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Curiosities of Lotus Asia/Chapter 25

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Page 183-190


< Chapter 24   Curiosities of Lotus Asia   Chapter 26 >


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哀れ霊夢…
博麗神社に妖怪がイッパイ!?
Pity Reimu...
The Hakurei Shrine is full of Youkai.
博麗神社に妖怪が増え始め、困っ
た霊夢が霖之助に相談するのが
今回のお話。霊夢と魔理沙の信仰
心の薄さに驚きつつも、霖之助は
神様と信仰の意外な関係について
語り始めるのだが……。
In this chapter, youkai are beginning to gather at the Hakurei Shrine more often, and a worried Reimu comes to talk to Rinnosuke about it. Amazed at the weak faith that Reimu and Marisa have in the gods, Rinnosuke explains a surprising connection between the gods and faith...
神社の御利益 Blessings of the Shrine
山には山の神、河には河の神。この地のすべての物や場所に神様は宿っている。手元にあるこの本も、拾い物の半導体(はんどうたい)も例外ではない。 Mountains will have mountain gods and rivers will have river gods. Gods reside in everything on the Earth. This book that you have in your hand, or a semiconductor that you may have picked up is no exception.
だが、神様の中には神社に(まつ)られる特別な神様も居る。この神様とその他の神様は何が違うのだろうか? 実はそこには大きな差は無い。ただ単にその神様が人気が有るか無いかだけである。 But certain special gods have shrines dedicated to their worship. What's the difference between these gods and the other gods? There's nothing in particular, it's just a matter of a god being sufficiently popular or not.
人間にとって御利益(ごりやく)が有る神様は人気が有る。祀らないと祟られる神様も居るが、そういった(たた)り神も祀る事で祟りを避けられるから、人気が有るといえば人気が有る。 Gods that provide blessings to humans are popular. There are also gods that will spread curses when not worshiped, but by worshiping them one can escape misfortune, so they have popularity in a different sense.
そういう神様にだけ神社が存在する。神社の存在は人気の有無というすべて人間の都合で決まっている訳だが、神様にとってもまったく無意味ではない。 Shrines exist for such gods. A shrine's existence is thus decided by popularity, which is entirely up to humans, but for gods, it doesn't matter to them in the least.
というのも、神様の力量は人間の信仰心の量で決まるのである。例えばお稲荷さんや天神様の様に人間にとって大人気の神様は、神社を数多く造る事で、元の倉稲魂命(うかのみたまのみこと)菅原道真(すがわらのみちざね)であった存在より(はる)かに強大な力を持つ事に成功している。 The reason for this is that a god's power is determined by the amount of faith humans have in them. For example: O-inari san and Tenjin sama, who are very popular amongst people, have succeed in gaining far greater power than they used to have when they were referred to as Uka-no-Mitama no kami or Sugawara no Michizane due to the great number of shrines built in their honor.
反対にどんどん人々が信仰しなくなってしまうとどうなるのかと言うと……神様は力を失い、そして誰もその神様の事を(おぼ)えている人がいなくなった時に消えてしまったのと同然になってしまう。神様は信仰を集める事に努力しないと、存在すら(あや)ぶまれてしまうのだ。 Conversely, as for what happens when people lose faith in gods, they will lose their powers and once there is nobody who remembers them, they disappear from existence. A god must work hard in gathering faith, since their very existence is at stake.
「――何で、うちの神社に妖怪が多過ぎるんだろう」 "Why does our shrine have so many youkai?"
「だから、人間の参拝者を増やさないと、神様は妖怪を追い払うだけの力を身に付けられないんじゃないか」 "You probably need more visitors. Otherwise the gods won't have enough power to ward them off."
「でも、妖怪が居たら人間が寄り付かないじゃない。それじゃあどうしようもない」 "But if there are youkai in the first place, no one will come. There's nothing that can be done about it."
「確かに、目に見えて判る悪循環だね」 "True, it appears to be a vicious cycle."
巫女である霊夢が、仕事もしないでうちに遊びに来ている事も問題の一つだと思う。それでも昔は参拝客は今ほど少なくなかったし、妖怪も近寄らなかった。今のようになってしまったのは、現役の巫女である霊夢の責任であると言わざるを得ない。 I think the shrine maiden Reimu, who doesn't do her job and comes to relax here all the time, is one of the problems. In the past, the shrine didn't have so few visitors and youkai never approached it. I must say that the main cause is the current shrine maiden, Reimu.
