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Return to [[Curiosities of Lotus Asia]].
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{| border=solid cellpadding=10px
{{SubpageNav|Curiosities of Lotus Asia|Chapter 17|Chapter 19}}
|-
|  width=50% |「多くのファンに熱狂的に支持されている同人シューティングゲーム『東方』シリーズ。その『東方』の外伝ノベルが、本誌にて連載開始!
原作者であるZUN氏自らがストーリーを執筆し、気鋭の絵師 {あさい}源二による挿絵が、読者を幻想郷に誘う…。
注目度抜群の人気ノベルに注目させよ!!
|The novelization of the Touhou series, the doujin shooting games that have attracted a fanatic following, now starts to be published here.
Written by the series creator ZUN himself, and illustrated by the promising artist Genji Asai, it invites the reader to Gensokyo...
Give this famous novel all the attention it deserves!!
|-
! style="font-size:large" | 龍の写真機
! style="font-size:large" | Dragon's Camera
|-
| 春告鳥の鳴声店内に響き渡る。
|The [[wikipedia: Japanese_Bush-warbler|spring-heralding bird]]’s call reaches all the way into the shop.
|-
| 良かった冬は終わり、幻想郷に色が戻ってきた。深い雪によって白く染まっていた幻想卿は、春の訪れと共に色鮮やかな景観となり、同時に陽気な妖精や人間達が騒ぎ始めた。まるで淀んでいた世界が突然、空気が清らかになり視界が明瞭になった様に感じる。昔から清新明瞭のこの時期に清明の日という日があるのはその為だ。今年の清明の日はいつだっただろうか。
|Winter had ended in a good fashion, and color was back to Gensokyo. At the same time that Gensokyo, formerly dyed white by the deep snow, sprang into a vivid scenario with spring's arrival, the cheerful fairies and humans started their uproaring. It felt like a sudden rush of pure air had come to a stagnated world, expanding and clarifying the field of vision. It’s like fresh and clear days like this had always only existed for this purpose. How long has it been since such a clear day in this year?
|-
| 日記を書いていたのだが、唐突に今の季節の美しさを紙に与したいと思った。絵に描いても良いが、幻想郷にはそれよりももっと最適な物がある。それは写真である。
|I was writing my diary when I suddenly thought of imparting onto paper the beauty of this day. A drawing would be fine, but in Gensokyo there is an item even more suited for it. The photograph.
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
|「――何やっているんだ?こんなに良い天気なのに品物をひっくり返して」
|“...What are you doin'? Moving stuff around with such nice weather outside.”
|-
| 店の入り口付近から声が聞こえた。改めて店内を見渡すと、泥棒に入られたかのように商品が散乱していた。使い方が判らなくて仕舞っていたある道具を探していたのだ。
|I heard a voice coming from around the entrance. I took another look around at the interior of the shop. The articles were scattered all around as if a thief had previously entered. I was looking for a certain item, even though I didn’t know how to use it.
|-
|「ああ魔理沙。いつから居たのかい。今は散らかっているが、その辺の物に触らないでいてくれよ。売り物だから」
|“Ah, Marisa. How long have you been here? I know the place's a bit disheveled right now, but don't touch anything. Those are articles for sale.”
|-
|「触るなって言っても、触らないと歩けやしないぜ。」
|“Even if you tell me not to touch them, I can't move if I don't.”
|-
|「……ああ、やっと見つけたよ。これを探していたんだ。」
|“...Ahh, I finally found it! This is what I've been looking for.”
|-
|「ん?それは天狗が良く持っている奴だな」
|“Hm? Isn't that the thing the tengu are always carrying?”
|-
| 探していた道具とは『写真機』である。写真機とは文字通りに写真を撮る道具だ。
|The thing I was looking for is a “photo camera”. Just as its name says, it's a tool for taking photographs.
|-
|僕は、道具を見ただけでその名前と用途が判る能力が持っている。香霖堂を始めたのもその能力を生かす為である。あいにく、正確な使用方法までは判らないのだが。
|I have the ability of knowing the name and the use of an item just by looking at it. The reason I set up the Kourindou was so that I could make the most of this ability. Unfortunately, I can't find out the precise means of usage.
|-
|「日記に写真を貼り付けようと思ってね。ただ、写真機自体はずっと前に手に入れた物なんだけど、どうやったらこの道具で写真が撮れるのかさっぱり判らなくて放置していたんだ」
|“I was thinking of affixing some pictures into my diary. However, even though I've had the camera itself since long before, I put it aside because I didn't have the slightest idea of how to use it to take a photograph.” 
|-
|「天狗は簡単そうに撮っていたぜ?なんかこう構えて……覗いたボタンを押す感じで。もっとも、その機械から写真が出てくるのを見た事がないからどういう仕組みになっているのか判らないけど」
|“Ain't the tengu always taking them like it was nothing? They do it kinda like... you look into it, and press a button. But I've never actually seen a photo come out of this machine, so I don't know what kinda trick they use.”
|-
|「それはきっとこのボタンの事だと思うけど、何度も押したって、何の反応もないんだよ」
|“I'm sure it must be this button here, but as much as I press it, I can't get any reaction.”
|-
| そいって押してみるが、やっぱりウンともスンとも言わない。僕の能力が確かならば、この写真機で写真が撮れることは間違いない筈なのだが。
|I pressed it as I said this, but indeed it didn't even make a single sound. Even though my ability definitely says that this is a photographic camera, used for taking photographs.
|-
|「私はてっきり、写真を撮るが天狗の特殊能力だとばかり思っていたぜ。まさか、道具が写真を撮っていたとはな」
|“I always took it that taking pictures was a special ability that the tengu had. Never thought there could be a tool that did that.”
|-
| &nbsp; 
|
|-
| 天狗が不思議で秘密の多い種族である。人間やよそ者の妖怪が足を踏み入れる事のない山の中に棲んでいる為、天狗独自の社会と優れた技術を擁している。天狗が発行する新聞を読む限り、写真を現像する技術も謎だが、さらに驚かされるのは印刷の技術、天狗以外の何者も手にしていないのだから。
|The tengu are a mysterious species, full of secrets. Because they live on a mountain were humans and other youkai cannot set foot, they peculiar society and their amazing techniques are mostly hidden. All that one can do is read their newspapers. Even though their techniques for developing photographs are a mystery, their printing techniques are especially amazing. The kind of thing that no one except the tengu could do.
|-
| ちなみに、山には河童も棲んでいるが、こちらも同様にかなり高度な技術を持っていると言われている。河童の技術とは、精密で優れた道具を創り出す技術である。もしかしたら天狗の使う写真機も河童が創り出した物なのかも知れない。河童が創る道具は不思議な物ばかりで、道具屋として実に興味深い。
|Incidentally, the kappa also live on the mountain, and you could say they have the same degree of advanced techniques. The kappa techniques are of impressively precise tools. It might even be that the kappa are the ones who make the tengu's cameras. The items crafted by the kappa are truly curious ones, and as an item storekeeper, I am greatly interested in them.
|-
| 河童の道具に関しては、また後日思いを馳せるとして、今は写真機の事を考えよう。
|But let's leave the thoughts about kappa items for the future and concern ourselves with the photo camera right now.
|-
|「うーん、やっぱり駄目か。そもそもこの写真機のどこから写真が出てくるのか、さっぱり判らないからな」
|“Hum, it's really of no use. I can't even tell where the photos are supposed to come out.”
|-
|「ところで、どうして急に写真を撮ろうと思ったんだ?天狗に倣って香霖も新聞を始めようと思ったのか?」
|“By the way, why is it that you want to take pictures, Kourin? You want to imitate the tengu and start a newspaper?”
|-
|「新聞か……」
|“A newspaper...?”
|-
| 新聞を書くことにも興味があう。他人が読むような記事を書けるのならば、世の中に道具に対しての間違った知識を正す事も出来るだろう。
|I do have interest in writing a newspaper. If I can write articles that will be read by other people, I could correct society’s misinformation about many items.
|-
| もっとも、それには大きな問題がある。写真機を調べて写真は撮れたとしても印刷と活字の扱いについては見当たりも付かないのだ。
|But there's an even bigger problem to that. Even if I could figure out how to take pictures with a camera, I still wouldn't know how to handle typesetting and printing.
|-
|「いや、そんな簡単に新聞を始められる訳がない。写真が撮りたい理由は、春になって外が美しくなってきたから、それ手元の残しておきたかった、という事だ。」
|“No, I couldn't possibly start a newspaper so easily. The reason I wanted to take photos is that, since the spring days outside are so beautiful, I wanted to have a piece of them here inside.”
|-
|「そんな、来年になればまた見られるじゃないか」
|“Oh, come on. Won't you be able to see them again next year?”
|-
|「誤解しないで欲しいんだけど、写真を撮りたいのは見られなくなるからでも、いつでも見たいからでもない。当たり前の景色多面的に見たいからんだ。」
|“Don't misunderstand, I don't want photos of things I can't look at, or of things I want to see all the time. What I want is to see ordinary scenery from a different viewpoint.”
|-
| 写真を撮れるようにならば、普段から 写真を撮る事を前提に物を見るようになる。すると、いつも見ている景色が大きく違って見えるだろう。角度を変えて物を見る事は、充実した道具屋ライフには欠かせない。
|If I could take pictures, then I would be able to regularly use them as a basis to look at things. That way, I could see the everyday scenery in a very different way. Looking at things from different angles is an essential part of a shopkeeper's life.
|-
|「だったらお酒でも飲めばいい。同じ景色でも違った見方が出来るからな。それにしても写真がどういう仕組みで撮れるのか気になるぜ。」
|“Then just drink some booze. You'll see even the same scenery in a different way. But even so, I'm still curious about the trick for taking pictures.”
|-
|「そんな事、不思議でも何でもない。見た物を写真にする概念は簡単な事だ」
|“There's nothing mysterious about that. The basic concepts of creating a picture out of something you see are easy to grasp.”
|-
|「そうか?実際に景色を写真に写したら、景色が二つになる様なもんじゃないか。もの凄く巨大な写真を作れば、遠くの景色と区別が付かないんだろ?でも、遠くの山は一つしか存在しない筈だ。一体、何が減って写真の絵が増えているんだ?」
|“Oh, really? But if you actually capture some scenery in a photo, isn't it like making that scenery into two? If you make a really large photo, you can't distinguish it from a far away view, right? But there can only be one of a far away mountain. Just what is decreasing when the photo pictures increase?“
|-
|「景色が減る訳ではないが、減ってりる物はあるよ。例えば鏡を山の反対方向に置いたとして、その間に自分が立ち鏡を見ている所をしてごらん?」
|“The scenery isn’t decreasing, but something else is. For example, if you put up a mirror facing a mountain and stand in between the two, what do you see when looking at the mirror?”
|-
|「自分が見えるな」
|“I see myself.”
|-
|「いや、自分はどうでも良いから後ろの山が映るのを見て……。そこは写真の様に景色が映し出されるだろう。つまり、景色というのは生き物の目が無く ても鏡に映っている訳だ。後ろは映っている瞬間を保存できればよい。写真機はその瞬間を保存する能力が持っているんだ。実際の景色は減のでも二つになるの でもなく、映った鏡と瞬間が切り取られて減ると言う訳さ」
|“No, forget about yourself, look at the reflection of the mountain behind you... The scenery there will be projected just as if in a photograph. In other words, an image can be reflected off a mirror even if there isn't any living eye to see it, and it's possible to conserve that reflected instant. And a photographic camera has the ability to conserve it. The actual image is not diminished or duplicated, you could say it's that reflected instant that gets cut out.”
|-
|「ふーん、ちょっと理解しがたいが……まぁ実際に写真があるからにはそうなんだろうな。だとすると、鏡は半面だから半面の写真以外は撮れないって事だな」
|“Hum, that's a little hard to understand… But anyway, so that's where pictures actually come from? In that case, since mirrors show the image inverted, shouldn't it be possible to take only inverted pictures?”
|-
|「いや僕は、ちょっと工夫すれば立体写真も撮ることが出来ると思っている」
|“No, I think that, with a little devising, it is possible to create even solid photographs.”
