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Strange Creators of Outer World/Introduction of Previous Works/Scarlet Weather Rhapsody/Fragment of Phantasy 2

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幻想のもと②

Fragment of Phantasy

Fragment of Phantasy 2
コラム2本目も、ひきつづき「緋想天」関連モチーフについて。
だが実は1本目の内容とも密接な関りがあり……。
The second column deals with the motifs concerning "Scarlet Weather Rhapsody" as well.
However, in truth, it's closely related to the content of the first column...
浦島太郎と浦島子 Urashima Taro and Ura no Shimako
「タイやヒラメが舞い踊る」と文部省唱歌にも謳われる竜宮城ですが、浦島太郎が亀に連れられて行った場所で待っていた人間は乙姫だけで、あとは魚介類ばかり。小学校の教科書で読んだり、テレビアニメなどで見たりした記憶はありますが、竜なんてどこにも出てこなかったんですよね。子供心に釈然としない気持ちがありました。浦島太郎といったら子供向けのおとぎ話だと思っていましたから、それほど深く考えたりもせず、その後も特に触れる機会もありませんでした。強いて挙げれば、宇宙船などが光速に近い速度を出すと時間の流れが遅くなる「浦島効果」を知った時に、竜宮城から村に戻った太郎が何十年もの年月が過ぎていたことを知るくだりが浦島効果によく似てた状態で、「浦島太郎は実はSFだった」と言われて「へぇー」と感心したことはよく覚えています。 The Dragon Palace is a place where "Sea Breams and Flounders dance", according to an Educational Ministry school song, but at the area the turtle had taken Urashima Taro, Otohime was the only human waiting for him, and everything else was fish and shellfish. I remember reading about it in Elementary School textbooks and watching it in anime on TV, but I never saw any dragons anywhere. There was a feeling of uncertainty I had in my childhood. I thought that the story of Urashima Taro was just a fairy tale for children, so I didn't think too much about it, and I didn't have any opportunities to touch upon it after that. To put it bluntly, when I learned of the "Urashima Effect", which is when the flow of time slows down for spacecrafts and other vehicles which approach the speed of light, I had also learned that Taro had actually returned from the Dragon Palace decades later. I remember being impressed by the fact that "Urashima Taro is actually a science-fiction story" in a way that was very similar to the Urashima Effect.
再び浦島太郎に興味を抱くことになるのは、日本の神話に接するようになってからのこと。日本の神話の多くは『古事記』と『日本書紀』という8世紀に編纂された歴史書に記されていますが、内容はずいぶんと荒唐無稽なのに歴史書なので「本当にあった話」として書かれています。日本に限らず神話を歴史として記録している地域は他にもありますし、一見もっともらしい歴史書でも史実とは異なっていたり誇張されていることは往々にしてありますから、特別気にするほどのことではありません。ただし、浦島太郎の物語に似た記録が日本書紀に含まれていたのは興味深い事実でした。記述は短いものですが、以下のような内容です。 It wasn't until I read up on Japanese mythology that I became interested in Urashima Taro again. Most of Japan's myths are recorded in historical books compiled in the 8th century, such as the "Kojiki" and the "Nihon Shoki". The contents of those tales are absurd, but since they're showcased in history books, they're written as though they're true stories. This isn't just limited to Japan, there are other places where myths are recorded as history, and even seemingly plausible history books show information that is often exaggerated or different from historical facts, so it's worth not worrying about such things. However, I did find it interesting Nihon Shoki had records of a story similar to Urashima Taro. The description is short, but it's written along the lines of:
「丹波の国の浦島子という男が、7月に船で海に釣りに出て大きな亀を釣り上げた。亀が女性に変化したので嫁にし、その後ふたりで海に入って蓬莱山の仙境に行った」 "A man from the Tanba Province named 'Ura no Shimako' went fishing in the sea in July and caught a big turtle. The turtle turned into a woman, who then married the man."
