Symposium of Post-mysticism/Toyosatomimi no Miko

Pages 30-33
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ThGKMiko.png
聖徳道士 Shoutoku Taoist
豊聡耳 神子 Toyosatomimi no Miko Toyosatomimi no Miko
能力        十人の話を同時に聞く事が出来る程度の能力 Ability: The ability to listen to ten people at the same time
危険度      低 Threat level: Low
人間友好度   極高 Human friendship level: Very High
主な活動場所  神出鬼没 Main place of activity: Elusive
 長き眠りから目覚めた聖人。生まれた時から尋常ならざる才能を持ち、人間を超えるべくして超えた人物である。 A saint awakened from a long sleep. From the moment of her birth, she possessed extraordinary talents, and was one who was fated to surpass humanity.
 同時に十人の話を理解でき、的確な返答をする事が出来た。子供の頃に白膠木(ぬるで)で四天王像を造り、四天王寺を建立したと言われる。ちなみに、厩で生まれたという逸話もあるが、それは軽い冗談らしい(本人曰く「高貴な私が、そんな臭うところで生まれた訳がありません」)(*1)。 She's capable of understanding ten people speaking to her at once, and giving precise replies to each. As a child, it is said she created statues of the Four Heavenly Kings out of Chinese sumac trees and built the Shitennou-ji temple for them. As an aside, one anecdote says that she was born in a stable, but that seems to be merely a mild joke (According to her, "It is inconceivable that a noble such as me would be born in such a smelly place."). (*1)
 現在は人間を超えて仙人となっている。しかし、完全に俗世間との関係を断つ事はせず、ちょくちょくと人間社会に手を出している様である。恐らく、為政者であった頃の名残であろう。 Currently, she's a hermit who has surpassed humanity. However, it appears that she hasn't completely severed her connection to the secular world, and has a tendency to become involved with human society. This is most likely a remnant from her days as a ruler.
 性格は意外と軽く、おちゃらけている。しかし、直接対面すると全く隙を見せないどころか、全てを見透かされている気分になり、畏れ多い気分になる。 Her personality is unexpectedly casual, and she jokes around. But in a direct confrontation, not only does she display no vulnerability, but her opponent feels as if she sees through them completely, and feels awe.
能力 Ability
 シンプルで素朴な能力だが、これは天性の物であり、実際には他にも超人的な能力があると思われる。生まれもっての超人というところか。 Her ability is simple and unsophisticated, but a natural gift, and it is believed that she actually possesses other superhuman abilities. She could be called a natural-born superhuman.
 ちなみに、同時に複数の話を理解する事は容易ではない。私は聞いた事を忘れない能力を持っているが、それは時系列順にしか記憶できない。同時に二人に喋られると、どちらかだけしか覚えられない事が多いのだ。しかもそれも覚えるだけで、理解して返答するとなるととても人間業とは思えない。 Incidentally, it's not an easy task to comprehend listening to multiple people at once. I have the ability to remember every word I hear, but I can only remember them in sequential order. If two people talk to me at the same time, it often happens that I can only recall one or the other. Furthermore, I am only capable of remembering, so for one to be able to understand and reply was thought to be humanly impossible.
 しかし、それ故に耳が鋭すぎて普段の生活に支障が出る程だという。彼女は耳当てをしているが、それは人の声を遮断して心の平穏を保つ為のアイテムだ。それ以外にも逆に指向性を持たせ、消え入りそうな幽かな声だけを聞く、といった用途にも使われる。耳は職業道具、という事だろう。 However, due to this, her ears are supposedly so sharp that it even makes it difficult for her to live a normal life. She wears earmuffs, an item for maintaining a tranquil mind by shutting out people's voices. Conversely, they can also be aimed to focus on a single faint, weak voice. One might say that her ears are her tools of the trade.
 また喋り方、表情、仕草などから、直接言葉にしなくてもその人の欲している事をある程度読み取れるものだが、彼女はその察する力が人よりもずば抜けて高いと思われる。何を欲していて、その欲が本人を形成してきた要因を瞬時に読み取るのである。彼女の能力は心を読む能力に近いが、それと異なるのは、後者が記憶や今の考えを読むのに対し、前者は当人の資質と未来を読み取る事だ。 Moreover, she can read a person's desires to a certain extent from their manner of speech, expression, gestures, and so on, even if they don't directly put them into words. This is thought to be due to the power of her inference being far superior to a human's. In an instant, she can read what a person desires, and the main factor that caused the desire to shape the person. Her power is close to mind reading, but it differs in that while the latter reads a person's memories and current thoughts, the former reads their constitution and future.