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| 改めて店内を見渡しだが、やはり散らかっている。だが、魔理沙に立体の写真の可能性を示す為に、ある道具を探す事になり、再度ひっくり返す事になった。
|I surveyed the store’s interior once again, it was really disheveled indeed. But I wanted to get an item to show Marisa the possibility of solid photographs, so I shuffled through it again.
|-
|「あったあった。これだ、この道具だ」
|“Ah, here it is. That’s it, this one.”
|-
| 探し出したのは、龍の剌繍の入った小さな小箱だ。これを開けると、親指大で三角柱の小さなガラスが入っていた。僕はそのガラスを取り出して魔理沙に見せた。
|What I pulled out was a small box with dragon-themed embroidery. Opening it, there was a thumb-thick triangular piece of glass inside. I took that glass out and showed it to Marisa.
|-
|「これを見てごらん」
|“Take a look.”
|-
|「何だ?このガラスは」
|“What’s the deal with this glass?”
|-
|「このガラスの柱は三稜鏡、またはプリズムと呼ばれる道具。風に色を塗る道具だ。」
|“This glass piece is an item called ‘prism’. It’s a tool for coloring the air.”
|-
|「風に色を塗るだと?これはまたおかしな事を言い始めたな」
|“A tool for coloring the air, you say? There you go saying weird stuff again…”
|-
| 僕は三稜鏡を窓の近く、陽の当たる所に持っていた。三稜鏡が陽の光を吸い、光の筋が七色に染まった。
|I brought the prism closer to the window and held it under a sunlit spot. The prism absorbed the light and colored its rays in seven colors.
|-
|「おお、小さな虹が見える」
|“Ohh, it looks like a tiny rainbow.”
|-
|「この小さな三稜鏡だけで、風を七色に塗る事が出来るんだ。何故、三稜鏡から七色の虹が生まれるのかというと、それには完全な三と不完全な七の神掛かった関係があって……」
|“With just this small prism, it’s possible to color the air. And why do the seven colors of the rainbow come out of the prism, you ask? Because all the three perfect colors and the seven imperfect ones are related to the gods…”
|-
|「そんな話はどうでも良いよ。で、これでどうやって立体の写真を撮れると言うんだ?」
|“Whatever, that doesn’t matter. So, how you were saying it’s possible to make solid photographs with that?”
|-
|「……三つの三稜鏡で、三方向から同時に色を着ければ立体の絵が描けるだろう。後は、その時の風を保存する道具を作ればよい。風を凪にする道具だ。」
|“...If you set three prisms so that they are sending their colors from three different positions at the same time, you can draw a solid picture. Afterwards, it’s just a matter of making a tool for preserving the air as it was in that instant. A tool that immobilizes air.”
|-
|「ちょっと待って、いつもの事だが話が飛躍しすぎだ。何で三方向から色を着ければ立体の絵が描けるんだ?」
|“Wait a moment... your story is jumping all around as always. How come you can draw a solid picture by sending colors from three directions?”
|-
| 魔理沙は僕から三稜鏡を取り上げると、色んな方向から眺めまわしてみた。
|Marisa took the prism from me and looked at it from various angles.
|-
|「赤と緑を混ぜると黄色になる、赤と青いを混ぜれば紫だ。他にも組み合わせればどんな色にでもなる筈だ。だとしたら虹を上手く交差させれば自由 に色を塗れるだろう。立体に色を塗るためには横幅と奥行きと高ささえあれば良いんだから、最低三方向から虹を当てれば全ての点を空中で表現できるじゃないか」
|“If you mix red and green, it becomes yellow. If you mix red and blue, you have violet. With other combinations, you can obtain just about any color. That way, if you cross the rainbows skillfully, you can paint any color. In order to make a solid picture, you’ll only need it to have width, depth and height. So, with a minimum of three rainbows from different directions you can account for all the points in the air.”
|-
|「何だようく分からんが、風に絵を描く、そんな道具があれば楽しそうだな。でも半面の写真すら撮れない奴には夢のまた夢だがな」
|“I’m not sure I understand... But drawing pictures in the air? That sure looks like an amusing tool. But that seems like a far-fetched dream compared to the ones that can only take reflected pictures.”
|-
| まぁその通りである。たとえ理屈が判っても、技術が追っつかないのであれば実現しない。まだ空中に絵も描けなければ、風を凪にする道具も作れないのだから。
|Yes, that’s more or less right. Even if you understand the theory, it won’t come true if the technology is lagging behind. No one has made any tools for either drawing pictures on the air or for immobilizing it.
|-
| でも、常に新しいを考えていないと、幻想郷の最先端を行く技術は全て、天狗か河童の物になってしまうだろう。だから僕は新しい事を考え続けるのだ。これは道具屋としてだけではなく、僕個人の信念だ。
|But if we don’t think about new things, all of Gensokyo’s leading technology will end up belonging to the tengu or kappa. That’s why I’ll keep thinking new things. This is not only my belief as a storekeeper, but as a person.
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
|―――カランカラッ
|''Knock, knock.''
|-
|「あ、居た居た。そろそろ花見の時間よ?」
|“Ah, there you are. It’s almost time for the flower-viewing, you know?”
|-
|「あ、霊夢か。良くここが判ったな。」
|“Ah, Reimu? You sure guessed right that I was here.”
|-
|「魔理沙の居る場所の選択肢なんて殆ど無いじゃないの。それにしても散らかっているわね。泥棒にでも入れたの……って既に入られているわね。泥簿に」
|“There are not many places where you would be, Marisa. But anyway, it’s really disheveled here. Looks like a thief entered… or maybe there’s a thief inside already.”
|-
| ちなみに泥棒とは魔理沙の事だろう。もう本人も否定せず、猫のように小さなく笑った。三稜鏡を盗んでいくつもりなのか?
|By thief she was referring to Marisa. She didn’t even bother to deny it, just snickered like a cat. Was she thinking of stealing the prism?
|-
|「あら、小さな虹が出ているわね。それは何?」
|“Oh my, there’s a tiny rainbow coming out of it. What is this?”
|-
| 霊夢は入るなり散らかっった店内を物色し、魔理沙が弄っていた三稜鏡に眼を留めたようだ。
|Reimu was looking around the disheveled shop as she entered, and stopped her gaze on the prism Marisa was holding.
|-
|「これは三稜鏡という、風に色を塗る道具だそうだ。食べられないぜ。」
|“This is a prism, seems it’s a tool for coloring the air. You can’t eat it.”
|-
|霊夢は、「硬そうだからね」と言い、魔理沙が傾けて虹を床に落としたり、僕の顔に落したりしているのを眺めていた。
|“It does look hard,” said Reimu. Marisa inclined it and projected the rainbow over the floor, then over my face.
|-
|「霖之助さん、これってどういう仕組みなのかしら?見た感じ、中には何も入っていないみたいだけど……」
|“What’s the trick behind it, Rinnosuke? It doesn’t look like there’s anything inside it…”
|-
| 霊夢も魔理沙も疑問に思った事を自分で考えもせず訊いてくる。まず自分熟考し、その自分の論を述べてから他人に訊く事が一番望ましいのだが……まだ子供だから良しとしよう。それに、疑問にすら思わないよりはすっとマシである。
|Reimu and Marisa just asked whatever questions they thought of without thinking about them. The best thing to do would be to carefully think it over on your own, then consult about your conclusions with others… But they are still kids, so I let it be. And besides, it still was better than not thinking even of questions.
|-
|「三稜鏡は、中に何かが入っている訳ではない。この三角形という所が重要なんだ」
|“It’s not like there is anything inside a prism. What is important is its triangular shape.”
|-
| 三という数字は、完全と調和を意味する。三脚は平らではない場所でも安定して立つが、これが脚が増えて四脚以上になってもぐらいついてしまう。蛇と蛙と蛞蝓(なめくじ)の様に、三すくみならばお互い牽制し合い喧嘩が始まらないが、二人や四人以上だとすぐに喧嘩が始まってしまうだろう。
|The number three represents perfection and harmony. With three legs you can have stability even on an irregular surface, but that still holds true for four or more legs. However, just like in the case of the snake, the frog and the slug<ref>A three-way deadlock similar to the one in rock-paper-scissors. The snake defeats the frog, the frog defeats the slug and the slug (somehow) defeats the snake.</ref>; in a three-way deadlock everyone is kept in check, and fighting cannot break out. But if it’s two, four or more people, they’ll soon start quarreling.
|-
|「三人寄れば文殊知恵。鼓の三拍子。三種の神器。三日天下。三ほど安定した数字はない」
|“Three heads think better than one. The three beats of musical rhythm. The Three Imperial Regalia. The Three Days Emperor. No other number suggests stability as much as three.”
|-
| 「最後のは安定してないと思うぜ」
|“That last one didn’t suggest stability at all.”
|-
| 三稜鏡が意味する三が何かというと、この透明さを見ればすぐに予想できる。透明は見えざる者、つまり神の象徴なのだ。そもそも神社の御簾の向こうには何が存在しているだけだ。その透明な空間に神を感じ、祀っている場所が神社である。そして神に御座す場所と言えば、『アマ』の事だ。
|To understand the significance of the number three in the prism, one needs only to look at its transparence. Transparence represents an entity which cannot be seen, in other words, a god. Just like the presence beyond the bamboo screens in a shrine. The presence of a god is felt in that transparent space and the shrine is but a place to worship it. And talking about the shrine’s sacred chamber brings us to the ‘ama’”
|-
|「結論から言うと、三稜鏡の三つとは神の御座場所の三つ、天と海と雨との事なんだ。この三つのアマと言えば、何の神を指している霊夢なら判るよね」
|“Skipping to the conclusion, the number three in the prism is the same as the three in a sacred chamber: the sky, the sea, and the rain. And by mentioning these three “ama”, you should be able to tell which god they point to, Reimu.”
|-
|「あー、えーっと。虹ね。」
|“Hmm... erm... The rainbow?”
|-
|「……虹に辿り着くのはまだ早いよ。本当に話について来ているかい?」
|“...It’s still too early to arrive at the rainbow. Are you really following the conversation?”
|-
|「いつもの事だけど話が飛躍しすぎるのよ。もっとゆっくり判りやすく説明できないの?」
|“Just as always, your story is jumping all around. Can’t you explain it a little more slowly?”
|-
| 好奇心で質問してきたのは霊夢なんだから、自分で深く考えればよいのだ。僕に霊夢のペースに合わせて教えてあげる義務はない。霊夢が理解出来ようが出来まいが、僕は説明を続けた。
|Reimu was the one who asked about it out of curiosity, she should have pondered about it herself. I have no obligation to slow down my explanation to her pace.<!-- It's called not being a jerk ass, Rinnosuke... --> Whether she understood or not, I went on explaining.
|-
|「ほら、前に大きな動物の骨を持てきった事があったじゃないか、その時も同じ説明で『龍』の骨だと説明しただろう?三稜鏡とは、透明と三角形だけで龍をの住む所を表現しているのである。」
|“Alright, didn’t you bring that big animal bone that other time? Didn’t I say the same at that time, that it was a ‘Dragon’ bone? Just by being transparent and triangular, a prism represents a dragon’s living place.”
|-
|「虹とは、龍の通った跡だと言う事は言うまでもない、だから、三稜鏡に何か―――この場合は光を通すと、虹が作り出される訳だ」
|“I don’t think I need to explain that rainbows are traces of a dragon’s passage. So, something passes through the prism…in this case, light. A rainbow is created.
|-
|「ちょっ、ちょっと、待ってよ。そういえばずっと当たり前の事だと思っていたけど、何で龍が虹を残すの?」
|“Wai... wait, wait a moment! I took it at face value last time, but how come dragons leave rainbows in their trail?”