亀は助けないどころか自分で釣ったものだし、女に姿が変わり結婚します。最低限の情報しか記されていないのでわかりませんが、釣り上げたけど食べるのはやめて放そうとしたら女性に姿を変えて、お礼に結婚したいと亀の方から申し出たのかもしれません。それならば『鶴の恩返し』などにも通じる「動物報恩譚」、「異類婚姻譚」の王道パターンです。……実をいえば、『浦島太郎』のバリエーションにはそういったストーリーが実際にあるのです。室町から江戸時代にかけてまとめられていったとされている説話集『御伽草子』に収められた『浦島太郎』では太郎が亀を釣り上げてリリースすると、後日美しい女性が船に乗ってやってきます。現在よく知られる『浦島太郎』は教科書に採用するためさまざまな部分が改変されたもので、昔は『御伽草子』に近い内容だったと考えられています。また、現在昔話としてある『浦島太郎』の中にも、亀に乗って竜宮城へ行ってみたら亀が正体を表して乙姫になるといったものもあります。 Instead of helping the turtle, the man had caught the turtle himself, before it turned into a woman and married him. I'm not too sure about the specifics since the information is so minimal, but if he had caught the turtle, but didn't eat it and chose to let it go instead, the turtle might have turned into a woman and offered to marry him as an act of gratitude. In that case, it'd be a "noble path" pattern of the "person helps animal" story and "animal marries person" story, in a similar vein to "Tsuru no Ongaeshi". ...Truth be told, a variation of the tale of Urashima Taro tells that exact kind of story. This variation was recorded in the Otogizōshi​, a narrative collection said to have been compiled from the Muromachi period to the Edo period, and it tells of Taro catching a turtle and then releasing it, after which a beautiful woman boards his boat on a later date. Also, in an older version of Urashima Taro, it's told that once Taro had arrived at the Dragon Palace, the turtle he rode on revealed its true identity as the princess Otohime.
さらに『日本書紀』には、浦島子と亀が変じた女性がともに海に入ったかと思えば、行き着いた先は普通は天上の世界と考えられる仙人の世界です。ふたりで多くの神仙を見て回ったとだけあって、具体的な内容やその後どうなったかは書かれていません。この部分が『御伽草子』では、舟で現れた女性に故郷まで送ってほしいと請われ、女性の舟で海原を進んでいき、十日ののちに女性が「竜宮城」と呼ぶ屋敷に辿り着きます。女性は送ってくれたお礼として結婚しようといい、三年間そこで暮らすことになります。親に何も言っていなかったからひと月の間家に戻りたいと申し出た太郎に、妻となった女性は自身が「あの日助けられた亀」だと明かし、もう会えないから形見として「開けてはならない箱」を渡しました。太郎が故郷に帰ってみると七百年が経過していて、箱を開けてみると老人となるところまでは今の昔話と一緒ですが、七百年分の年月ですから生きていられるわけもなく太郎は鶴に姿を変え蓬莱山へと飛び立ちます。鶴亀となったふたりはやがて丹後の国に戻り、夫婦の明神となったとして終わります。 Furthermore, in the Nihon Shoki, when the turtle-turned-woman and Ura no Shimako entered the sea, their destination was said to be the world of hermits, which is usually considered the world of the heavens. It doesn't say what happened after, other than the fact that they saw a lot of Shinsen when they looked around. There's a part in the Otogizōshi​ tale where the woman who appeared on Taro's boat had asked him to take her home. The two travel along sea in the boat, and arrive at a mansion known as "Ryugu-jo" ten days later. The woman had asked to marry as an act of thanks, and the two lived together for three years. When Taro had asked to go home for a month because he hadn't spoken with his parents, the woman who became his wife revealed to him that she was the turtle he saved that day, and as a memento, she gave him "a box that must never be opened" the two couldn't meet anymore. When Taro had returned to his hometown, 700 years had passed, and once he opened the box, he became an old man similar to the current version, but since so much time had passed by that point, Taro was unable to stay alive, so he transformed into a crane and flew off to Mount Hourai. The crane-tortoise couple then returned to the country of Tango, where they lived their married lives as Myoujin.