 仏教と道教 Buddhism and Taoism
 彼女は仏教を篤く信仰していた、と思われていたが、実は仏教はただの政治の道具であったようである。 She faithfully practiced Buddhism, or so people thought, but to her, it was actually just a political tool.
 仏教の目指すところは、一切の苦しみからの解放である。これは平和を目指す必要がある政治の世界では都合が良かったのだろう。民衆は仏教を信仰する事で、権力者へ逆らう事が自分にとって利益にならない、と思い込まされていたのだ。 Buddhism's goal is the release from all suffering. It must have been convenient in the world of politics, where it's necessary to strive for peace. Through their belief in Buddhism, the masses were convinced that rebelling against authority would not offer them any gains.
 その頃、仏教と同時に伝来してきた宗教が、道教である。道教の基本理念は、自然宇宙その物を理解して、それを我が物にする、という物だ。高みを目指す人間にとって魅力的な宗教だが、仏教とは異なり蔓延すると世が乱れる事は容易に想像が付く。力を身に付けた権力者を倒すには、それ以上の力で制しないといけないからだ。 At that time, there was also another religion introduced along with Buddhism: Taoism. The fundamental concept of Taoism is to understand the natural universe itself, and to render it one's own. It's an attractive religion to ambitious humans, yet unlike Buddhism it's easy to imagine that the world would go into disarray if it ever spread. That's because in order to fall influential figures who have acquired power, one must overcome them with an even stronger power.
 彼女は政治には仏教を利用しつつ、自分は尋常ならざる力を欲した。中でも一番欲した力は、数多の権力者が欲したのと同様に、不老不死の能力であった。そういう理由で彼女は道教を信仰したらしい。実は道教の最終目標は、不老不死なのだ。 While she utilized Buddhism for political purposes, she longed for extraordinary powers. The power she wanted most of all was the same one countless figures of authority had desired: the power of immortality. Apparently, that was the reason she practiced Taoism, as the ultimate objective of Taoism is actually to achieve immortality.
 対策 Countermeasures
 彼女に弟子入りを希望する里の人間も多いと聞く。確かに、仙術を身に付ければ普段の生活は一変するだろう。 I've heard that many humans from the village wish to become her disciples. It's true that one's ordinary life would change utterly if one could acquire the arts of the hermits.
 しかし、彼女はそんな弟子をただの小間使い位にしか思っていないようだ。それもその筈、仙人における弟子とは、ただの使いっ走りでしか無いからだ(*2)。 However, she doesn't appear to think of those disciples as anything more than mere servants, which is quite natural, as in terms of "hermit's disciples", they are just pawns or couriers. (*2)
 その為、自分も超人的な力を身に付けたいとしても、安易な気持ちでの弟子入りはやめた方が良いと思われる。 Therefore, even if you wish to gain superhuman powers as well, it seems it would be best to avoid becoming her disciple on a whim.
 また、もし仙人のような力が身についたとしても、その所為で死神から命を狙われる事になるかも知れない。決して楽な物では無いだろう。 Also, supposing you've acquired powers like those of a hermit, Shinigami may make attempts on your life because of it. It can't be very pleasant.
 ちなみに、彼女自体は人間に協力的なので恐れる事はないだろう。もし、妖怪に追われるような事があったとしても、彼女のところに逃げ込めば助けてくれる筈である。彼女の家の入り口は隠されていてどこにあるのか判らないが……。(*3) Incidentally, she herself is cooperative with humans, so there's no need to fear her. If you're ever pursued by youkai, she should provide you refuge at her residence. However, the entrance is hidden and no one knows where it is... (*3)
*1 イエス・キリストの逸話にあやかったものだと思われる。 1: This story seems to take after that of Jesus Christ.
*2 仙人は、あくまでも自分の為にしか力を使わない。人に教える必要も無い。 2: Ultimately, hermits only use their power for their own benefit. There's no need for them to teach people about it.
*3 助けてー、みこえもーん! とか叫べば耳の良い彼女だから聞こえるかも知れない。 3: If you shout "Help meee, Mikoemooon!"[1], she might hear you with her sharp ears.

References

  1. This is a parody of Nobita's catchphrase from Doraemon, "Help meee, Doraemooon!" (助けてー、ドラえもーん!).
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