It was the thirteenth night of the ninth month by the old calendar, a night for viewing the autumn moon. In a poor little house below a slope in Ueno, an old man was talking happily to his wife. "We are lucky people," he said. "Our children are good and gentle, and everyone praises them. What more could we wish for?"
旧暦九月十三日の夜、秋の名月をめでる十三夜のことだった。上野の坂の下にある小さな貧しい家で、年老いた父親が、うれしそうに妻に話していた。「わしらは果報者だよ。子どもたちはおとなしくて素直で、誰からもほめられる。これ以上、何を望むことがあるものか」
Outside the lattice door, in the shadows, stood their daughter Oseki. Usually she came to visit in a fine black rickshaw, and her parents hurried out to meet her. But tonight she had sent her rickshaw away at the corner, and she stood alone in the dark. "How can I tell them?" she thought. "They are so happy. How can I ask them to get me a divorce?"
格子戸の外の暗がりに、娘のお関が立っていた。いつもなら、立派な黒塗りの人力車で乗りつけ、両親があわてて出迎えてくれる。だが今夜は、車を町かどで帰してしまい、一人で闇の中に立っていた。「どう話したらいいのだろう」とお関は思った。「二人とも、あんなに喜んでいる。それなのに、離縁させてくださいなどと、どうして言えるだろう」
Oseki had been married for seven years to Harada Isamu, a high government official, and they had a little son, Taro. Her parents were proud of their important son-in-law, and her younger brother Inosuke had found a good job with Harada's help. "If I leave Harada," she thought, "Taro will have a stepmother. My parents will be ashamed, and my brother's future may be ruined. Should I go back? Back to that cruel man?" She trembled, and her hand knocked against the door.
お関は七年前、身分の高い役人の原田勇のもとへ嫁ぎ、太郎という幼い息子がいた。両親は立派な婿が自慢で、弟の亥之助も原田の口ききでよい勤め口を得ていた。「私が原田と別れたら」とお関は思った。「太郎は継母に育てられることになる。両親は恥をかき、弟の出世の道もつぶれてしまうかもしれない。やはり帰ろうか。あの鬼のような夫のところへ」お関は身をふるわせた。そのはずみに、手が戸に当たって音を立てた。
"Who's there?" called her father. "It's me, Father," she answered, laughing softly, and he opened the door in surprise. "Oseki! What are you doing out so late? No rickshaw? No maid? Come in, come in, and sit where the moonlight falls." Her mother hurried to bring tea. "We made moon-viewing dumplings tonight," she said. "Your father kept saying he wished you could eat some. Why didn't you bring Taro?"
「誰だ」と父親が声をかけた。「私です、お父さん」と、お関はやさしく笑って答えた。父親は驚いて戸をあけた。「お関か。こんなに遅く、どうしたのだ。車もなしか。女中も連れずにか。さあ入れ、入れ。月の光のさすほうへお座り」母親はいそいでお茶をいれた。「今夜はお月見のお団子をこしらえたのよ。お父さんがね、おまえにも食べさせたいと、そればかり言っていたの。なぜ太郎さんを連れてこなかったの」
"He goes to sleep early," Oseki answered, "so I left him in bed." As she spoke, she pictured him waking in the night and crying for her, and she had to hide her tears behind her sleeve. Her parents chatted on cheerfully about Inosuke, who had just been given a raise. "It is all thanks to Mr. Harada," said her mother. "Please make sure you keep him in a good mood."
「あの子は早寝なので、寝かせたまま置いてきました」とお関は答えた。そう言いながら、夜中に目をさまして自分を呼んで泣く太郎の姿が目に浮かび、お関は袖で涙を隠さなければならなかった。両親は、昇給したばかりの亥之助の話を楽しそうに続けた。「これもみんな原田さんのおかげよ」と母親は言った。「どうか、原田さんのご機嫌をそこねないようにしておくれ」
At last Oseki could bear it no longer. She placed her hands on the mat and bowed. "Father, I have come to ask you a favor," she said. "I have decided never to go back to the Harada house. Please get me a divorce. I put Taro to sleep and came away like a demon. I will do any kind of work to help my brother. Only let me live alone for the rest of my life." And she burst into tears.