仙境に行った浦島子のその後 After Ura no Shimako went to Senkyou
ところで『日本書紀』の仙境に行った浦島子の続きも実はあります。『丹後国風土記』に記されたもので、風土記自体は現存しないのですが、浦島子の部分が『釈日本紀』という書物に引用されていてそちらが残っていたのです。 By the way, the Nihon Shoki depicts a continuation of the Ura no Shimako tale, where Shimako went to Senkyou. It was originally written in the "Tango no Kuni Fudoki", though the Fudoki itself doesn't exist now, but the part that mentioned Ura no Shimako was quoted in the Shaku Nihongi​, where it remains to this day.
亀から変じた女性は「亀姫」と名乗り、自身が天上の仙人の娘だと明かした後、ともに蓬莱山へ行こうと誘います。島子の目を瞑らせた次の瞬間には絶海の大きな島へと移動しており、ふたりは立派な屋敷で三年間仲睦まじく暮らしました。その後の流れは『御伽草子』とほぼ同様で、村に帰った時点で過ぎた月日が三百年以上となっている点が異なります。 The woman, who had changed from a turtle, refers to herself as "Kamehime" and reveals herself to be the daughter of a celestial hermit. She then invites Ura no Shimako to travel to Mt. Hourai with her. The moment that Shimako closed his eyes, he found himself on a large island in the middle of the sea, where he lived with Kamehime in a splendid mansion for three years. After that, the story plays out in a similar manner to the Otogizōshi​ tale, except Shimako ends up returning to his village after more than 300 years.
実は今回の「幻想のもと」2本は相互に強い関連性があります。双方を読み比べていただけると、より理解が深まるのではないかと思います。さて、浦島太郎が行ったはずの「竜宮城」は初期の物語では仙人や天女が暮らす「仙境」でした。乙姫あるいは亀姫は仙人の娘で彼女自身も変身や遠距離の瞬間移動能力を持つ仙女であり、「天上の」とみずから言っている通り天女であるとも言えます。つまり物語『浦島太郎』のヒロイン乙姫は、天女であると同時に『鶴の恩返し』の鶴と同じ動物の女房でもあるわけです。ここまでだとまだ「竜宮」の意味にまではたどり着けませんが、天女や仙人の伝説は中国から伝わってきたもので、中国では亀を竜神の一種と考えられていることを鑑みればおのずと答えが導き出されます。その有名な例は、風水などで四方を守護するとされる「四神」の北に位置する「玄武」です。亀に蛇が絡みついた姿で描かれ、日本でもキトラ古墳の壁画などに見ることができます。玄武は水神でもありますから、日本神話上竜宮が海の神「ワタツミ」の館と同一視されるのも当然でしょう。日本では伝統的に竜を水神と考えてきましたが、そのルーツを辿っていくとインドの川の女神サラスヴァティが仏教に取り込まれて弁財天になったことが影響しています。川は龍に等しいとされ、女神は龍の娘とも考えられました。また日本の弁財天は吉祥天と混同されることが多いのですが、吉祥天のルーツはインドの天女アプサラスのひとりでもある女神ラクシュミです。海の神の娘で、天女の性格も持つ亀の姫「乙姫」はこれらの要素から誕生したのではないかと考えることができます。 Frankly, the two "Fragments of Phantasy" this time are strongly related to one another. I think that if you read and compare both, then your understanding of them will deepen. By the way, the Dragon Palace that Urashima Taro visits was the "Senkyou" which the celestial maidens and hermits lived in the earlier version. Otohime (or Kamehime) is the daughter of a hermit, and she herself is a mountain woman who has the ability to transform and teleport over long distances. You could say that she's a celestial maiden, or "heavenly", as she describes herself. In other words, Otohime, the heroine of the Urashima Taro story, is not only a celestial maiden, but also an animalistic wife, like the crane that appeared in Tsuru no Ongaeshi. We can discern the meaning of "Dragon Palace" at this point, but the legend of celestial maidens and hermits comes from China, and given that turtles are considered a type of dragon god in China, the answer is naturally derived from there. A famous example is "Genbu", the northern god of the Four Symbols who protect the four cardinal directions with feng shui. It's depicted as a turtle with a snake wrapped around it, and it can be seen in the mural paintings of the Kitora Tumulus in Japan. Since Genbu is also a water god, it's only natural that the Dragon Palace is considered the mansion of Watatsumi, the sea god in Japanese mythology. In Japanese tradition, dragons in general are considered water gods, but if you trace their roots, their influence comes from Sarasvati, the Indian river goddess who became Benzaiten when she was incorporated into Buddhism. Rivers are equated to dragons, and the goddess was considered the daughter of a dragon. Also, Benzaiten in Japan is often confused with Kichijoten, but Kichijoten's roots are of the goddess Lakshmi, who is also one of the Indian celestial maidens known as the "Apsaras". It can be inferred that Otohime, the daughter of a sea god as well as a celestial hermit, was born from these elements.