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| やれやれ、質問されっぱなしで自分の作業が進まない。今日は少しで写真機の使い方を調べようと思っていたのだが……って霊夢は魔理沙を捜しに来ていたんじゃないのか?随分と悠長である。
|Oh, geez... If I keep being questioned nonstop, my own work cannot go forward. All I wanted toady was to investigate a little about the photo camera’s manner of usage… Hey, didn’t Reimu come over to look for Marisa? She’s really being carefree about it. Just by looking at them
|-
| 二人を見ると、今は質問の答えを待っているだけで、自分達の本来の目的を忘れているようだ。
|Just by looking at them, waiting for the answers for their questions, you can see that they completely forgot about their original objective.
|-
|「そうか。龍が何故虹を残すか……か。それは少し難しい話になるね。予め言っておくと、霊夢にはまだ無理出来ないかも知れないよ」
|“I see. Why do dragons leave a rainbows on their trails, you ask? That might be a little complicated to explain. I’ll just let you know that it might get a little too much for you.”
|-
|「そんなに馬鹿にする事はないじゃないの。霖之助さんの説明がもっと丁寧なら、きっと出来るんだけどね」
|“Don’t say it like I’m some kind of idiot, Rinnosuke. If you explain it carefully, I’m sure I can understand.”
|-
|「まぁ結論を先に言うと、龍は完全な三の世界から、森羅万象を創造ために虹の七色を残すんだ」
|“Well, starting by the conclusion, since dragons are made from the three perfect elements of the world, they leave in their way the seven colors of the rainbow, which can create everything in existence.
|-
|「随分と大きく出たのね」
|“That’s pretty grandiose.”
|-
|「そりゃ、龍は幻想郷の最高神で創造と破壊を行う神様だからね。その辺の妖怪とは一回りも二回りも規模が違うよ」
|“But you see, dragons are the highest gods of Gensokyo, they can bring creation or destruction. They are apart from the youkai around here by one or two orders of magnitude.”
|-
| 完全に調和が取れた世界からは、新しい物が生み出される隙間はない。天から雨が降り、海に注ぎ込まれて天の力によって、海から水が蒸発し雲を創る。完全なアマの世界とは、三つのアマだけど完結しているのである。
|In a world in perfect harmony, there are no gaps where new things can be born. The rain falls from the sky and imbues the seas with the strength of the heavens, then the water evaporates from the sea and becomes clouds. From the three ‘ama’ elements, you only obtain their own cycle.
|-
| 龍は、その世界に不調和を持ち込み、その不調和から森羅万象を生む様に世界を変えた。その完全の『三』に足された虹の『七』色によって、世界は『十の力』で構成されるようになったのだ。
|The dragons brought dissonance into this world, and from that dissonance everything was created, and the world was changed. To the perfect “three” they added the rainbow’s “seven”, and the world was organized in the “ten powers”.
|-
|「それにより、幻想郷のあらゆる物質が十の相互作用で創造と破壊が行われるようになったんだ」
|“Because of it, all substances in Gensokyo are created and destroyed by the interaction of these 'ten'.”
|-
|「おお、それなら何となく判るぜ。私の専門だ」
|“Ohh, when you put it like that I kinda understand. It’s my specialty, y’see.”
|-
|「魔理沙の専門って……何だったっけ?」霊夢の質問は本気なのか冗談なのか判らない。
|“Your specialty... what was it again, Marisa?” I couldn’t tell if Reimu’s question was serious or a joke.
|-
|「ああ、こう見えても魔法使いだったんだぜ。驚きだろう?それより霊夢の方が巫女っぽくないがな」
|“Well, it’s plain to see I’m a magician. No surprise there, right? You are the one who doesn’t seem miko-like.”
|-
|「うん。物質とその相互作用は魔法を扱う者にとっては欠かせない知識の一つだからね。君が実は勉強家だと言う事は判っているよ」
|“Yes, knowledge of substances and their interactions is indispensable for magicians. I know that you are actually quite studious in that respect.”
|-
|「勉強ではないぜ。本を読み、魔法を磨く、それが日課だから知識を増やす事は勉強に値しない」
|“That’s not studying. Reading books, perfecting spells, that’s all daily routine. So increasing my knowledge is not really studying.”
|-
|「へぇ、魔理沙ってこう見えても勤勉だったのねぇ。その成果が出ているのかしら?」
|“Hmm, you really seem quite diligent, Marisa. Are the results showing, I wonder?”
|-
| 物質は木、火、土、金、水、で成り立っている。この五つの要素が十の力で相互に作用することで、安定することなく絶えず変化し続けるのだ。十の力とは、木は火を生み、火は土を創り、土は金を育て、金は水を浄化し、水は木を育て、木は土を渡せさせ、土は水を吸い、水は火を消し、火は金を溶かし、金は木を折 る、この十個である。
|The substances are composed of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These elements interact with each other through the force of the “ten”, and instead of stability, they are in constant transformation. By “the force of the ten” it’s meant that: wood fuels fire, fire originates earth, earth brings up metal, metal purifies water, water raises wood, wood transports earth, earth sucks in water, water quenches fire, fire melts metal and metal chops wood.
|-
| 複雑に絡み合った力は二つの物質間で決着が付くわけではない。金の力が弱めれば木は強まる事になる。だが、木が強まれば火が強まり、土も強まり、金もまた強まる。そして、金が強まれば木が弱まってしまう。決して安定することなく力が動き続ける事で、様々な物質が生まれたり消えたりするのだ。
|These forces are complexly interrelated, not being limited to only the interaction between two substances. If the strength of metal weakens, wood gets stronger, but if wood gets stringer, then fire gets stronger as well, and the earth gets stronger, which leads to metal getting stronger again. And if metal gets stronger, wood gets weaker. As these forces are never stable and always keep on moving, several new substances are created and destroyed.
|-
|「要約すると、私が霊夢に負けがちなのはこの力の所為だと言う訳だぜ」
|“In brief, it’s because of these forces that I usually lose to Reimu.”
|-
|「そんな要約しすぎた負け惜しみはどうでも良いわ。でもどうして?」
|“Not like I care about poor loser excuses. But why do you say so?”
|-
|「それは魔理沙は水で、霊夢は木だからだよ。水は木を育てるから……これでは水の方が少々分が悪い。でも、決闘じゃなければ相性が悪い訳じゃなくて、むしろ相性は良い方だね」
|“It’s because Marisa is water, and you are wood. And since water raises wood, it means water will usually lose in a fight between the two. But, fighting apart, it doesn’t mean you are incompatible. It actually means good affinity.”
|-
|「私が木で、魔理沙が水……じゃ、霖之助さんは何なのかしら?」
|“I am wood, and Marisa is water... so, what are you, Rinnosuke?”
|-
| 霊夢は見るからに春であり、最も東にある神社に住む。これは木の象徴だ。魔理沙はと言うと、黒い服を好み陽の射さない森に住む、これは水である。僕はと言うと……名前が示すとおり僕も又、水なのだ。
|Just by looking at Reimu you could see she was a spring person, and she lives in a shrine at the very east. This symbolized wood. As for Marisa, she liked to dress in black and lived in a dark forest, away from the sun, that means water. As for me… just as implied by my name, I’m also water.
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
|「写真機の話から随分と外れてしまったね。君達が質問ばかりするからだよ」
|“We really got far from the camera talk. It’s because you girls just keep asking questions.”
|-
|「うーん。龍神様の事はまだまだ判らない事で一杯ね」
|“Well, yes. There’s still a lot I don’t understand about the dragon gods.”
|-
|「龍はその姿を見せる事は殆どないからね。今日聞いたことは今すぐに理解出来なくても、後でじっくり思い出して考えると良いよ。そうすれば、世の中の仕組みが少しずつ見えてくる筈さ。ところで、花見は良いのかい?店に来てから随分と時間が経ってしまっている様だけど」
|“Dragons hardly ever show themselves. And even if you don’t understand everything we discussed right now, as long as you think about it later, it will be alright. This way, all the world’s underpinnings will slowly come clear to you. And by the way, what about your flower-viewing? It’s been some time already since you arrived.”
|-
|「ああ、忘れてたわ!今日は珍しい客も呼んであったのに」
|“Ahh, I forgot about it! Even though today we have some unusual guests…”
|-
|「珍しい客?」
|“Unusual guests?”
|-
|「今日は清明の日だから天狗達も花見をするんだって。私達も今日は……っていつもしてるけど花実をするんで、たまには一緒にやろうって事になったの。どう?霖之助さんも来ない?」
|“Since the weather is so clear today, we’re having some tengu over for flower-viewing. And today we’re… but wait, we are always doing it, but didn’t you say you would join us sometimes? What do you say, Rinnosuke, you want to come?”
|-
|「天狗から写真機の仕組みを教えて貰えるかも知れないぜ」
|“Maybe you can even have the tengu explain ya the trick behind the cameras.”
|-
| そうだな、写真機の仕組みを知りたいのならば天狗に聞けば良いんじゃないか。何でそんな単純な事に気付かなかったんだろう……って天狗!?
|That’s right, if I wanted to know the workings of a photo camera, the best thing to do would be to ask the tengu about it. Why didn’t I realize such a simple thing before… wait, tengu!?
|-
|「天狗だって!? とんでもない。とてもじゃないけどそんな花見し参加したくないよ」
|“Tengu, you say!? No way! Sorry, but I’m not taking part in this flower-viewing.”
|-
|「ま、そう言うと思ってたわよ。天狗が居ると記念撮影が出来て面白いんだだけどね。」
|“Oh well, I thought you’d say that. But since there’ll be tengu there, we can even take some commemorative pictures.”
|-
|「この三稜鏡は貰っていくよ。天狗達に立体新聞とか出来るかもな」そう言い残して、二人は帰っていった。
|“I’m taking this prism with me. Maybe the tengu can use it for solid photos or something.” Saying that, the two of them left.
|-
| やはり三稜鏡を持ってかれたか。ずっと弄っていたし、気に入ったのだろう。だが大した貴重な物ではないが、商品は商品なんだからお金を払って欲しいものだ。
|So she did indeed take the prism away. She kept fiddling with it all the time, I guess she liked it. It wasn’t that valuable, but merchandise is merchandise, and I liked getting paid for it.
|-
| &nbsp;
|
|-
| それにしても天狗と宴会とは……いささか心配である。天狗は無類の酒豪で、その飲む量と来たら人間の酒豪とは比べてものにならないのだ。その量たるや鬼と比べてもひけを取らないと言われている。天狗一人ならまだしも、天狗達の宴会と一緒にやるとは……。
|But even so, going to a party with tengu… that makes me a little worried. Tengu are unparalleled drinkers, the amounts of liquor they can take can’t be compared even to the heaviest human drinkers. You can even say they are in the same league as the oni on that.  To go partying with even one tengu… or worse, with more than one…
|-
| 僕は今日の花見に参加したくないと言った理由は、騒がしいのが嫌いだからではない。天狗に訊いたところで、からかわれるだけだからだ。「知りたければ酒を呑め。呑まねば教えぬ」とか言って、記憶が無くなるまで呑まされるのがオチである。天狗とはそういう生き物だ。取り合えず散らかった店内を片付け、それからもう一度写真機を弄ってみよう。自分で調べるしかない。
|The reason I didn’t want to take part in today’s flower viewing is not because I don’t like noisiness. If I asked the tengu about that, they would, just for fun, say something like “If you want to know it, drink. If you don’t, we shan’t tell.” And then they would make me drink so much I wouldn’t remember a thing later. That’s the kind of creatures tengu are. And anyway, I have to tidy up my disheveled store. And after that I’ll try fiddling with the photographic camera again. I guess I’ll just have to find out by myself.
|-
|明日の二人の報告が楽しみである。記憶が残っていれば、の話だが。
|I’m looking forward to the reports from those two tomorrow. If they can remember anything, that is.
|}


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{{TranslateTable/Header}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  雪明りを頼りに日記をつけ、冬の夜をやり過ごす。<br />そんな香霖堂を訪れたのは、紅魔館に仕えるメイド・十六夜咲夜だった。<br />彼女の注文は、非の打ち所のない縁起物。<br />なんでも月世界へ至る「魔法」の成就には、途方もない運が必要だというのだが――。<br />ウェブ掲載も本格スタートした東方シリーズ。<br />今宵、不吉と吉兆をめぐる人間界の常識がいとも簡単に覆される……!
| en= Thanks to the light reflected from the snow, I made entries in my diary on a winter evening.<br/>The maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Sakuya Izayoi, is the current visitor of Kourindo.<br/>Her order was a talisman that protects weak points.<br/>Great luck is needed to cope with lunar magic...<br/>This is an online version of the publication of a project from the Touhou series.<br/>This evening, simple human ideas about the sinister and the auspicious will be turned upside down!..