お関はとうとう、こらえきれなくなった。畳に手をついて頭を下げた。「お父さん、お願いがあってまいりました。私はもう二度と、原田の家へは帰らない覚悟です。どうか離縁させてください。太郎を寝かしつけて、鬼になって出てまいりました。弟のためなら、どんな仕事でもいたします。ですから、どうか私を一生一人でいさせてください」そう言うと、お関はわっと泣き出した。
Her parents stared at her. Then, for the first time, she told them everything. For the first half year of their marriage, her husband had been kind to her. But after Taro was born, he changed completely. He hardly spoke to her except to give orders. He listed her faults in front of the servants. Again and again, he told her that she was uneducated and useless, and that he kept her only as Taro's nurse.
両親は、お関の顔を見つめた。お関はそこではじめて、何もかも打ち明けた。嫁いではじめの半年ほどは、夫もやさしかった。けれども太郎が生まれてから、人が変わったようになった。用事を言いつけるとき以外は、ろくに口もきかない。召使いたちの前で、お関のすることなすことにけちをつける。おまえは教育のない女だ、役に立たない女だ、太郎の乳母として置いてやっているだけだと、何度も何度も言われた。
"Two days ago, he threw his clothes at me because I had laid them out wrong," she said. "He said, 'No man in the world is as unlucky as I am, to have a wife like you.' Then he left the house, and he has not come home since."
「おととい、着物の出し方が悪いと言って、着物を私に投げつけたのです」とお関は言った。「『おまえのような女房を持って、おれほど不幸な男はこの世にいない』と言って家を出たきり、それから一度も帰ってまいりません」
Her mother was furious. "How dare he!" she cried. "It was he who begged to marry you! He saw you playing battledore in front of our house when you were seventeen, and he asked again and again, even though we refused. And now he talks about education! Father, you should go and tell him exactly what we think of him!"
母親はかんかんに怒った。「なんてひどい。おまえをもらいたいと頼みこんできたのは、あちらのほうじゃないの。おまえが十七のとき、うちの前で羽根つきをしているのを見そめて、こちらが何度断っても、しつこく頼んできたのよ。それを今さら、教育がどうのこうのだなんて。お父さん、あちらへ行って、こちらの言いたいことをはっきり言ってやってくださいな」
But her father sat with his arms folded and his eyes closed. At last he spoke. "I understand how hard it has been for you," he said slowly. "But listen, Oseki. A man like Harada, whom the world praises for his ability, is often selfish at home. He brings his troubles from the office back to his house, and it is hard for his wife. But that is the duty of the wife of such a man. Do you think the wife of a poor clerk has an easier life?"
けれども父親は、腕を組み、目を閉じたまま座っていた。やがて、ゆっくりと口を開いた。「おまえがどれほどつらかったかは、よくわかる。だが、お関、よくお聞き。原田さんのように、世間から腕ききだとほめられる男は、家ではわがままなことが多いものだ。役所の苦労を家に持ち帰って、当たりちらす。妻にはつらいことだろう。だが、それがそういう男の妻のつとめなのだ。安月給の下級役人の女房のほうが、楽な暮らしをしていると思うか」
"Think about it," he went on. "If you divorce him, Taro will belong to Harada. You will be only the daughter of a poor family again, and you will never be allowed to see your son. If you must cry over your bad luck anyway, cry as Harada's wife. Go home tonight and say nothing. Even if you never speak of it, your parents and your brother will understand. We will share your tears." He wiped his own eyes as he spoke.
「よく考えてごらん」と父親は続けた。「離縁すれば、太郎は原田家のものだ。おまえはまた貧乏な家の娘に戻るだけで、わが子に会うことも二度と許されない。どうせ不運に泣くのなら、原田の妻として泣け。今夜は何も言わずに帰りなさい。おまえが口に出さなくても、親も弟もわかっている。涙はみんなで分けて泣こうじゃないか」そう言いながら、父親も自分の目をぬぐった。
Oseki cried aloud. "You are right," she said. "It was selfish of me. If I could never see Taro again, what would be the point of living? From tonight, I will think that I am dead, and that only my soul remains to watch over him. Then I can bear anything. I will never trouble you like this again." Her mother wept. Outside, the clear moon shone lonely in the sky, and the pampas grass that Inosuke had put in a vase seemed to wave a sad goodbye.
