Long ago, in the Heian period, there was a low-ranking official who worked for a powerful lord in Kyoto. Nobody remembers his real name. People simply called him Goi, which means "the Fifth Rank." He was over forty, short, and plain-looking. His cheeks were thin, his chin was small, and the end of his nose was always a little red. His clothes were old and faded, and his thin gray beard did not grow well.
むかし、平安時代のことだ。京都のある有力な殿様に、身分の低い役人が仕えていた。ほんとうの名前は、だれも覚えていない。人々はただ「五位」と呼んでいた。「五番目の位」という意味だ。五位は四十を過ぎた、背の低い、見ばえのしない男だった。ほおはこけ、あごは小さく、鼻の先はいつも少し赤くなっていた。着物は古ぼけて色あせ、うすい灰色のひげは、まばらにしか生えていなかった。
Everyone in the lord's house looked down on Goi. The other officials ignored him, and the young servants played tricks on him. They pulled his beard, tied straw sandals to his back, and laughed at the way he talked. But Goi never got angry. When the jokes went too far, he only smiled weakly and said, "Please don't do that." Some people even felt a little sorry for him.
殿様の屋敷の者は、だれもが五位をばかにしていた。役人仲間は五位を相手にせず、若い召使いたちは五位にいたずらをした。ひげを引っぱったり、背中にわらじを結びつけたり、話し方を笑ったりしたのだ。けれども五位は、決して怒らなかった。いたずらがひどくなると、弱々しくほほえんで、「いけませんな、そんなことをしては」と言うだけだった。中には、少し気の毒に思う者さえいた。
But Goi had one dream, and it kept him going. He wanted to eat as much yam gruel as he liked. Yam gruel was a special dish. Yams were cooked slowly in a sweet syrup made from the juice of a wild vine. In those days, it was so precious that it was served only at grand parties, and even then, people like Goi could only have a small cup. Goi had loved it for many years. To eat yam gruel until he was full was the only wish of his life, though he had never told anyone.
けれども五位には、ひとつの夢があり、それが五位をささえていた。芋粥を好きなだけ食べたい、という夢だ。芋粥は特別なごちそうだった。山芋を甘いみつでゆっくり煮たもので、そのみつは野生のつるのしるから作る。当時はとても貴重で、盛大な宴会でしか出されず、それでも五位のような者は、小さなおわんに少しもらえるだけだった。五位は何年も前から、芋粥が大好きだった。芋粥を飽きるほど食べることが、五位の一生のただひとつの願いだったのだ。もっとも、だれにも話したことはなかったが。
One New Year, the lord held a large party. At the end of the meal, Goi drank the last of his small cup of yam gruel and sighed. "I wonder when I will ever be able to eat my fill of yam gruel," he said to himself.
ある年の正月、殿様が大きな宴会を開いた。食事の終わりに、五位は小さなおわんの芋粥を飲みほして、ため息をついた。「いつになったら、芋粥を飽きるほど食べられることやら」と、五位はひとりごとを言った。
A loud laugh answered him. It came from Fujiwara no Toshihito, a strong warrior who served the same lord. Toshihito was big and powerful, and he had married into a rich family in Tsuruga, a town far to the north by the sea. "You've never eaten your fill?" he said with a grin. "Then I will let you eat as much as you want."
それに答えるように、大きな笑い声がひびいた。同じ殿様に仕える強い武士、藤原利仁だった。利仁は大がらで力が強く、敦賀の金持ちの家にむこ入りしていた。敦賀は、都からはるか北の、海辺の町だ。「飽きるほど食べたことがないって？」と、利仁はにやりと笑って言った。「それなら、わたしが好きなだけ食べさせてやろう」
Everyone laughed. Goi turned red and did not know what to say. "Well, thank you," he said at last, and everyone laughed again.
みんながどっと笑った。五位は赤くなって、何と言っていいかわからない。「それは、かたじけない」とやっとのことで言うと、みんなはまた笑った。
A few days later, Toshihito came to Goi on horseback. "Let's go for a ride," he said. "I promised you yam gruel, didn't I?" Goi followed him, thinking they were going somewhere near Kyoto. But they rode on and on. They passed Yamashina, then the mountains beyond, and came to the shore of Lake Biwa. "Where are we going?" Goi asked nervously. "To Tsuruga," said Toshihito, laughing. Goi was shocked. Tsuruga was a very long way from Kyoto, and the roads were dangerous.
