moment I sank forever into the darkness of the state between death and rebirth. .........
（大正十年十二月）
(December, Taishō 10.)