}}
{{TranslateTable|h1
| ja=  月と河童
| en=  Moon and Kappa
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  窓の雪は月の狂気をかき集め、闇の黒は筆を通して紙にしみ込んでいく。<br />昼は本を読み、夜になるとその日の出来事を本に書いた。不思議な事に日記を書き始めてから、{{ruby|些細|ささい}}な出来事でも気が付く様になったのである。日記を書くという行為の本当の意味は、日々の出来事を忘れない為でも過去を見つめ直す為でもなく、些細な変化でも見落とさない様に感度を高める為だという事に気が付いた。
| en= Snow seen through the window grabs insanity of the moon, and blackness worn by the dark is absorbed through the pen into papers. By the day I read books, at night I write the day’s events in a book. Mysteriously enough, after I started keeping a journal, I started to notice even the most trivial events. I noticed that the real meaning behind writing a journal is not to remember every day’s happenings in order to reflect on the past, but to raise one’s sensitivity so as not to overlook even the trivial changes.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  人は普段から物凄い量の情報を受けながら生きている。そして興味の有る物以外の情報はそのまま流され、興味の有る物だけが自分のアンテナに引っ掛かり自分に蓄積されていく。日記はその感度の{{ruby|偏|かたよ}}り具合を極限まで増幅する、{{ruby|謂|い}}わば真空管アンプの様な効果を発揮する。日記を書き始めた事で極限まで感度が高まった状態の僕は、どのような些細な事でも見逃さないだろう。
| en= People usually take in an incredible amount of information in living. And, while the information that doesn’t hold interest to them just flows past, what is interesting is detected by their antennas and stored. Keeping a journal can help to amplify this sensitivity to its extreme limits. You could say it is the same effect as using a valve amplifier. Now that I have started writing a diary, and my sensitivity is raised to its maximum, I probably won’t overlook even the most trivial things.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  ――カランカランカラン
| en= ''Knock, knock, knock.''
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  店の入り口で音がした。
| en= There was a sound at the store’s entrance.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「こんな夜遅くにやって来るなんて……一体誰だい?」
| en= “Just who could it be this late at night?”
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  僕は窓の雪に集められた月明かりを頼りに、入り口の方へ向かった。もう店を閉めてから随分と経っていた為、店の中は冷え切っていた。
| en= Relying on the light gathered by the snow on the window, I went to the front door. It had been some time since I closed the shop, and its interior was freezing cold.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「開いているかしら?」そこに居たのは吸血鬼に仕えるメイドだった。
| en= “Are you open?” standing there was the maid that served the vampire.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  夜中に訪れたからといって別段急ぎの様子には見えない。どうやら、彼女は活動時間の大半が夜に偏っているのだろう。夜に出掛けるのが当たり前の様な顔をしていた。御主人様が吸血鬼なのだから仕方がない。
| en= For someone that came calling in the middle of the night, she didn’t seem in a particular hurry. But I suppose that most of her hours of activity were nocturnal. By the look on her face, she considered it normal to go out in the middle of the night. Her mistress being a vampire, I guess that can’t be helped.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「何を言っているんだい。{{ruby|灯|あか}}りを消したし、どう見たって閉まっている様にしておいたつもりだったけど」
| en= “What are you saying? All the lights are off, it can only possibly mean that we are supposed to be closed.”
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「それは節約しているか留守にしているか、どちらかかと思いました」
| en= “It could be that you were conserving energy, or absent. I was wondering which it would be.”
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  留守で灯りを消していた場合も、勝手に上がって物色するつもりだったのだろうか。そう考えるとおちおち家も空けられない。
| en= I wonder if, in case I was absent, she was planning on coming inside by herself in order to get what she wanted. This is why I don’t leave my place carelessly.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「'''{{ruby|縁起|えんぎ}}の良い物'''を探しに来たのですけど……何か置いてないかしら?」
| en= “I am looking for '''a lucky item'''... Do you have any?”
}}
{{TranslateTable|colspan}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja=  僕は店の{{ruby|灯|あか}}りを{{ruby|点|つ}}けた。それと同時に周囲から月の狂気が消え去り、{{ruby|途端|とたん}}に店内は夜の薄暗さを取り戻した。閉店後に訪れるなんて随分と自分勝手だと思ったが、お客であるのならば別にいつでも構わない。うちの店の客には、とんでもなく早朝に訪れる者だって居る。
| en= I lit the store’s lights. At the same time that this vanquished the madness of the moonlight, it brought back the gloominess of the night into the store. I believe it is a very uncouth thing to come visit a shop after it’s closed, but as long as it is a customer, I don't mind too much. I've even had customers visit ridiculously early in the morning.
}}
{{TranslateTable
| ja= 「縁起の良い……って、漠然とした注文ですね。今なら入荷したての『鳥居が刻まれた{{ruby|隕鉄|いんてつ}}』とか有りますが……」
| en= “Lucky, you say... That’s a rather vague request. I have a ‘meteoritic iron with an engraved shinto gate’ that I just received...”
}}
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| ja= 「そんな{{ruby|信憑性|しんぴょうせい}}に欠ける物じゃなくて、もっと見ただけで縁起の良いって判る物はないかしら?」
| en= “No, not something with such little credibility. Don’t you have something you can tell is a good omen just by looking at it?”
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| ja=  僕は、こんな夜中に、何の為に縁起物を使うのか想像出来なかったが、売れるものなら今の内に売っておきたかった。普段、縁起物など実用性の乏しい品物はなかなか興味を持って貰えないのである。僕は「それならとっておきの縁起物が有るよ」と告げて、倉庫の奥で眠っていた、もっとも大きくて縁起の良い品を持って来た。
| en= I couldn’t possibly imagine what would she use for an object of good omen in the middle of the night, but if it was something I had for sale, I wanted to sell it. Lucky items are usually articles with little utility, so I don’t have much interest in them. I told her, “In that case, I have just the lucky item for you.” and went to fetch an article of exceedingly good omen that was lying deep in storage.
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| ja= 「あら、なんてカラフルな亀の甲羅かしら。これは確かに縁起が良さそうじゃない」
| en= “Oh my, such a colorful tortoise shell. That certainly seems to be of good omen.”
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| ja= 「赤と青、白と黒、そして中央は黄色の五色の甲羅。これほど縁起の良い物はなかなか見あたらないと思うよ」
| en= “Red and blue, black and white, and yellow at the center. All in all, a five-colored shell. I don’t think I’ve seen anything with better omen to it.”
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| ja= 「でも……この甲羅、亀にしては不自然ね。大きすぎるし、それに何だかのっぺりとしているというか」
| en= “But... a shell like this seems strange for a tortoise. It’s too big, and rather smooth.”
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| ja= 「そう、これは亀の甲羅じゃない、『河童の{{ruby|五色甲羅|ごしきこうら}}』さ」
| en= “Right, this isn’t a tortoise shell. It’s a ‘Kappa’s Five-colored Shell.’ ”
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| ja=  外の世界で作られたストーブが、冷め切った店を暖めるまでには少し時間がかかる。ようやく店内が暖まり始めた頃に、頭の回りも良くなってきた。
| en= It takes a while for my heater from the outside world to warm the cold interior of the shop. When the room finally started to warm up, my head also started to work better.
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| ja= 「河童、ねぇ。河童なんて{{ruby|何処|どこ}}に{{ruby|棲|す}}んでいるのかしら?」
| en= “A kappa, you say? Where do the kappa live again?”
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| ja= 「河童なんて山に幾らでも棲んでいるよ。君たちは余り山に足を踏み入れないだろうけど、山にはさまざまな妖怪が棲んでいるよ。ただこの甲羅は最近の代物ではない。千年以上……恐らくは千三百年位前のものかな。とにかく物凄く古いものだ」
| en= “There are kappa living in the mountains. You all might have never set foot around there, but there are a lot of youkai living in that area. But this shell is not recent. It’s from more than a thousand… probably from 1300 years ago, I suppose. In any case, it’s quite old.”
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| ja= 「そこそこ古いわね」
| en= “That is rather old.”
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| ja= 「後で文句を付けられても困るから{{ruby|予|あらかじ}}め注意しておくけど、河童と伝えられているだけで、本当に河童の甲羅なのかは定かではない。それでも五色の甲羅は最大級の{{ruby|吉兆|きっちょう}}の品さ」
| en= “But since I would rather not receive complaints after the sale, I will advise you beforehand that while I was told it was a kappa’s shell, I can’t ascertain absolutely that it is. Even so, a five-colored shell is the best lucky charm one could have.”
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| ja=  河童と{{ruby|謂|い}}われる事の信憑性を正直に述べた。すると、メイドの表情が少し{{ruby|訝|いぶか}}しむ目付きに変わった様な気がしたので、慌てて話題を逸らした。
| en= I spoke truthfully about the credibility of it being from a kappa. And so, the maid’s face expressed a little doubt. Seeing her expression, I changed the subject.
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| ja= 「ところで、何で縁起の良い物が欲しいのかい? しかもこんな夜遅くに」
| en= “By the way, why is it that you want a lucky item? And this late at night, on top of that?”
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| ja= 「それは……大きな魔法の成功には、大きな運が必要らしいのです」
| en= “That’s because... It seems we need a lot of luck for a great magic spell to be successful.”
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| ja=  彼女が語り出したのは、とても{{ruby|奇怪|きかい}}な話だった。先日、彼女――{{ruby|十六夜|いざよい}}咲夜が働く紅魔館で{{ruby|節分|せつぶん}}が行われたという。吸血鬼が鬼を追い払うという変わった行事だが、紅魔館はその様な不思議な行事を{{ruby|頻繁|ひんぱん}}に行っているらしく、あまり珍しくもない。
| en= Her story was a rather bizarre one. A few days ago, the Scarlet Devil Mansion – where this girl Sakuya Izayoi worked at – was celebrating [[wikipedia:Setsubun|Setsubun]]. A vampire chasing away oni would be a strange event. But these kind of mysterious events were frequent at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so it wasn’t all that out of place.
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| ja= 「――その節分大会が終わろうとした頃、月に異変が起きたのよ。貴方は知らないだろうけど」
| en= “Just when the celebration was ending, there was an incident with the moon. Though I suppose you don’t know about it.”
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| ja=  後日、『{{ruby|文々。新聞|ぶんぶんまるしんぶん}}』で知ったのだが、節分の日の夜に月が割れるという惨事が起きていたらしい。月は音もなく割れ、音もなく元通りになったとの事だったが、時間が時間という事もあって気が付いた者は少なかった。
| en= I read about it in the Bunbunmaru News some days later. It seems that on the night of Setsubun, [[Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red/Suika|a terrible disaster had split the moon into pieces]]. The moon crumbled without a sound, and was restored without a sound. And, considering the time it took place, just a few actually witnessed it.
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| ja= 「それで、その月の異変と縁起の良い物とどういう関係が……」
| en= “But what is the relation between the moon incident and a lucky item...”