彼女も気にしているのか、今回は信仰を取り戻す為の相談にうちに来たのだと言う。 I suppose it's beginning to bother her, as she said she's here to discuss ways to recollect faith.
「まあ、信仰が減っても妖怪退治をしている事には変わりないから、うちの神社としては良いのかも知れないけど」 "Well, even if we lose too much faith, it won't change my job of exterminating youkai, so it might not be a bad thing after all."
「霊夢、それは違う。信仰が失われる事は神社としては致命的な事だよ」 "You're mistaken, Reimu. A shrine losing faith can be fatal."
「そうねぇ、お賽銭(さいせん)が入らないもんねぇ」 "I guess you're right, since I wouldn't get any offerings."
「いやいやそんな単純な理由じゃない。信仰が失われるという事は、神様の力を失うという事だ。これでは別の悪霊が神社を乗っ取ってしまっても抵抗する事が難しくなってしまうよ」 "No, no. It's not as simple as that. Saying that a god loses faith is like saying a god loses power. So if your shrine gets taken over by an evil spirit, it'll be harder to drive it out."
「うーん、と言ってもねぇ……。どうしたらいいのかなぁ」 "Well, if you say so... But what should I do?"
「神社から妖怪を追い出したいのなら、例えば、最終手段としてこういう方法がある」 "You can expel the youkai from the shrine, as a last resort."
「って、いきなり最終手段しか無いのかしら。まあ良いけど、どういう方法?」 "Why would you start with the last resort? Oh, whatever. What other options are there?"
「それは新しい神様に頼るという方法だ。今の神様は(あきら)めて、人気の神様に神社に来て頂いて信仰心をあやかるんだよ。博麗神社の神様は(ほとん)ど名も知られていない神様だし、御利益(ごりやく)もよく判らない。これでは参拝者も来なくなるし、信仰心は失われても仕方がないだろう」 "One option is to rely on a new god. Give up on your current god and get a popular god to come to your shrine, along with its faith. When few are aware of your god's name, much less its blessings, it's no wonder you're losing faith like this."
「神社に祀られている神様を変えるって? そんな事して良いの?」 "Enshrine another god? Am I allowed to do that?"
「それに関しては何も問題はない。日本の神様は分霊(ぶんれい)と言って、神霊を無限に分けても力は変わらない性質を持っているんだ。その神様の力を、そっくりそのまま神社に持って来る事が出来る。分霊を頂く事を勧請(かんじょう)と言うが、これは外の世界では日常的に行われている事だよ」 "There shouldn't be a problem. A Japanese god is known as a "Bunrei," meaning "divisible spirit." Even if you split one into an endless number of parts, its power won't be affected. You can use that to bring another god's power directly to your shrine. The process of gaining a divisible spirit is called "Kanjou" and it's something that goes on frequently in the outside world."
「へぇ、新しい神様ね。それはそれで気分転換にもなるし面白いかも知れないわ。お酒の神様とか勧請すれば、御利益も判りやすいし信仰心も集まるかもね」 "Hmm, a new god. That should be a nice change of pace and it might be fun. Maybe if I get a god of sake to come, it might be easier to get faith since its blessings are so obvious."
「お酒の神様なら、浅間(せんげん)さま、すなわち木花咲耶姫命(このはなさくやひめのみこと)を勧請するとかもいいね。この神様は、通常は山の神様だが酒の神様でもある。非常に美しい女神と言う事もあってとても人気の高い神様だよ。神社の名前は判りやすく、博麗浅間神社に変えるとか」 "If that's what you want, it might be good to get gods like Sengen-sama[1], otherwise called Konohana-Sakuya Hime no mikoto. She is usually a goddess of mountains but she is one of sake as well. She's said to be a very beautiful goddess and is very popular. To make it easier to notice, you might want to change the name of your shrine to Hakurei Sengen Shrine."
「うーん。名前を変えるのは何となく気が進まないわね……」 "Mmm, I'm not really interested in changing the name..."
「祀られている神様が変わっても、人間がそれを知らなければまったく意味が無い。だから、普通は名前も合わせて変えるもんさ」 "Even if the god you worship changes, it'll have no meaning if people don't notice it. So normally names change with such events."
――カランカラン Ring-a-ling...
「おう。梅雨だっていうのに今日は雨が降っていないな。せっかく晴れているから雨乞いでもするか」 "Hey. It's the rainy season but it's not rainin' today. Since it's so sunny, maybe we should start prayin' for rain."
