Symposium of Post-mysticism/Parsee Mizuhashi

Page 107-109
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ThGKParsee.png
地殻の下の嫉妬心 The Jealousy Beneath the Earth's Crust
水橋 パルスィ Mizuhashi Parsee Parsee Mizuhashi
能力        嫉妬心を操る程度の能力 Ability: The ability to manipulate jealousy
危険度       中 Threat level: Medium
人間友好度    皆無 Human friendship level: None
主な活動場所   旧地獄 Main place of activity: Former Hell
 地の底に居る妖怪、橋姫だ。 She is a bridge princess youkai that lives at the bottom of the earth.
 現在の旧地獄は嫌われ者が棲む地となっているが、彼女もそのうちの一人だ。とにかく嫉妬心の強い妖怪である。 Former Hell has become a place for those who are despised, such as herself. She's a youkai with intense feelings of jealousy.
 人間の元に近寄り嫉妬心を煽る様に働く。そして、嫉妬に狂い生活が崩れていくのを見るのを糧としている。彼女には嫉妬に駆られた人間が必要不可欠なのだ。 She can instigate jealous feelings in people's minds by approaching them and lives off seeing their lives destroyed through the madness caused by their jealousy. Humans who are driven by jealousy are indispensable to her.
 彼女の嫉妬は理不尽である。とにかく他人が自分より幸せだと思えたら妬む。自分と同じだと思ったら自分の方が不幸だと自慢する。相手の方が不幸だと思っても、その不幸な人間が嫉妬してなければ、その寛容さに嫉妬する。嫉妬していれば、自分の糧にする。というレベルである。 Her jealousy is irrational. She becomes jealous of someone if she thinks they're happier than she is. If they are about on the same level, she'll boast about how she is more unfortunate. Even if she thinks they're the unfortunate ones, if they aren't jealous of her she'll become jealous of their forbearance. And if they are, their jealousy would become her sustenance. She's at that level.
 しかし、彼女自身が不幸なのかと言うとそうではない。嫉妬している人間が居る以上、彼女の力は無尽蔵だし、誰からも命を狙われたりしない。旧地獄には嫌われ者同士の仲間も多いと聞く。嫉妬している者が必ずしも不幸という訳では無いのだろう。逆に、嫉妬していると不幸に見えてしまうものだ。 However, this does not mean that she is unfortunate herself. As long as there are jealous people, she will have an unlimited source of power, and no one would threaten her life either. It's said that the hated ones living in Former Hell have formed a circle of friends with each other. The jealous aren't always unfortunate anyway. Instead, their jealousy only makes them look that way.
 彼女は妖怪の主体が人間の性格である。嫉妬心そのものと言っても過言では無い。直接話している時は意外と明るく普通に感じるが、心中は穏やかでは無い。後で陰口を叩いたり、恨まれたりする。気持ちは良くない。 Her core as a youkai is a human disposition. It's not incorrect to call her the very embodiment of jealousy. She seems unexpectedly cheerful and normal when you talk to her directly, but what is going on in her heart is a completely different story. Afterward, she will talk about you behind your back, or start resenting you. Very unpleasant.
丑の刻参り Curses in the Dead of Night
 丑の刻参りという呪術がある。これは強い恨みを持った人間が、人知れず復讐を果たす有名な呪術である。 There is a curse called "Ushi no koku mairi[1]". This curse is a famous one for exacting revenge without the knowledge of others, employed by those with strong or deep resentments.
 実はこの丑の刻参りは彼女が開発したものが広まったと言われている。正式な作法というのは無いが、夜丑三つ時に藁人形を木に打ち付けるという事と、行っている時は誰にも見られてはいけないという事は共通している。 Word has been said to spread around about her[2] being the true developer of this curse. No one true procedure exists for it; nailing straw dolls to a tree around the third hour of the Ox (2:00 AM) and not being seen are both commonly understood as elements.
 この呪術が成功したという報告は少ない。何故ならこの呪術には、復讐としての意味が殆ど無いからである。これを行う人間の方に負担が強く、嫉妬心が増す一方で相手には何にも呪術が及ばないだろう(*1)。 Reports of this sorcery succeeding are scarce. That is because this curse, as far as actually taking revenge goes, holds essentially no meaning. The performer is taxed heavily in the ritual's undertaking, and whilst its intensity grows, the curse itself does not touch the subject of their jealousy (*1).
 では何故、この様な対して[3]効果の無い呪術が広まっているのだろうか。 Why, then, would such an ineffective spell become widespread?
 丑の刻参りは嫉妬心を増す為の呪術である。それから考えられる事はただ一つ、丑の刻参りは彼女の為の呪術だという事だろう。人間に丑の刻参りを勧めて、嫉妬心を煽って自分の力にしているのだと思われる。 Ushi no koku mairi is a curse that strengthens one's feelings of envy. Accordingly, only one thought comes to mind: the curse itself is for her benefit alone. The idea is that she encourages humans to perform the rite, further stoking their own jealousy and thereby drawing sustenance and strength from it.
対処法 Approach
 彼女に唆されないようにしよう。 Do your best to not be provoked by her.
 嫉妬心は成長を促す強いパワーを持つが、それに耐えられる精神力を持っていないと自滅してしまう。多くの人間は嫉妬心が拒絶に繋がり、そのまま彼女の糧となってしまうだろう。 Jealousy can be a strong impetus for improvement, but without the mental fortitude to bear it, it will lead to self-destruction. Jealousy leads to rejection for most humans, and they will then become her sustenance.
 例え彼女に遭ってしまっても、挨拶を交わす程度に接していれば問題ないだろう。 Even if you happen to encounter her, just a simple greeting shouldn't cause any problems.
 もし嫉妬に駆られてしまった場合、酒飲んで愚痴ろう。 If you end up driven by jealousy though, vent it out with alcohol.
*1 精々、背中がチクッとする程度である。 1: The best it can do is send a slight stinging in the target's back.

References

  1. lit., "visiting a shrine during the Time of the Ox (about 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM). It's a very famous ritualistic curse in Japan which is referenced in many works. In Touhou, Alice had tried to do it in her article in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red, and Reimu included it as a part of the test of courage in the first volume of Oriental Sacred Place.
  2. It's said that the origin of ushi no koku mairi comes from Hashihime (not Parsee, but the one in the original story)
  3. This is a misprinting of "大して".
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