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| ja= 「砕け散った月を見て驚いたお嬢様が、また言い出したのです。『今度こそ月に行くわよ』って」
| en= “My Mistress was surprised to see the fragmented moon and said once again ‘''This time, we will go to the Moon.''’ ”
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| ja=  今度こそというのは、前にも突発的に月に行くと言い出して、月に行く魔法(『プロジェクトアポロ』という名前の魔法らしい)を行おうとした事が有ったからだ。その時は材料不足で失敗に終わったそうだが……。
| en= By “this time”, it means that she had previously made a sudden decision to go to the moon. She wanted to perform some magic spell that would take her to the moon (a spell apparently named “Project Apollo”), but apparently, she didn’t have the necessary ingredients, and the spell failed…
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| ja=  『プロジェクトアポロ』は、外の世界の魔法の中でも非常に難解で複雑なものだという。魔法の手順が書かれた魔導書は何冊にも及び、手順、材料、道具共に最大級の魔法だそうだ。さらに材料や道具には理解不能の品が大量にあり、それ一つ一つを探し集めるだけでも一苦労なのだ。それ{{ruby|故|ゆえ}}に、これを実行出来るだけの魔法使いは、幻想郷には存在しないと思われている。
| en= “Project Apollo” is an extremely difficult and complicated magic spell from the outside world. I’ve browsed several grimoires detailing the spell’s procedure, and the procedure, the ingredients and the tools seem to be those of the highest level magic. In addition, many of the ingredients and tools are of no understandable use. Even gathering each item piecemeal would be extremely hard. That’s why I believe there’s not a single magician in Gensokyo capable of performing it.
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| ja= 「お嬢様のお友達の魔法使いは、『材料はかなり集まったけど、この最大級の魔法が成功するには最大級の運が必要』だと言うんです。それで『幻想郷で最も縁起の良い物を持ってきて』と命じられたもので……」
| en= “The Mistress’ magician friend said ‘I have enough of the ingredients, but for magic of the highest level to succeed, fortune of the highest order is needed’. And so she ordered me to ‘Bring me the luckiest item in all Gensokyo’…”
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| ja= 「なんとも災難でしたね」
| en= “How unfortunate.”
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| ja=  魔法の実行は六つの要素から成り立っている。それは、術者の『技量』、魂の性質である『気質』、道具や材料といった『物質』、行う場所である『空間』、実行した時の『時間』、そして最後に『運』である。このうち、最後の運が占めるウエイトは最も重く、運さえ有れば他の要素はある程度カバーできるし、逆にこれが無ければどんな簡単な魔法でも失敗するのだ。
| en= Performing of a spell is consisted of six elements. Those are the caster’s “Ability”, the “Temperament” of the soul, the “Substance” of the ingredients and tools, the “Space” in which it takes place, the “Time” during which it is performed and finally “Fortune”. Of these, Fortune carries the most strength, as long as you have Fortune on your side, it can cover for the other elements. On the other hand, if there’s no Fortune, even the simplest magic will fail.
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| ja= 「運以外の要素はほぼ{{ruby|揃|そろ}}ったらしいので、後は運だけなのです。最も{{ruby|縁起|えんぎ}}の良い物となると、茶柱でも四つ葉のクローバーでも竹の花でもなくて、もっともっと珍しいものじゃないと……」
| en= “The other elements seem to be almost complete, with only Fortune remaining. We need something extremely lucky. Nothing as common as four-leaf clovers or bamboo flowers, so I wondered if something more unusual would be acceptable…”
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| ja=  珍しい物と縁起の良い物は異なる気がするが、恐らく紅魔館ではその常識がまかり通っているのだろう。珍しければ良いのなら、この河童の五色甲羅ではなく、つちのこ酒あたりでも良かったのかも知れない。
| en= I don’t think unusual things and lucky things are the same, but maybe that’s the accepted idea at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. If unusual means lucky, then rather than a kappa’s five-colored shell, some [[wikipedia:Tsuchinoko|tsuchinoko]] sake might be better.
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| ja=  しかし、僕はこの河童の五色甲羅を売る絶好のチャンスが到来していると、直感で判っていた。このチャンスをみすみす逃してはいけない。
| en= However, I had the feeling that this would be my best chance to sell this kappa shell. I couldn’t possibly let this chance escape.
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| ja= 「この五色の甲羅は、ただ珍しいだけじゃない。まさに、今の君にぴったりの品ですよ」
| en= “This five-colored shell is not only unusual. In fact, it is perfect for what you need.”
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| ja=  縁起が良いものには縁起が良いという謂われが必要である。僕はその河童の五色甲羅が何故縁起が良いのか、そして{{ruby|何故|なぜ}}彼女にぴったりな品なのかを語る事にした。
| en= Lucky items must have a ''history'' as being lucky. So I spoke at length of why this item was not only lucky, but why it was ideal for her.
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| ja=  立ち話を止め、僕はストーブの近くの椅子に腰掛けた。彼女にも椅子に座るよう勧めたが、「立っているのには慣れてますから」と言って姿勢の良い立ちポーズを崩そうとはしなかった。僕だけが座った状態で、彼女が手に持っている甲羅を指さして説明を始めた。
| en= I went to sit on a chair by the heater, having decided to continue the conversation while sitting. I offered her a chair, but she said “I’m used to standing.” without moving from her upright posture. Being the only one seated, I pointed to the shell she was holding and began to explain.
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| ja= 「赤、青、白、黒、黄の五色は、この自然のありとあらゆるものを表しているんだ。東西南北と中心という方角、春夏秋冬と節分の季節、そして火水木金土の物質、つまりこの世のすべてを表している色なんだ。魔法の実行に必要な『空間』『時間』『物質』を{{ruby|網羅|もうら}}している事になる。さらに亀は大地を運ぶ動物として元々縁起が良く、自然をすべて乗せる五色の亀は最高級の縁起物とされたんだよ。よく言われる一万年もの長い間生きる亀とは、もちろん普通の亀ではなくこういう五色の亀の事を言っている」
| en= “The colors of red, blue, white, black and yellow can represent everything in nature. The directions of East, West, South, North and Center. The seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Setsubun. And the five elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth. In short, those five colors can represent everything in our world. Those can even cover the Space, Time, and Substance necessary for performing magic. Besides, the tortoise is considered to be good omen since long ago for being the animal that carries the world on its back. So all the colors of nature represented on a tortoise is the greatest sign of good omen an item could be. It is often said that tortoises are capable of living ten thousand years. Of course those wouldn’t be normal tortoises, but the ones that have shells such as that.”
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| ja= 「でも、この甲羅は亀じゃなくて河童なのでしょう? 河童でも一万年生きるのかしら」
| en= “But didn’t you say that that this shell was from a kappa rather than a tortoise? Do kappa live ten thousand years as well?”
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| ja= 「そこが、この品が今の君にピッタリの品という理由なのさ。河童は、よく中国の{{ruby|河伯|カハク}}と呼ばれる河の妖怪が転じたものだといわれているが……それは違うんだ」
| en= “And that’s why this item is perfect for you. Kappa are often related to the Chinese river youkai called ''kahaku''… but this is not correct.”
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| ja= 「今のお話自体、初めて聞いたのですけど」
| en= “That’s the first time I've heard of such, though...”
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| ja= 「河伯は大河に住む水の神様だ。河伯と河童を一緒にする事は、少し河童を持ち上げ過ぎだと思わないといけないよ」
| en= “''Kahaku'' are gods who live in major rivers. I can’t help but think that putting ''kahaku'' and kappa together is flattering the kappa a little too much.”
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| ja= 「確かに、河童なんて天狗よりもたちの悪い妖怪ですからね」
| en= “That’s right, kappa are even worse than tengu.”
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| ja=  外の国に同じ様な呼び名の妖怪が居るというだけで、同じ生き物というのは無理がある。それに言葉だって、河に{{ruby|棲|す}}み河の字が付くんだから同じ様な呼び名になって当然なのだ。
| en= Just because there’s a youkai with a similar name in an country in the outside world, to think that they are the same creature is unreasonable. And, as far as wording goes, it’s only natural to use the same character for river – ‘河(ka)’ – for creatures who live in rivers.
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| ja= 「僕は、河童がもっと身近な生きものが変化した物だと考えているよ」
| en= “I believe that kappa are creatures who changed to become more like us.”
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| ja=  ストーブに載せていたヤカンの水が音を立て始めた。冷え切っていた店内は再び活気を取り戻し、お茶を淹れると{{ruby|漸|ようや}}く調子が出てきた。
| en= The water kettle atop the heater started to whistle. As I brewed some tea, the chilled shop finally started regaining some appearance of vitality.
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| ja=  こういう時、メイドは習慣でお茶を淹れてくれたりしないのかと思ったが、彼女は他人の家ではそういう事をしないらしい。それは彼女が良く出来たメイドという証拠である。良かれと思って他人の家でもお茶を用意したり後片付けをしたりする者も居るが、それは無神経なだけだ。誰かの家にお邪魔した時はたとえメイドであれ、常に客人である。だから手伝いを買って出たりされても、家の主人は迷惑する。本人は善意であるからなおさらたちが悪い。
| en= I wondered if the maid wouldn’t take it on to herself to brew the tea, since it should be her habit, but apparently she wouldn’t do that at other people’s houses. This was proof that she was a proper maid. If you think about it, there might be people who prepare tea and clean things up at other people’s houses, but that’s rather insensible. When you come to other people’s houses, like this maid, you are always a visitor. That’s why, even if you offer to help, you are just giving trouble to the host. You would just be insensible to their good intentions.
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| ja=  メイドはありとあらゆる所にまで神経を使い、常に失礼の無い様にする事に長けているものだ。店に来て勝手にお茶を煎れて飲んでいる誰かさんとは大違いである。僕は彼女の分のお茶も用意した。
| en= A maid should be sensible wherever she is, and always avoid discourtesy. Very differently from a certain someone that comes to my shop, makes tea and drinks it on her own whim. So I served tea for her as well.
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| ja= 「では、河童は{{ruby|何処|どこ}}から来たというのです?」
| en= “So, where did the kappa come from?”
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| ja= 「その答えは河童の姿を思い浮かべればすぐに想像付くよ」
| en= “If you think about the form of a kappa, you’ll soon be able to answer that.”
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| ja= 「河童の姿ねぇ……。そういえば河童の甲羅ってつるつるとしているかしら?」
| en= “A kappa’s form... Now that you mention it, is a kappa’s shell smooth?”
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| ja=  そう、河童の甲羅は亀とは異なる形状をしているのだ。
| en= Yes, a kappa’s shell is a different shape from a turtle’s.
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| ja= 「河童の由来は、カハカメが転じたものだと考えている」
| en= “I think the origin of the kappa is related to the ''kahakame''.”
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| ja=  それにしてもこのメイドは、夜中に訪れて来た割には急いでいる様に見えない。もしかしたら月に行く事なんて最初から無理だと思っているのかも知れない。そう考えると、彼女はお嬢様の遊びに付き合っている様にも見えた。
| en= But by any means, for someone who comes calling in the middle of the night, this maid doesn’t seem in that much of a rush. Maybe she had thought from the beginning that going to the moon would be impossible. She looked like she was just going along with her mistress's version of play.
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| ja= 「カハカメ、つまり河に{{ruby|棲|す}}む亀。カハカメは漢字で書くと大亀という字になるんだよ。その字が表している様に物凄く巨大な亀なんだ。成長すれば人間くらいの大きさになる事も珍しくない。そのカハカメが何年もの長い間生き続け、人語を理解する様になったり人の形を取れる程の妖力を得たものが河童なんだ」
| en= “''Kahakame'', the river turtle. Their name in kanji is written with the characters meaning “great turtle”. What these characters express is the idea of a huge turtle. It would not be unusual for a fully grown one to reach the size of a human. When these turtles live for many years, they become able to understand human speech and gain the ability to take on a human form, becoming kappa.”