「相変わらず意味が分からないよ、魔理沙」 "I have no idea what you're talking about, Marisa. As usual."
「雨が降っていないのに何の話をしてるんだい?」 "What are ya talkin' about when it's not rainin'?"
「神社の大切な相談をしていたところさ」 "We were having a very important discussion about the shrine."
「神社の相談? 霊夢、あの妖怪神社に何か有ったのか?」 "'Bout the shrine? Did anything happen to'dat youkai shrine o'yours, Reimu?"
その妖怪神社と呼ばれている事に問題が有るのだが。 The shrine being called 'that youkai shrine' itself is the problem.
「やっぱり参拝客が少な過ぎてねぇ。お賽銭も狸の入れた葉っぱばっかりだし……」 "Well, there are too few visitors. And the only offerings I get are the leaves that the tanuki put into the box..."
「なんだそんな事か。大丈夫だぜ、その葉っぱの大半は狸じゃなくて私が入れた物だ」 "Oh, izzat it? Don't worry 'bout it. Most o'dose leaves are from me anyway."
「何が大丈夫なものか、霊夢が言っている事の問題は、狸に(たぶら)かされている事なんかじゃない。参拝客が居ないという事は、信仰心を失っているという事だ」 "That's not she's worried about. Reimu's problem isn't foolish pranks, but the fact that her shrine is losing faith because there are no visitors."
「別に神様なんか頼らなくても妖怪は倒せるぜ……って事は、神社って何の為に有るんだろうな」 "Ya don't need the help of gods t'kill youkai... So wait, what good is the shrine then?"
信仰心が足りないと神様や神社はどうなってしまうのかと言う事を、面倒だったがもう一度魔理沙にも説明した。 Although I find repeating myself to be tiring, I once again explained the connection between the lack of faith and gods, as well as shrines.
「なるほど。確かに神社が別の変な妖怪に乗っ取られてしまったら面倒だな。でも参拝客を増やしたかったら、簡単な方法が有るぜ」 "I gotcha. Yeah, that'd definitely be a pain if yer shrine got taken over by some youkai. But there's a real easy way to get more people t'come if ya wanna know."
「何かしら?」 "What's that?"
「大きなお祭りをやれよ、博麗神社例大祭(れいたいさい)とか。そうすれば祭り好きな人間が集まってくるだろう? 足りなかったら毎週お祭りをすればいい。博麗神社に足りないのは人を惹き付ける魅力だよ。毎日宴会してばかりじゃ、わざわざ人間が参拝に来る筈が無いだろう?」 "Have a huge festival, and call it, like, the Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai. If ya do somethin' like that, I'm sure you'd get everyone who loves festivals, right? And if ya still need more people, just have 'em every week. What the shrine is missin' is something that'll pull more people to it. If ya keep havin' dinky little parties all the time, no one's gonna bother comin' all that way."
魔理沙の言う事も一理有る。人間は自分に都合の良い神様しか参拝しない。人間の生活が豊かになればなる(ほど)、神社は不要な物となっていくだろう。だとしたら、お祭りの様な人間向けのイベントも必要かも知れない。 What Marisa says is true. Humans won't worship gods that won't benefit them. If the lives of people become wealthier, then a shrine will not be needed. In that case, events like that might be needed to draw interest.
「うちで例大祭をやっても、どうせ妖怪ばっかが集まるわよ。妖怪が居たら人間も集まらないでしょ?」 "Even if I do arrange a festival, I just know the only ones that will show up will be youkai. If there are youkai around, humans won't come."
「まぁな、お祭り騒ぎが大好きな妖怪ばっかだからなぁ」 "That's true, yeah. Youkai love pretty much anythin' where they can cause a racket."
「まあそういう事で、今は神様を勧請(かんじょう)するとか考えていたのよ」 "That's why we were talking about having a kanjou."
「はあ? かんじょう? 何だそれは」 "Huh? Kanjou? Whuzzat?"
魔理沙に、勧請とは祀ってある神様を変えると言う事を説明した。 We explained to Marisa that a kanjou is the process of changing the god of worship at a shrine.
「それで勧請したら、今現在神社に居る神様はどうなるんだ?」 "If ya do that, what'll happen to the god you have now?"
「最初は一緒に祀られたままになるわ」 "At first, I was going to worship them at the same time."
「最初は、ってどういう意味だよ」 "Whaddya mean by at first?"
「忘れられてしまえば、自然と消えてしまうって事よ」 "I mean it'll vanish naturally if it's forgotten."