お関は声をあげて泣いた。「おっしゃるとおりです。私のわがままでした。太郎に二度と会えなくなったら、生きていてもしかたがありません。今夜からは、自分は死んだものと思います。魂だけが残って、あの子を見守るのだと思えば、どんなことでもがまんできます。もう二度と、こんなことでご心配はかけません」母親はさめざめと泣いた。外では澄んだ月がさびしく空にかかり、亥之助が花びんにさしたすすきの穂が、悲しく別れの手をふっているように見えた。
Her father called a passing rickshaw. "Next time, I will come with a smile," Oseki promised. Then she got in, hiding her face in her sleeve.
父親は、通りかかった人力車を呼びとめた。「この次は、笑ってまいります」とお関は約束した。そして袖で顔を隠しながら、車に乗った。
The rickshaw ran through the dark trees of Ueno. The moon was bright, and insects were singing sadly in the grass. Suddenly, the rickshaw man stopped. "I am very sorry," he said, "but I cannot go any farther. You don't need to pay me. Please get out." Oseki was frightened. "What are you saying? I can't find another rickshaw in a lonely place like this. I will pay you more. Please, at least take me as far as Hirokoji."
人力車は、上野の暗い木立の中を走っていった。月は明るく、草むらでは虫がもの悲しく鳴いていた。と、突然、車夫が車を止めた。「まことに申しわけありませんが、私はここでごめんこうむります。お代はいりませんから、どうか降りてください」お関はぎょっとした。「何を言うの。こんな寂しいところでは、ほかの車も見つからないじゃないの。酒手ははずみますから、せめて広小路までは行ってちょうだい」
"I don't want more money," he said. "I just suddenly can't bear to go on." But when he saw how frightened she was, he apologized. "You are right. It was wrong of me to leave a young lady in such a lonely place. I will take you."
「酒手がほしいのではありません」と車夫は言った。「ただ、急にどうしても引くのがいやになったのです」それでも、お関がひどくおびえているのを見ると、車夫はわびた。「ごもっともです。こんな寂しいところで若いご婦人を降ろすなんて、私が悪うございました。お送りいたしましょう」
In the light of his lantern, Oseki looked at his face for the first time. He was a thin, dark man of twenty-five or twenty-six. Something about him seemed familiar. "Aren't you..." she began. The man looked up in surprise. "Aren't you Roku-san? Kosaka Rokunosuke?"
提灯の明かりで、お関ははじめて車夫の顔を見た。二十五、六の、色の黒い、やせた男だった。どこか見覚えがある。「もしや、あなたは」とお関が言いかけると、男は驚いて顔を上げた。「録さんじゃありませんか。高坂の録之助さんでしょう」
He lowered his head in shame. "You are Oseki-san of the Saito family. I didn't know it was you. I am ashamed to be seen like this."
男は恥ずかしそうにうつむいた。「あなたは、斎藤のお関さん。あなただとは気づきませんでした。こんな姿を見られて、面目ありません」
Rokunosuke was the only son of a neat little tobacco shop in Ogawamachi, near Oseki's old home. As children, they had seen each other every day. From the age of twelve to seventeen, Oseki had secretly dreamed that one day she would sit in that shop beside him. But neither of them had ever spoken of it. When her marriage to Harada was decided, she had given up her childish dream, with tears.
録之助は、お関の昔の家の近く、小川町にあった小ぎれいなたばこ屋のひとり息子だった。子どものころ、二人は毎日のように顔を合わせていた。十二の年から十七まで、お関はひそかに、いつかあの店で録之助と並んで座る日のことを夢見ていた。けれども、どちらもそれを口に出したことは一度もなかった。原田との縁談が決まったとき、お関は涙ながらに、その幼い夢をあきらめたのである。
"Where are you living now?" she asked. "Is your wife well? Do you have children?" Rokunosuke wiped the sweat from his face. "I have no home," he said. "I sleep on the second floor of a cheap inn in Asakusa. When I feel like it, I pull a rickshaw until late, like tonight. When I don't, I lie around all day, living like smoke."