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| ja= 「カハカメ……って聞いた事が無いわ。それに河にそんな大きな亀が居るのかしら? 海亀じゃあるまいし……」
| en= “''Kahakame''... I have never heard of them. And are there really such big turtles in rivers? It is not possible for them to be sea turtles…”
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| ja=  まるで海亀が泳いでいるのを見た事が有るかの様な口ぶりが少々気になったが、僕は続けた。
| en= She talked like she had seen a sea turtle swim before, which made me a little curious, but I went on.
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| ja= 「よく思い出してごらん? 居るじゃないか、海じゃなくて河や沼にも非常に大きくなるモノが。もう一度河童の姿を思い浮かべてみたり、その甲羅をよく見てごらん? 亀にしては丸くて{{ruby|滑|なめ}}らかだと思わないかい?」
| en= “Why don’t you try remembering? There certainly are. Really big ones, who live in rivers and ponds instead of the sea. Try thinking about a kappa’s image again, looking at this shell. Doesn’t it remind you of a round and smooth tortoise shell?”
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| ja= 「なるほど、貴方の言いたい事はよく判りましたわ。だから、この品が今の私にぴったりだと言ったのね。でも、そうだとすると……お嬢様には『私が水棲生物に{{ruby|疎|うと}}い』という事にして頂かないといけません」
| en= “I see. Now I understand what you meant. This item is indeed just what I was looking for. But even so… my Mistress is definitely going to say something like ‘''I have nothing to do with water creatures.''’ ”
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| ja=  メイドは納得した様子で五色の甲羅を抱えて帰って行った。{{ruby|勿論|もちろん}}、お金を払い、お茶の後片付けもせずにである。本当に良くできたメイドだ。僕は二人分の後片付けをし、再び閉店にした。
| en= The maid seemed to reach a conclusion, and returned to the mansion with the five-colored shell under her arm. After paying, of course, and without helping to tidy up anything. She is indeed a proper maid. I cleaned up after both of us, and once again closed the store.
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| ja=  それにしても、彼女が最後に言った言葉……彼女はメイドとしての{{ruby|心得|こころえ}}をわきまえた上に、頭の回転も速い事がよく判った。
| en= But thinking about her last words… I noticed that she not only had all the knowledge of a maid, but was an exceptionally fast thinker.
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| ja=  彼女は河童の正体に気付くと、すぐに御主人様に見せた時の説明を頭の中でシミュレートしたに違いない。なんで{{ruby|縁起|えんぎ}}が良いのかを説明するにあたって、その甲羅の{{ruby|謂|い}}われを述べるだろう。でも、河童の正体は伝えないんじゃないかと予想する。
| en= As soon as she perceived the true nature of kappa, she must have simulated in her head how it would be to explain it while showing it to her lady. To explain why it is a lucky item, she would have to mention what it was said of that shell. But she was already predicting not explaining about the kappa’s true form.
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| ja=  河童の正体である {{ruby|大亀|カハカメ}}、それは海ではなく河や沼に棲み、そしてとんでもなく大きくなる亀。すなわち、{{ruby|鼈|スッポン}}である。その鼈が長い間生き続け、妖力を得た物が河童である。
| en= The real form of the kappa are the great turtles. Tortoises that don’t live in the sea, but in rivers and ponds, and can get incredibly big. In other words, softshell turtles. If these turtles live for too long, they gain supernatural abilities and become kappa.
}}
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| ja=  御主人様が月に行こうとする時に鼈を持って行く事は、それだけで何か裏の意図、しかも負の方向の意図があると思われかねない。だから彼女は自分が水棲生物に疎い事にし、その甲羅が鼈のものである事を御主人様には伝えないのだろう。
| en= Her mistress would see going to the moon while carrying a turtle, by itself, a little contradictory, and likely defeating the whole purpose. And so, not seeing how she is related to aquatic creatures, the maid wouldn't tell her mistress the shell is related to turtles.
}}
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| ja=  月と鼈。確かに二つのものは似ているが大きくかけ離れている。だがしかし、我々が触れられるものも、良い縁起をもたらすものも鼈の方なのだ。月は不吉なものであり、決して触れる事も出来ない。だとすると、月と鼈のどちらが優れているかといえば……言うまでも無く鼈の方である。遠くの不吉を見る前に、身近な吉兆を見た方が良い。
| en= The moon and the turtle. <ref>The Japanese expression “The moon and the turtle” means two things that have very little in similar to each other. In this case, both the moon and the turtle look round, but other than that they have nothing in common.</ref> Two things that look similar but are indeed very different. However, the turtle is the one we can touch, and that brings good luck. The moon is ominous and untouchable. That being the case, if I were to choose which one is better… I wouldn’t even have to say that it would be the turtle. Rather than looking at something distant and ominous, it’s better to look at something close and fortunate.
}}
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| ja=  彼女はそこまで気付き、月に行く為に鼈を用意するという一見{{ruby|侮辱|ぶじょく}}かと思われる行為をわざとしたに違いない。多分、お嬢様には気付かれないだろうが、紅魔館に居る{{ruby|識者|しきしゃ}}の誰かが気付けば彼女は満足なのだろう。
| en= She should have realized that much – that using a turtle to get to the moon was ridiculous at first glance – and did it on purpose. Her mistress won’t probably notice, but maybe it will be good enough for her if someone knowledgeable enough in the Scarlet Devil Mansion realizes it.
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| ja=  僕はというと、思わぬ臨時収入により少々{{ruby|高揚|こうよう}}した気持ちでいた。あの五色の甲羅は大きいし誰も興味を持たないし、どちらかというと不良在庫だったのだ。それに河童の甲羅と言われてはいるが、それも疑わしいときたものだ。メイドが訪れた時、これが売れるチャンスはもう来ないかも知れないと思い、僕は極限まで高まった感度で甲羅と彼女を見た。
| en= As for me, more than an unexpected extra income, I got a small feeling of exaltation. As that five-colored shell was too big, no one else was interested in it. It was practically defective stock. And even though it was supposed to be a kappa shell, it was suspicious. When that maid came here, I thought that would be my last chance to sell it, and used my utmost sensibility on that shell and that girl.
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| ja=  月に行くという途方もない目的とメイドらしい気の使い方を見た時に、突然、河童と鼈、月と鼈の関係が閃いたのだ。たとえ縁起が良いからといって、まったく無関係の品では意味が無い。だから僕は遠回しにそれを話した。もちろん、彼女ならきっとすぐに理解し、そしてこの商品を手に取るだろう、という計算の上で……。
| en= When looking at the outrageous goal of going to the moon, and that very maid-like way of acting, the relation between the kappa and the turtles and between the moon and the turtle suddenly flashed through my head. Because it’s a lucky item, it doesn’t matter that it's completely unrelated. That’s why I talked about it in such a roundabout way. Of course, I’m sure she soon understood that, and decided to take the article, as it was all calculated...
}}
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| ja=  僕は筆を置き窓の外を見た。その時、一瞬だけ月が紅く光って見えた気がした。
| en= I put the brush down and looked through the window. At that moment, I had the impression the moon had shone red for an instant.
}}
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==References==
<references/>


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==Notes==
:*This chapter brings the plan of people at Scarlet Devil Mansion for Moon Travel, which is concretely shown in [[Silent Sinner in Blue]].


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{{SubpageNav|Curiosities of Lotus Asia|Chapter 17|Chapter 19}}


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Revision as of 00:34, 19 April 2021

Page 124-131


< Chapter 17   Curiosities of Lotus Asia   Chapter 19 >


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 雪明りを頼りに日記をつけ、冬の夜をやり過ごす。
そんな香霖堂を訪れたのは、紅魔館に仕えるメイド・十六夜咲夜だった。
彼女の注文は、非の打ち所のない縁起物。
なんでも月世界へ至る「魔法」の成就には、途方もない運が必要だというのだが――。
ウェブ掲載も本格スタートした東方シリーズ。
今宵、不吉と吉兆をめぐる人間界の常識がいとも簡単に覆される……!
Thanks to the light reflected from the snow, I made entries in my diary on a winter evening.
The maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Sakuya Izayoi, is the current visitor of Kourindo.
Her order was a talisman that protects weak points.
Great luck is needed to cope with lunar magic...
This is an online version of the publication of a project from the Touhou series.
This evening, simple human ideas about the sinister and the auspicious will be turned upside down!..
月と河童 Moon and Kappa
 窓の雪は月の狂気をかき集め、闇の黒は筆を通して紙にしみ込んでいく。
昼は本を読み、夜になるとその日の出来事を本に書いた。不思議な事に日記を書き始めてから、些細(ささい)な出来事でも気が付く様になったのである。日記を書くという行為の本当の意味は、日々の出来事を忘れない為でも過去を見つめ直す為でもなく、些細な変化でも見落とさない様に感度を高める為だという事に気が付いた。
Snow seen through the window grabs insanity of the moon, and blackness worn by the dark is absorbed through the pen into papers. By the day I read books, at night I write the day’s events in a book. Mysteriously enough, after I started keeping a journal, I started to notice even the most trivial events. I noticed that the real meaning behind writing a journal is not to remember every day’s happenings in order to reflect on the past, but to raise one’s sensitivity so as not to overlook even the trivial changes.
 人は普段から物凄い量の情報を受けながら生きている。そして興味の有る物以外の情報はそのまま流され、興味の有る物だけが自分のアンテナに引っ掛かり自分に蓄積されていく。日記はその感度の(かたよ)り具合を極限まで増幅する、()わば真空管アンプの様な効果を発揮する。日記を書き始めた事で極限まで感度が高まった状態の僕は、どのような些細な事でも見逃さないだろう。 People usually take in an incredible amount of information in living. And, while the information that doesn’t hold interest to them just flows past, what is interesting is detected by their antennas and stored. Keeping a journal can help to amplify this sensitivity to its extreme limits. You could say it is the same effect as using a valve amplifier. Now that I have started writing a diary, and my sensitivity is raised to its maximum, I probably won’t overlook even the most trivial things.
 ――カランカランカラン Knock, knock, knock.
 店の入り口で音がした。 There was a sound at the store’s entrance.
「こんな夜遅くにやって来るなんて……一体誰だい?」 “Just who could it be this late at night?”
 僕は窓の雪に集められた月明かりを頼りに、入り口の方へ向かった。もう店を閉めてから随分と経っていた為、店の中は冷え切っていた。 Relying on the light gathered by the snow on the window, I went to the front door. It had been some time since I closed the shop, and its interior was freezing cold.
「開いているかしら?」そこに居たのは吸血鬼に仕えるメイドだった。 “Are you open?” standing there was the maid that served the vampire.
 夜中に訪れたからといって別段急ぎの様子には見えない。どうやら、彼女は活動時間の大半が夜に偏っているのだろう。夜に出掛けるのが当たり前の様な顔をしていた。御主人様が吸血鬼なのだから仕方がない。 For someone that came calling in the middle of the night, she didn’t seem in a particular hurry. But I suppose that most of her hours of activity were nocturnal. By the look on her face, she considered it normal to go out in the middle of the night. Her mistress being a vampire, I guess that can’t be helped.
「何を言っているんだい。(あか)りを消したし、どう見たって閉まっている様にしておいたつもりだったけど」 “What are you saying? All the lights are off, it can only possibly mean that we are supposed to be closed.”
「それは節約しているか留守にしているか、どちらかかと思いました」 “It could be that you were conserving energy, or absent. I was wondering which it would be.”
 留守で灯りを消していた場合も、勝手に上がって物色するつもりだったのだろうか。そう考えるとおちおち家も空けられない。 I wonder if, in case I was absent, she was planning on coming inside by herself in order to get what she wanted. This is why I don’t leave my place carelessly.
縁起(えんぎ)の良い物を探しに来たのですけど……何か置いてないかしら?」 “I am looking for a lucky item... Do you have any?”