「何だって? 消えてしまうって!? "What? It'll vanish!?"
――さっきまで夏の様子を見せていた窓の外が若干暗くなった。まだ夕方までは時間が有るので、きっと雨が来るのだろう。梅雨の本領発揮という所か。 The summer scenery as seen from the window began to darken. There was still plenty of time until the evening, so I guess rain is underway. A unique ability of the rainy season, it seems.
「神社の神様が消えてしまうだって? そ、それはちょっと……霊夢はそれでも良いのか?」 "The god in your shrine will vanish? B-But... Reimu, are ya okay with that?"
「それをやらないと神社自体が消えてしまうかも知れないのなら、やぶさかでもないかなと」 "If the shrine itself will vanish if I do nothing, then I guess I have no other choice."
「ところで、博麗神社の神様って何だっけ? 悪霊……は違うよな」 "By the way, who was the god of the Hakurei shrine? An evil spirit? Or maybe not."
「余り記録が残っていないのよね。昔に悪霊に取り()かれた事は有ったけど……」 "There really aren't many records left that say. Although we did get taken over by an evil spirit in the past..."
神社の巫女ですら知らない神様なんて、信仰心が失われて当然である。 If even the god's own shrine maiden can't remember its name, it's not surprising that its losing faith.
ただそれも仕方がない。幻想郷では神様は自然の中に普通に存在していた。その為、神社の様な特別な場所は余り必要ではなく、神様にお願いしたければ何処(どこ)でも良かったのだ。 But I guess there's no helping it. In Gensokyo, gods exist everywhere in nature. A place like a shrine isn't necessary, since one can ask for a god's favor anywhere.
幻想郷には神社は、博麗神社の一つしか無いと言われている。つまり神社はユニークな存在であり、博麗神社の事をただ単に神社と呼ぶ事が多い。神社同士を比較する事も無いが(ゆえ)に、神社で神様を祀っている事すら忘れがちである。 In Gensokyo, it is said that the only shrine is the Hakurei Shrine.[2] Thus it is a unique place and many simply refer to it as "the shrine". Since there are no other shrines with which to compare it, it can easily be forgotten that a god is being enshrined there.
案の定、幻想郷の人間は神社の存在価値を見いだせなくなっていた。 As expected, the people of Gensokyo no longer see the value of shrines.
「まぁ二人とも、神社の今後の判断は霊夢に任せるしかないよ。ただ一つ言える事は、博麗神社は幻想郷の境界という重大な役割も持っている。神様が誰であれ、それだけは変わらないんだ」 "Well, the future of the shrine is something for you to decide. But there is one thing I can say. The Hakurei Shrine plays an important role in supporting the border. Regardless of who the god is, that won't change."
「でも、神社の御利益(ごりやく)がよく判らないのは大問題よね」 "Well, the worst part is not knowing the blessings of the shrine."
「というか、御利益なんか有るのか? お賽銭入れても何も変わった気がしないぜ」 "Is there even a blessin' at all? I didn't feel any different after those offerin's."
「そりゃ葉っぱ入れても御利益(ごりやく)は無いわよ。うちにも何か御利益の有る神様も祀った方が良いのかしら。やっぱりお酒の神様と言う事で木花咲耶姫命(このはなさくやひめのみこと)かな」 "That's because you won't be blessed by offering leaves. I guess we should worship a god with a blessing. In that case it might be Konohana-Sakuya Hime no mikoto then."
お酒の御利益が有ってもお酒を造る人しか喜ばない。お酒を造っている人なんて少ないと思うのだが。 Even if there are blessings of sake, I think the only people that'll be happy about it will be the people making the sake. There are only a handful of those people.
「ところで素朴な疑問だけど、神様は何で(まつ)ると御利益が有るの? 神様もその辺の妖怪も余り差は無いでしょ?」 "By the way, why do you get blessings from gods you worship? Doesn't that make gods no different from the youkai that loiter at the shrine?"
――店全体が暗くなった。本格的に雨が降り始めたようだ。魔理沙は窓の外の天気が気になるのか落ち着かない様子だったが、霊夢は純粋に疑問に思っている様である。 The store had become dark. It seemed to be raining outside. Marisa was uneasy, worried about the weather, but Reimu was thinking of nothing else but her question.