もうひとりの乙姫 The Other "Otohime"
ところで日本の神話にはもうひとつ、竜宮と乙姫の登場する有名な物語があります。それは昔話「海幸彦と山幸彦」の原型となった「天孫降臨」の物語の一幕です。 By the way, there is another famous Japanese myth in which the Dragon Palace and Otohime make an appearance. It's in one act of "Tenson kōrin", which became a prototype for the old myth, "Yamasachihiko and Umisachihiko".
漁師の海幸彦と猟師の山幸彦の兄弟が、ある日互いの獲物を交換して普段とは逆の収穫を得ようとしますが、失敗に終わります。しかも弟の山幸彦は兄から借りた釣り針を海に落としてしまい、どうしても兄が許してくれません。悲しむ山幸彦が神の助けを得てワタツミの宮へ行き、トヨタマヒメの協力を得て鯛の喉に引っかかっていた釣り針を取り戻します。釣り針を兄に返した上で、山幸彦はトヨタマヒメからもらった魔法のアイテムで兄を懲らしめることにも成功します。 One day, two brothers, the fisherman Umisachihiko and the hunter Yamasachihiko, exchange their catches with one another in order to acquire their opposing harvests, but failed. Worse yet, the younger brother, Yamasachihiko, lost the fishing hook he borrowed from his brother into the sea, and he wouldn't forgive him. The upset Yamasachihiko, with the help of a god, goes to Watatsumi's palace, and with the assistance of Toyotama-hime, recovers the hook that got caught in the throat of a sea bream. After returning the hook, Yamasachihiko also succeeds in disciplining his brother with a magical item that Toyotama-hime had given him.
どこか『旧約聖書』にある「カインとアベル」を思い起こさせるこの物語は、『浦島太郎』と同じように昔話として広く親しまれています。ただ、神話にはまだ続きがあって、日本の将来にも影響する重大な出来事に繋がります。* This story, which is reminiscent of the Cain and Abel tale in the Old Testament, is widely known as an older version of the tale of Urashima Taro. However, there is a continuation of this myth, which leads to important events that would affect Japan's future. The point is, Umisachihiko and Yamasachihiko are the sons of the Heavenly Grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto, who were absorbed in their peaceful lives and forgot of their duty to subjugate Japan, despite being in the middle of the Tenson Kōrin.
ワタツミの宮を浦島太郎のように訪れた山幸彦を見初めた海神の娘トヨタマヒメは、父にも認められすぐに結婚していました。山幸彦もトヨタマヒメに夢中になっていたので、三年間一緒に暮らしてからようやく目的を思い出し、釣り針を取り戻して兄の元に帰っています。夫がいない間に出産時期が迫ったトヨタマヒメは、夫を追って地上で出産を試みます。ただ、出産の最中は本来の姿に戻らなければならないため夫には産屋を覗かないよう頼んだのですが、好奇心に抗しきれなかった山幸彦は産屋の中に出産中の「ヤヒロワニ」を目撃してしまいます。約束を違えられたトヨタマヒメは息子ウガヤフキアエズを置いて海に帰ってしまうのですが、代わりにやってきたトヨタマヒメの妹のタマヨリヒメが子供を養育することになりました。しかもウガヤフキアエズとタマヨリヒメは後に結ばれ、生まれた子供がカムヤマトイワレヒコ、後の神武天皇として東征を果たし天孫の支配する国家をつくることになります。 Similar to Urashima Taro, Toyotama-hime, the daughter of the sea god Watatsumi, had married Yamasachihiko as soon as he was recognized by her father. Yamasachihiko was obsessed with Toyotama-hime, so after living together for three years, Yamasachihiko finally remembered his purpose, recovered the lost hook, and returned to his brother. Toyotama-hime, who was due to give birth while her husband was away, followed him onto land and tries to give birth there. However, she had asked her husband not to look into her maternity room because she had to return to her original form to give birth, but Yamasachihiko couldn't resist his curiosity and witnessed an "Yahirowani" giving birth in the maternity room. Toyotama-hime, whose promise had been broken, had returned to the sea, leaving behind her son Ugayafukiaezu, and her younger sister, Tamayori-hime, had come to be the one to raise him instead. Moreover, Ugayafukiaezu and Tamayori-hime became close later on, and bore a child known as "Kamuyamatoiwarehiko", later known as "Emperor Jimmu", who would go on an expedition to the East and conquer the nation, finally creating a nation ruled by the descendant of a god.