 僕は店の(あか)りを()けた。それと同時に周囲から月の狂気が消え去り、途端(とたん)に店内は夜の薄暗さを取り戻した。閉店後に訪れるなんて随分と自分勝手だと思ったが、お客であるのならば別にいつでも構わない。うちの店の客には、とんでもなく早朝に訪れる者だって居る。 I lit the store’s lights. At the same time that this vanquished the madness of the moonlight, it brought back the gloominess of the night into the store. I believe it is a very uncouth thing to come visit a shop after it’s closed, but as long as it is a customer, I don't mind too much. I've even had customers visit ridiculously early in the morning.
「縁起の良い……って、漠然とした注文ですね。今なら入荷したての『鳥居が刻まれた隕鉄(いんてつ)』とか有りますが……」 “Lucky, you say... That’s a rather vague request. I have a ‘meteoritic iron with an engraved shinto gate’ that I just received...”
「そんな信憑性(しんぴょうせい)に欠ける物じゃなくて、もっと見ただけで縁起の良いって判る物はないかしら?」 “No, not something with such little credibility. Don’t you have something you can tell is a good omen just by looking at it?”
 僕は、こんな夜中に、何の為に縁起物を使うのか想像出来なかったが、売れるものなら今の内に売っておきたかった。普段、縁起物など実用性の乏しい品物はなかなか興味を持って貰えないのである。僕は「それならとっておきの縁起物が有るよ」と告げて、倉庫の奥で眠っていた、もっとも大きくて縁起の良い品を持って来た。 I couldn’t possibly imagine what would she use for an object of good omen in the middle of the night, but if it was something I had for sale, I wanted to sell it. Lucky items are usually articles with little utility, so I don’t have much interest in them. I told her, “In that case, I have just the lucky item for you.” and went to fetch an article of exceedingly good omen that was lying deep in storage.
「あら、なんてカラフルな亀の甲羅かしら。これは確かに縁起が良さそうじゃない」 “Oh my, such a colorful tortoise shell. That certainly seems to be of good omen.”
「赤と青、白と黒、そして中央は黄色の五色の甲羅。これほど縁起の良い物はなかなか見あたらないと思うよ」 “Red and blue, black and white, and yellow at the center. All in all, a five-colored shell. I don’t think I’ve seen anything with better omen to it.”
「でも……この甲羅、亀にしては不自然ね。大きすぎるし、それに何だかのっぺりとしているというか」 “But... a shell like this seems strange for a tortoise. It’s too big, and rather smooth.”
「そう、これは亀の甲羅じゃない、『河童の五色甲羅(ごしきこうら)』さ」 “Right, this isn’t a tortoise shell. It’s a ‘Kappa’s Five-colored Shell.’ ”
 外の世界で作られたストーブが、冷め切った店を暖めるまでには少し時間がかかる。ようやく店内が暖まり始めた頃に、頭の回りも良くなってきた。 It takes a while for my heater from the outside world to warm the cold interior of the shop. When the room finally started to warm up, my head also started to work better.
「河童、ねぇ。河童なんて何処(どこ)()んでいるのかしら?」 “A kappa, you say? Where do the kappa live again?”
「河童なんて山に幾らでも棲んでいるよ。君たちは余り山に足を踏み入れないだろうけど、山にはさまざまな妖怪が棲んでいるよ。ただこの甲羅は最近の代物ではない。千年以上……恐らくは千三百年位前のものかな。とにかく物凄く古いものだ」 “There are kappa living in the mountains. You all might have never set foot around there, but there are a lot of youkai living in that area. But this shell is not recent. It’s from more than a thousand… probably from 1300 years ago, I suppose. In any case, it’s quite old.”
「そこそこ古いわね」 “That is rather old.”
「後で文句を付けられても困るから(あらかじ)め注意しておくけど、河童と伝えられているだけで、本当に河童の甲羅なのかは定かではない。それでも五色の甲羅は最大級の吉兆(きっちょう)の品さ」 “But since I would rather not receive complaints after the sale, I will advise you beforehand that while I was told it was a kappa’s shell, I can’t ascertain absolutely that it is. Even so, a five-colored shell is the best lucky charm one could have.”
 河童と()われる事の信憑性を正直に述べた。すると、メイドの表情が少し(いぶか)しむ目付きに変わった様な気がしたので、慌てて話題を逸らした。 I spoke truthfully about the credibility of it being from a kappa. And so, the maid’s face expressed a little doubt. Seeing her expression, I changed the subject.
「ところで、何で縁起の良い物が欲しいのかい? しかもこんな夜遅くに」 “By the way, why is it that you want a lucky item? And this late at night, on top of that?”
「それは……大きな魔法の成功には、大きな運が必要らしいのです」 “That’s because... It seems we need a lot of luck for a great magic spell to be successful.”
 彼女が語り出したのは、とても奇怪(きかい)な話だった。先日、彼女――十六夜(いざよい)咲夜が働く紅魔館で節分(せつぶん)が行われたという。吸血鬼が鬼を追い払うという変わった行事だが、紅魔館はその様な不思議な行事を頻繁(ひんぱん)に行っているらしく、あまり珍しくもない。 Her story was a rather bizarre one. A few days ago, the Scarlet Devil Mansion – where this girl Sakuya Izayoi worked at – was celebrating Setsubun. A vampire chasing away oni would be a strange event. But these kind of mysterious events were frequent at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so it wasn’t all that out of place.
「――その節分大会が終わろうとした頃、月に異変が起きたのよ。貴方は知らないだろうけど」 “Just when the celebration was ending, there was an incident with the moon. Though I suppose you don’t know about it.”
 後日、『文々。新聞(ぶんぶんまるしんぶん)』で知ったのだが、節分の日の夜に月が割れるという惨事が起きていたらしい。月は音もなく割れ、音もなく元通りになったとの事だったが、時間が時間という事もあって気が付いた者は少なかった。 I read about it in the Bunbunmaru News some days later. It seems that on the night of Setsubun, a terrible disaster had split the moon into pieces. The moon crumbled without a sound, and was restored without a sound. And, considering the time it took place, just a few actually witnessed it.
「それで、その月の異変と縁起の良い物とどういう関係が……」 “But what is the relation between the moon incident and a lucky item...”
「砕け散った月を見て驚いたお嬢様が、また言い出したのです。『今度こそ月に行くわよ』って」 “My Mistress was surprised to see the fragmented moon and said once again ‘This time, we will go to the Moon.’ ”
 今度こそというのは、前にも突発的に月に行くと言い出して、月に行く魔法(『プロジェクトアポロ』という名前の魔法らしい)を行おうとした事が有ったからだ。その時は材料不足で失敗に終わったそうだが……。 By “this time”, it means that she had previously made a sudden decision to go to the moon. She wanted to perform some magic spell that would take her to the moon (a spell apparently named “Project Apollo”), but apparently, she didn’t have the necessary ingredients, and the spell failed…
 『プロジェクトアポロ』は、外の世界の魔法の中でも非常に難解で複雑なものだという。魔法の手順が書かれた魔導書は何冊にも及び、手順、材料、道具共に最大級の魔法だそうだ。さらに材料や道具には理解不能の品が大量にあり、それ一つ一つを探し集めるだけでも一苦労なのだ。それ(ゆえ)に、これを実行出来るだけの魔法使いは、幻想郷には存在しないと思われている。 “Project Apollo” is an extremely difficult and complicated magic spell from the outside world. I’ve browsed several grimoires detailing the spell’s procedure, and the procedure, the ingredients and the tools seem to be those of the highest level magic. In addition, many of the ingredients and tools are of no understandable use. Even gathering each item piecemeal would be extremely hard. That’s why I believe there’s not a single magician in Gensokyo capable of performing it.
「お嬢様のお友達の魔法使いは、『材料はかなり集まったけど、この最大級の魔法が成功するには最大級の運が必要』だと言うんです。それで『幻想郷で最も縁起の良い物を持ってきて』と命じられたもので……」 “The Mistress’ magician friend said ‘I have enough of the ingredients, but for magic of the highest level to succeed, fortune of the highest order is needed’. And so she ordered me to ‘Bring me the luckiest item in all Gensokyo’…”
「なんとも災難でしたね」 “How unfortunate.”
 魔法の実行は六つの要素から成り立っている。それは、術者の『技量』、魂の性質である『気質』、道具や材料といった『物質』、行う場所である『空間』、実行した時の『時間』、そして最後に『運』である。このうち、最後の運が占めるウエイトは最も重く、運さえ有れば他の要素はある程度カバーできるし、逆にこれが無ければどんな簡単な魔法でも失敗するのだ。 Performing of a spell is consisted of six elements. Those are the caster’s “Ability”, the “Temperament” of the soul, the “Substance” of the ingredients and tools, the “Space” in which it takes place, the “Time” during which it is performed and finally “Fortune”. Of these, Fortune carries the most strength, as long as you have Fortune on your side, it can cover for the other elements. On the other hand, if there’s no Fortune, even the simplest magic will fail.
「運以外の要素はほぼ(そろ)ったらしいので、後は運だけなのです。最も縁起(えんぎ)の良い物となると、茶柱でも四つ葉のクローバーでも竹の花でもなくて、もっともっと珍しいものじゃないと……」 “The other elements seem to be almost complete, with only Fortune remaining. We need something extremely lucky. Nothing as common as four-leaf clovers or bamboo flowers, so I wondered if something more unusual would be acceptable…”
 珍しい物と縁起の良い物は異なる気がするが、恐らく紅魔館ではその常識がまかり通っているのだろう。珍しければ良いのなら、この河童の五色甲羅ではなく、つちのこ酒あたりでも良かったのかも知れない。 I don’t think unusual things and lucky things are the same, but maybe that’s the accepted idea at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. If unusual means lucky, then rather than a kappa’s five-colored shell, some tsuchinoko sake might be better.
 しかし、僕はこの河童の五色甲羅を売る絶好のチャンスが到来していると、直感で判っていた。このチャンスをみすみす逃してはいけない。 However, I had the feeling that this would be my best chance to sell this kappa shell. I couldn’t possibly let this chance escape.
「この五色の甲羅は、ただ珍しいだけじゃない。まさに、今の君にぴったりの品ですよ」 “This five-colored shell is not only unusual. In fact, it is perfect for what you need.”
 縁起が良いものには縁起が良いという謂われが必要である。僕はその河童の五色甲羅が何故縁起が良いのか、そして何故(なぜ)彼女にぴったりな品なのかを語る事にした。 Lucky items must have a history as being lucky. So I spoke at length of why this item was not only lucky, but why it was ideal for her.
 立ち話を止め、僕はストーブの近くの椅子に腰掛けた。彼女にも椅子に座るよう勧めたが、「立っているのには慣れてますから」と言って姿勢の良い立ちポーズを崩そうとはしなかった。僕だけが座った状態で、彼女が手に持っている甲羅を指さして説明を始めた。 I went to sit on a chair by the heater, having decided to continue the conversation while sitting. I offered her a chair, but she said “I’m used to standing.” without moving from her upright posture. Being the only one seated, I pointed to the shell she was holding and began to explain.
「赤、青、白、黒、黄の五色は、この自然のありとあらゆるものを表しているんだ。東西南北と中心という方角、春夏秋冬と節分の季節、そして火水木金土の物質、つまりこの世のすべてを表している色なんだ。魔法の実行に必要な『空間』『時間』『物質』を網羅(もうら)している事になる。さらに亀は大地を運ぶ動物として元々縁起が良く、自然をすべて乗せる五色の亀は最高級の縁起物とされたんだよ。よく言われる一万年もの長い間生きる亀とは、もちろん普通の亀ではなくこういう五色の亀の事を言っている」 “The colors of red, blue, white, black and yellow can represent everything in nature. The directions of East, West, South, North and Center. The seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Setsubun. And the five elements of Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth. In short, those five colors can represent everything in our world. Those can even cover the Space, Time, and Substance necessary for performing magic. Besides, the tortoise is considered to be good omen since long ago for being the animal that carries the world on its back. So all the colors of nature represented on a tortoise is the greatest sign of good omen an item could be. It is often said that tortoises are capable of living ten thousand years. Of course those wouldn’t be normal tortoises, but the ones that have shells such as that.”