「君は巫女なのに不勉強すぎるね、修行も嫌いだと言って余りやらないし。お酒ばっか呑んでいないで少しは勉強も修行もしないと神社の危機は(まぬが)れないよ」 "You're a shrine maiden, but lack far too much knowledge. You don't even train because you dislike it. If you won't stop drinking sake all the time and don't train more often, you won't be able to save your shrine."
「だからこうやって勉強してるんでしょ?」 "Well, I'm studying now, aren't I?"
「まあいい。この際だから教えてあげるよ、神霊を祀ると何故(なぜ)御利益が有るのかを」 "I suppose, but I'll tell you why you get blessings when you worship divine spirits."
「はいはい」 "Sure, sure, go on."
「すべての物には神霊は宿ると言うが、厳密に言うとその言い方は間違いである。すべての物に宿るのではなく、()()()()()()()()()()()()が神霊である。名前の無い物体が神霊その物で、それに名前を付ける事で神霊の力の一部を借りる事になるんだよ」 "They say everything has a divine spirit within it, but strictly speaking, things without names are divine spirits themselves. These objects are then named based on the one of the powers of the spirit."
「そう言えば、そんな様な話を前に聞いたような気がするわ」 "Now that you mention it, I think I've heard about that before."
「前に言ったかもね、確か骨の石の時だったかな? まあそれは良いとして、神霊は妖怪と違って常に()()()()()を持っているんだ」 "Maybe I have told you before. I think it was about the petrified bone?[3] Anyway, a divine spirit is different from a youkai in that it has two personalities."
「妖怪は大体単純なのが多いし、一つしか性格を持っていないから二倍も違うわね」 "Since youkai are simple and only have one personality, that makes them twice as different."
「その二つの性格はそれぞれ、(にぎ)(あら)と呼ばれていて、このうち和が人間に対して優しい性格だ。これが通常、御利益と呼ばれるもの」 "The two personalities are the ‘Nigi’ and the ‘Ara.’ The ‘Nigi’ is the side that's kind to humans and is the one called the blessing."
「ええ? 性格が御利益?」 "What? Its personality is the blessing?"
「神霊はすべてのものの元だって言っただろう? 神霊の性格はものの性格なんだ。だから神霊の感情と力がそのまま物質に現れる。お酒の神様が力を持てば、自然とお酒も良いお酒になるって事さ。ちなみに、和にはさらに二つに分かれて、(さき)(くし)という性格に分かれる。幸は人の心をみたし、奇は知識を授ける。これをまたまたお酒の神様に例えて言うと、幸はお酒の味や香りを良くし、奇は新しいお酒の技術を授けてくれるって訳さ」 "I told you that divine spirits are the origin of all, right? The divine spirit is the personality of an object. Thus, the emotions of an object are directly related to its power and become visible in matter. If a god of sake gained power, the sake would naturally become better. Also, the ‘Nigi’ is further divided into two parts called the ‘Saki’ and the ‘Kushi.’ The ‘Saki’ provides fulfillment to the soul and the ‘Kushi’ provides knowledge. If I were to use the god of sake as an example again, the ‘Saki’ improves the fragrance and taste to the sake while the ‘Kushi’ will provide the skills to make sake."
「和、幸、奇……どれも良い事ずくめね。これは本格的に木花咲耶姫命を勧請(かんじょう)しようかな」 " ‘Nigi,’ ‘Saki,’ ‘Kushi’... they're all good, aren't they? Maybe I should seriously have a kanjou for Konohana-no-Sakuyabime."
「ま、木花咲耶姫命以外の神様も、それぞれ御利益と言える性格を持っているさ。だが忘れてはいけないよ、神霊には和とは別のもう一つの性格が有る。それが荒だ」 "Well, gods other than Konohana-no-Sakuyabime have personalities that are blessings too. But you mustn't forget their other personality. The ‘Ara.’ "
「あらあら」 "Oh dear."[4]
「荒は神霊の怒りであり、祟りとなって現れる部分だ。お酒の神様でいうと荒の性格がもたらす作用とは、お酒が不味くなるどころか、毒に変化したり同じ場所で二度とお酒を作る事が出来ないような自体になりかねない」 "The ‘Ara’ is the wrath of the divine spirits and is the part that manifests itself as disaster and misfortune. Using the god of sake as an example, the sake will not only taste bad but can turn into poison. Worse yet, you may never be able to make sake in the same place ever again."
「それは嫌ねぇ。神様は怒らしてはいけないって事なのね。で、神様には必ず和と荒の二つの性格が存在するの?」 "I don't like the sound of that. A lesson not to anger the gods, I guess. Do gods always have those two personalities?"