浦島太郎だけでなく『鶴の恩返し』と共通する要素までストーリーに出てきましたが、ここで注目すべきはトヨタマヒメの正体であるヤヒロワニでしょう。名前は「8ヒロ(長さの単位で、1ヒロは約1.8)メートル)もの大きさのワニ」という意味になります。当時の日本にワニはいないからサメのことだろうと言われることが多いのですが、サメにしても長すぎて絶滅したとされたメガロドンクラスになってしまいます。神話なのですから、ここは実在したかどうかは置いといて、トヨタマヒメの正体は龍だったと見るべきでしょう。いや、もしかしたら永江衣玖のイメージ的ルーツであるリュウグウノツカイだったのかもしれません。それなら龍に見えても不思議ではありませんし、竜宮の姫はやはり龍だったと言えそうです。 Elements of not only Urashima Taro, but Tsuru no Ongaeshi, have both appeared in this story, but what should be noted here is the Yahirowani, the true identity of Toyotama-hime. The name "Yahirowani" means "a Wani as large as 8 fathoms" (1 fathom = approximately 1.8 meters in length). Wani are often considered sharks since no crocodiles existed in Japan at the time, but even if it were a shark, it would be a Megalodon, which was said to have gone extinct since it was too large. Since it's a myth, it should be seen that Toyotama-hime was a dragon, regardless of whether or not Wani actually existed. No, maybe it was an oarfish, the basis for Iku Nagae. If that's the case, then it's no wonder it's seen as a dragon, and it seems that the princess of the Dragon Palace was a dragon after all.
諏訪大社と竜宮 The Suwa Grand Shrine and the Dragon Palace
最後に、竜宮にまつわる伝承をもうひとつ。東方Projectとも円の深い諏訪大社には、地下を流れる水が竜宮に通じているという伝承があります。例えば井戸の底に水の流れが見えたりすると、底が竜宮に通じているとされることは諏訪以外の地でも割とあって「竜宮井戸」と呼ばれたりするのですが、諏訪ではそうした穴がいくつかあって、御神体とも考えられる大岩や鉄塔がそれを塞いでいる。諏訪には地中の穴を通り続けている内に身体が蛇になってしまった「甲賀三郎」の伝説があり、ミシャグジ様やタケミナカタとも関連付けられ信仰対象となっています。竜宮の主とも言われる弁財天には蛇神とされれる宇賀神と習合した宇賀弁財天という姿も伝えられていて、甲賀三郎とも結びついたものと考えられます。 Let's look at one final folktale concerning the Dragon Palace. The Suwa Grand Shrine, which in of itself has a deep connection with Touhou Project, has a legend surrounding it that the water flowing in its underground leads to the Dragon Palace. For instance, if you can see water flowing at the bottom of its well, it's said that that bottom will lead to the Dragon Palace, and it's often called the "Dragon Palace Well" in places outside of the Suwa Province. In Suwa, there is a legend surrounding "Kōga Saburō", in which his body became that of a snake while trying to pass through an underground opening. The opening was also associated with Mishaguji-sama and Takeminakata and considered an object of worship. Benzaiten, who is also considered the ruler of the Dragon Palace, is also said to have associations with "Uga Benzaiten", who is said to be a snake god thought to have associations with Kōga Saburō.