「でも、この甲羅は亀じゃなくて河童なのでしょう? 河童でも一万年生きるのかしら」 “But didn’t you say that that this shell was from a kappa rather than a tortoise? Do kappa live ten thousand years as well?”
「そこが、この品が今の君にピッタリの品という理由なのさ。河童は、よく中国の河伯(カハク)と呼ばれる河の妖怪が転じたものだといわれているが……それは違うんだ」 “And that’s why this item is perfect for you. Kappa are often related to the Chinese river youkai called kahaku… but this is not correct.”
「今のお話自体、初めて聞いたのですけど」 “That’s the first time I've heard of such, though...”
「河伯は大河に住む水の神様だ。河伯と河童を一緒にする事は、少し河童を持ち上げ過ぎだと思わないといけないよ」 Kahaku are gods who live in major rivers. I can’t help but think that putting kahaku and kappa together is flattering the kappa a little too much.”
「確かに、河童なんて天狗よりもたちの悪い妖怪ですからね」 “That’s right, kappa are even worse than tengu.”
 外の国に同じ様な呼び名の妖怪が居るというだけで、同じ生き物というのは無理がある。それに言葉だって、河に()み河の字が付くんだから同じ様な呼び名になって当然なのだ。 Just because there’s a youkai with a similar name in an country in the outside world, to think that they are the same creature is unreasonable. And, as far as wording goes, it’s only natural to use the same character for river – ‘河(ka)’ – for creatures who live in rivers.
「僕は、河童がもっと身近な生きものが変化した物だと考えているよ」 “I believe that kappa are creatures who changed to become more like us.”
 ストーブに載せていたヤカンの水が音を立て始めた。冷え切っていた店内は再び活気を取り戻し、お茶を淹れると(ようや)く調子が出てきた。 The water kettle atop the heater started to whistle. As I brewed some tea, the chilled shop finally started regaining some appearance of vitality.
 こういう時、メイドは習慣でお茶を淹れてくれたりしないのかと思ったが、彼女は他人の家ではそういう事をしないらしい。それは彼女が良く出来たメイドという証拠である。良かれと思って他人の家でもお茶を用意したり後片付けをしたりする者も居るが、それは無神経なだけだ。誰かの家にお邪魔した時はたとえメイドであれ、常に客人である。だから手伝いを買って出たりされても、家の主人は迷惑する。本人は善意であるからなおさらたちが悪い。 I wondered if the maid wouldn’t take it on to herself to brew the tea, since it should be her habit, but apparently she wouldn’t do that at other people’s houses. This was proof that she was a proper maid. If you think about it, there might be people who prepare tea and clean things up at other people’s houses, but that’s rather insensible. When you come to other people’s houses, like this maid, you are always a visitor. That’s why, even if you offer to help, you are just giving trouble to the host. You would just be insensible to their good intentions.
 メイドはありとあらゆる所にまで神経を使い、常に失礼の無い様にする事に長けているものだ。店に来て勝手にお茶を煎れて飲んでいる誰かさんとは大違いである。僕は彼女の分のお茶も用意した。 A maid should be sensible wherever she is, and always avoid discourtesy. Very differently from a certain someone that comes to my shop, makes tea and drinks it on her own whim. So I served tea for her as well.
「では、河童は何処(どこ)から来たというのです?」 “So, where did the kappa come from?”
「その答えは河童の姿を思い浮かべればすぐに想像付くよ」 “If you think about the form of a kappa, you’ll soon be able to answer that.”
「河童の姿ねぇ……。そういえば河童の甲羅ってつるつるとしているかしら?」 “A kappa’s form... Now that you mention it, is a kappa’s shell smooth?”
 そう、河童の甲羅は亀とは異なる形状をしているのだ。 Yes, a kappa’s shell is a different shape from a turtle’s.
「河童の由来は、カハカメが転じたものだと考えている」 “I think the origin of the kappa is related to the kahakame.”
 それにしてもこのメイドは、夜中に訪れて来た割には急いでいる様に見えない。もしかしたら月に行く事なんて最初から無理だと思っているのかも知れない。そう考えると、彼女はお嬢様の遊びに付き合っている様にも見えた。 But by any means, for someone who comes calling in the middle of the night, this maid doesn’t seem in that much of a rush. Maybe she had thought from the beginning that going to the moon would be impossible. She looked like she was just going along with her mistress's version of play.
「カハカメ、つまり河に()む亀。カハカメは漢字で書くと大亀という字になるんだよ。その字が表している様に物凄く巨大な亀なんだ。成長すれば人間くらいの大きさになる事も珍しくない。そのカハカメが何年もの長い間生き続け、人語を理解する様になったり人の形を取れる程の妖力を得たものが河童なんだ」 Kahakame, the river turtle. Their name in kanji is written with the characters meaning “great turtle”. What these characters express is the idea of a huge turtle. It would not be unusual for a fully grown one to reach the size of a human. When these turtles live for many years, they become able to understand human speech and gain the ability to take on a human form, becoming kappa.”
「カハカメ……って聞いた事が無いわ。それに河にそんな大きな亀が居るのかしら? 海亀じゃあるまいし……」 Kahakame... I have never heard of them. And are there really such big turtles in rivers? It is not possible for them to be sea turtles…”
 まるで海亀が泳いでいるのを見た事が有るかの様な口ぶりが少々気になったが、僕は続けた。 She talked like she had seen a sea turtle swim before, which made me a little curious, but I went on.
「よく思い出してごらん? 居るじゃないか、海じゃなくて河や沼にも非常に大きくなるモノが。もう一度河童の姿を思い浮かべてみたり、その甲羅をよく見てごらん? 亀にしては丸くて(なめ)らかだと思わないかい?」 “Why don’t you try remembering? There certainly are. Really big ones, who live in rivers and ponds instead of the sea. Try thinking about a kappa’s image again, looking at this shell. Doesn’t it remind you of a round and smooth tortoise shell?”
「なるほど、貴方の言いたい事はよく判りましたわ。だから、この品が今の私にぴったりだと言ったのね。でも、そうだとすると……お嬢様には『私が水棲生物に(うと)い』という事にして頂かないといけません」 “I see. Now I understand what you meant. This item is indeed just what I was looking for. But even so… my Mistress is definitely going to say something like ‘I have nothing to do with water creatures.’ ”
 メイドは納得した様子で五色の甲羅を抱えて帰って行った。勿論(もちろん)、お金を払い、お茶の後片付けもせずにである。本当に良くできたメイドだ。僕は二人分の後片付けをし、再び閉店にした。 The maid seemed to reach a conclusion, and returned to the mansion with the five-colored shell under her arm. After paying, of course, and without helping to tidy up anything. She is indeed a proper maid. I cleaned up after both of us, and once again closed the store.
 それにしても、彼女が最後に言った言葉……彼女はメイドとしての心得(こころえ)をわきまえた上に、頭の回転も速い事がよく判った。 But thinking about her last words… I noticed that she not only had all the knowledge of a maid, but was an exceptionally fast thinker.
 彼女は河童の正体に気付くと、すぐに御主人様に見せた時の説明を頭の中でシミュレートしたに違いない。なんで縁起(えんぎ)が良いのかを説明するにあたって、その甲羅の()われを述べるだろう。でも、河童の正体は伝えないんじゃないかと予想する。 As soon as she perceived the true nature of kappa, she must have simulated in her head how it would be to explain it while showing it to her lady. To explain why it is a lucky item, she would have to mention what it was said of that shell. But she was already predicting not explaining about the kappa’s true form.
 河童の正体である 大亀(カハカメ)、それは海ではなく河や沼に棲み、そしてとんでもなく大きくなる亀。すなわち、(スッポン)である。その鼈が長い間生き続け、妖力を得た物が河童である。 The real form of the kappa are the great turtles. Tortoises that don’t live in the sea, but in rivers and ponds, and can get incredibly big. In other words, softshell turtles. If these turtles live for too long, they gain supernatural abilities and become kappa.
 御主人様が月に行こうとする時に鼈を持って行く事は、それだけで何か裏の意図、しかも負の方向の意図があると思われかねない。だから彼女は自分が水棲生物に疎い事にし、その甲羅が鼈のものである事を御主人様には伝えないのだろう。 Her mistress would see going to the moon while carrying a turtle, by itself, a little contradictory, and likely defeating the whole purpose. And so, not seeing how she is related to aquatic creatures, the maid wouldn't tell her mistress the shell is related to turtles.
 月と鼈。確かに二つのものは似ているが大きくかけ離れている。だがしかし、我々が触れられるものも、良い縁起をもたらすものも鼈の方なのだ。月は不吉なものであり、決して触れる事も出来ない。だとすると、月と鼈のどちらが優れているかといえば……言うまでも無く鼈の方である。遠くの不吉を見る前に、身近な吉兆を見た方が良い。 The moon and the turtle. [1] Two things that look similar but are indeed very different. However, the turtle is the one we can touch, and that brings good luck. The moon is ominous and untouchable. That being the case, if I were to choose which one is better… I wouldn’t even have to say that it would be the turtle. Rather than looking at something distant and ominous, it’s better to look at something close and fortunate.
 彼女はそこまで気付き、月に行く為に鼈を用意するという一見侮辱(ぶじょく)かと思われる行為をわざとしたに違いない。多分、お嬢様には気付かれないだろうが、紅魔館に居る識者(しきしゃ)の誰かが気付けば彼女は満足なのだろう。 She should have realized that much – that using a turtle to get to the moon was ridiculous at first glance – and did it on purpose. Her mistress won’t probably notice, but maybe it will be good enough for her if someone knowledgeable enough in the Scarlet Devil Mansion realizes it.
 僕はというと、思わぬ臨時収入により少々高揚(こうよう)した気持ちでいた。あの五色の甲羅は大きいし誰も興味を持たないし、どちらかというと不良在庫だったのだ。それに河童の甲羅と言われてはいるが、それも疑わしいときたものだ。メイドが訪れた時、これが売れるチャンスはもう来ないかも知れないと思い、僕は極限まで高まった感度で甲羅と彼女を見た。 As for me, more than an unexpected extra income, I got a small feeling of exaltation. As that five-colored shell was too big, no one else was interested in it. It was practically defective stock. And even though it was supposed to be a kappa shell, it was suspicious. When that maid came here, I thought that would be my last chance to sell it, and used my utmost sensibility on that shell and that girl.
 月に行くという途方もない目的とメイドらしい気の使い方を見た時に、突然、河童と鼈、月と鼈の関係が閃いたのだ。たとえ縁起が良いからといって、まったく無関係の品では意味が無い。だから僕は遠回しにそれを話した。もちろん、彼女ならきっとすぐに理解し、そしてこの商品を手に取るだろう、という計算の上で……。 When looking at the outrageous goal of going to the moon, and that very maid-like way of acting, the relation between the kappa and the turtles and between the moon and the turtle suddenly flashed through my head. Because it’s a lucky item, it doesn’t matter that it's completely unrelated. That’s why I talked about it in such a roundabout way. Of course, I’m sure she soon understood that, and decided to take the article, as it was all calculated...
 僕は筆を置き窓の外を見た。その時、一瞬だけ月が紅く光って見えた気がした。 I put the brush down and looked through the window. At that moment, I had the impression the moon had shone red for an instant.

References

  1. The Japanese expression “The moon and the turtle” means two things that have very little in similar to each other. In this case, both the moon and the turtle look round, but other than that they have nothing in common.

Notes

  • This chapter brings the plan of people at Scarlet Devil Mansion for Moon Travel, which is concretely shown in Silent Sinner in Blue.


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