「程度の差はあれ存在するよ」 "There may be some differences, but they will always be there."
「穏やかな性格だけの神様は居ないのかなぁ」 "Isn't there a god with only the gentle side?"
「神霊、つまり幻想郷に存在するすべてのものには、良い面と悪い面の二つの面があると言う事さ。でも、荒の性格が悪いものと言う訳ではない」 "Divine spirits, that is to say all things in Gensokyo, have both a good side and a bad side. But the ‘Ara’ personality isn't always bad."
「お酒が不味くなるのなら悪いものでしょう?」 "But it turns sake bad, right?"
「とんでもない。荒の性格こそが神霊の本当の力さ。この荒を祀る事で、悪い面から人間を守る事に繋がるんだ。つまり、お酒造りを邪魔する外敵からお酒を守ってくれるのさ。結論を言うと御利益というのは、荒の性格を鎮め、和の性格に感謝する事で神様の力を増す事を言うのさ」 "Well, the ‘Ara’ is the true power of the divine spirits. By worshiping the ‘Ara’, the worshipers will be given protection. For example, it can ward off enemies that try to interrupt the sake manufacturing process. To put it simply, blessings are what comes from calming the ‘Ara’ and thanking the ‘Nigi’ to increase a god's power."
「ふーん。よくみんな神頼みって言うから神様が一人一人の願い事を(かな)えて廻るのかと思ったけど……そうじゃなかったのね。本当は、神様の力が増す事自体が御利益に繋がっていたという訳かぁ」 "Hmm. People say that a dependable deity is one that goes around granting everyone's personal requests, but I guess that's not it at all. What you're saying is that the truth is that a god's increase in power is connected to its blessings."
「神様を喜ばせれば、人間にとっても御利益が有る。退治をすると人間が喜ぶ妖怪と違う部分はそこさ」 "If you make the gods happy, people will receive blessings. It's different from making people happy by defeating youkai."
「それは……神社にとって気楽で良いわね」 "Well, then the shrine doesn't have to worry about that, then."
昼間とは打って変わって窓の外は暗くなっていた。梅雨らしく雨が降っていたので、霊夢も魔理沙もうちで夕食を食べる事になった。 The window showed that it was completely dark and raining outside, as it should be in this season. Reimu and Marisa decided to stay for dinner.
そんなつもりはなかったのだが、昼間にお酒の話ばかりしてしまったので今日は様々なお酒を呑む事にした。 Although it was not my intention, since we talked about sake so much, we decided to drink many different types of sake today.
「う~ん。このお酒も浅間(せんげん)さまの御利益(ごりやく)なのねぇ」 "Hmmm, maybe this sake is a blessing from Lady Sengen, too."
「って事は、このお酒も浅間さまの御利益だな!」 "Then this sake must be one too!"
「二人とも呑み過ぎだよ」 "The two of you have had too much to drink."
「浅間さまにかんぱ~い」 "To Lady Sengen! Cheers!"
神社が存在して人間の願い事を聞く事は、別に神様のお仕事でも何でもない。願い事を言ってもらえるだけで信仰心が集まるので、神にとっても都合が良かったからだけである。だから、人間は神社に行って少ないお賽銭(さいせん)で、自分勝手な事を神様にお願いしても構わない。神霊は気楽に幻想郷を楽しんでいるだけの、妖怪の一つなのだから。 The purpose of a god isn't necessarily to hear the requests by the humans who built it. All the gods need to do is listen and they gather faith. A very convenient situation. That's why people can give their puny offerings and ask of anything they like of them. These divine spirits are just another kind of youkai that enjoy the relaxing life in Gensokyo.

References

  1. Don't read "浅間" as "Asama" but as "Sengen", only if the word is related to Shintoism of Mount Fuji. As another case, very many native Japanese people make mistakes to read the shrine of the goddess (浅間大社) as "Asama Taisha", not as "Sengen Taisha".
  2. Rinnosuke seems to overlook Moriya Shrine, but the date of release shows his statement has no problem. This chapter was published on August 2007 edition of Dengeki Moeoh, in June 26. Mountain of Faith was released in August 17, the same year. Then, the Moriya elements hadn't reached the Gensoukyou in the day of this chapter.
  3. If you can't remember, read Chapter 15: A Nameless Stone.
  4. A pun of disorder/stormyness ( ara) and "oops!/wow!" (あら ara). It's repeated, so the listener is making a mock of Rinnosuke.


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