「今はどこに住んでいらっしゃるの」とお関はたずねた。「おかみさんはお元気ですか。お子さんは」録之助は手ぬぐいで顔の汗をふいた。「家なんてものはありません。浅草の安宿の二階で寝起きしています。気が向けば、今夜のように遅くまで車を引くこともあります。気が向かなければ、一日じゅうごろごろして、煙のように暮らしているんです」
Then he told her his story. Around the time he heard of her marriage, he had begun to drink and waste his money. His family thought that a wife would change him, so they found him a pretty one. "It was just when I heard that you were expecting a child," he said.
それから録之助は、自分の身の上を語った。お関の縁談のうわさを聞いたころから、酒を飲み、金をむだ使いするようになった。家の者たちは、女房を持たせれば身持ちもおさまるだろうと考えて、きれいな嫁を見つけてきた。「ちょうど、あなたがおめでただと聞いたころでした」と録之助は言った。
But nothing changed. He drank and played until the shop was gone. His mother went to live with his sister in the country, and he sent his wife and their little daughter back to her family. "The child died of a fever last winter," he said. "She would have been five this year. But what a worthless story. It isn't worth telling."
けれども、何も変わらなかった。飲んで遊んで、とうとう店もつぶしてしまった。母親は田舎の姉のところへ引き取られ、女房も幼い娘と一緒に実家へ帰してしまった。「その子は、去年の冬に熱病で死にました。生きていれば、今年で五つになるはずでした。いや、つまらない身の上です。お話しするほどのことでもありません」
Then he smiled a lonely smile. "Please get in. I will take you." "Now that I know it's you, how could I ride in your rickshaw?" said Oseki. "But it is lonely here. Please walk with me as far as Hirokoji, and let's talk on the way."
録之助は、さびしい笑いを浮かべた。「さあ、お乗りください。お送りします」「あなただとわかった以上、どうしてあなたの車に乗れるでしょう」とお関は言った。「でも、ここは寂しいところだから、広小路まで一緒に歩いてくださいな。話しながら行きましょう」
So they walked side by side. "Perhaps he ruined his life because of me," she thought. "How he must hate to see me now, in my fine clothes, like a proud lady. But my life is not a happy one either." She looked at him, but his face was empty, and he did not seem glad to see her.
こうして二人は、並んで歩いた。「この人が身を持ちくずしたのは、私のせいかもしれない」とお関は思った。「立派な着物を着て、つんとした奥様のような今の私を見るのは、どんなにいやなことだろう。でも、私だって、決して幸せな暮らしをしているわけではないのに」お関は録之助のほうを見た。けれども、その顔はうつろで、お関に会えたことを喜んでいるようには見えなかった。
At Hirokoji there were other rickshaws. Oseki took some money from her purse and wrapped it neatly in paper. "Roku-san, forgive me, but please use this to buy something for yourself," she said. "There are many things I want to say, but they will not come out. Please take care of yourself. Become the old Roku-san again, open a fine shop, and let me see it someday. Goodbye." Rokunosuke took the little package respectfully. "I should refuse," he said, "but since it comes from your hand, I will keep it as a memory. It is hard to part, but it was only a dream. Go now. The road grows lonely late at night."
広小路まで来ると、ほかの車もいた。お関は紙入れからお札を何枚か取り出し、紙にきちんと包んだ。「録さん、本当に失礼ですけれど、これで何か買ってくださいな。言いたいことはたくさんあるのに、うまく口に出てきません。どうか体を大事にしてね。昔の録さんに戻って、立派なお店を開いて、いつかそれを私に見せてください。では、さようなら」録之助は、その小さな包みをうやうやしく受け取った。「お断りするのが筋でしょうが、あなたの手からいただくものですから、思い出にいただいておきます。お別れするのはつらいけれど、これも夢だったのでしょう。さあ、お行きなさい。夜がふけると、道は寂しくなりますから」
He turned away, pulling his empty rickshaw. He went east, and she went south. The willows along the wide street swayed in the moonlight, and the sound of her wooden sandals was weak and sad. In the second floor of the cheap inn and in the fine Harada house alike, this world held many sorrows for them both.
録之助は空の車を引いて、背を向けた。男は東へ、女は南へ。大通りの柳が月の光の中でなびき、お関の下駄の音は、力なくさびしげだった。安宿の二階にも、原田の立派な屋敷にも、この世には、二人にとって悲しいことが多かったのである。