数日後、利仁が馬に乗って、五位のところへやって来た。「遠乗りに行こう」と、利仁は言った。「芋粥を食べさせると約束しただろう？」五位は、京都の近くのどこかへ行くのだろうと思って、ついて行った。ところが、ふたりはどこまでも馬を進める。山科を過ぎ、その先の山をこえて、琵琶湖のほとりに出た。「どこへ行くのですか」と、五位は不安そうにたずねた。「敦賀だよ」と、利仁は笑って答えた。五位はびっくりした。敦賀は京都からとても遠く、道中は物騒だったのだ。
Just then, a fox ran across the dry field by the lake. Toshihito chased it on his horse, caught it, and lifted it up by its back legs. Then he spoke to it seriously. "Listen, fox. Go to my house in Tsuruga tonight. Tell them that Toshihito is bringing a guest. Tell them to send men with two horses to meet us at Takashima tomorrow morning." Then he let the fox go, and it ran off through the grass like an arrow.
ちょうどそのとき、湖のそばのかれた野原を、一匹のキツネが走りぬけた。利仁は馬でキツネを追いかけてつかまえ、うしろ足をつかんで持ち上げた。それから大まじめに、キツネに話しかけた。「よく聞け、キツネ。今夜のうちに、敦賀のわたしの屋敷へ行け。利仁が客を連れて帰ると伝えるのだ。明日の朝、馬を二頭つけて、家来を高島までむかえによこせと言え」そう言って利仁がキツネをはなすと、キツネは矢のように草の中を走り去った。
Goi looked at the warrior with wonder and a little fear. The next morning, at Takashima, more than twenty men on horseback were waiting for them with two horses. "Last night, a strange thing happened," one of them said. "The lady of the house suddenly began to speak in a strange voice. She said, 'I am the fox of Sakamoto. My master is coming with a guest. Send men to meet them at Takashima.'" Toshihito looked pleased. "You see, even animals obey me," he said.
五位は、おどろきと、いくらかのおそれを感じながら、この武士を見つめた。次の朝、高島では、二十人あまりの家来が馬に乗り、二頭の馬を連れて、ふたりを待っていた。「ゆうべ、ふしぎなことがありました」と、家来のひとりが言った。「奥様がとつぜん、妙な声で話しはじめたのです。『わたしは坂本のキツネである。ご主人がお客を連れてお帰りになる。高島までむかえをよこせ』と」利仁は満足そうだった。「どうだ、けものでさえ、わたしの言うことを聞くのだ」と、利仁は言った。
That night, they arrived at Toshihito's large house in Tsuruga. Goi was given a warm room and a thick, soft robe, but he could not sleep. Tomorrow he would finally eat yam gruel as much as he liked. He had waited for this for so many years. Yet somehow he felt uneasy, as if the day was coming too quickly.
その夜、ふたりは敦賀の利仁の大きな屋敷に着いた。五位はあたたかい部屋と、厚くやわらかい着物をあてがわれたが、眠れなかった。明日はいよいよ、芋粥を好きなだけ食べられるのだ。何年も何年も、待ちつづけてきたことだった。それなのに、なぜか落ち着かない気持ちがした。その日があまりにも早くやって来てしまうような気がしたのだ。
Late in the night, he heard a man's loud voice in the garden. "Listen, everyone! By tomorrow morning, each of you must bring one yam, three inches thick and five feet long. Don't forget!" The voice repeated the order two or three times and then stopped.
夜ふけに、庭で男の大きな声が聞こえた。「みんな、よく聞け！ 明日の朝までに、ひとり一本ずつ、太さ三寸、長さ五尺の山芋を持ってくるのだ。忘れるなよ！」その声は同じ命令を二、三度くり返して、やんだ。
In the morning, Goi went out to the garden and could hardly believe his eyes. On the long mats, there was a mountain of yams so high that it almost touched the roof. Nearby, five or six enormous iron pots, each big enough to hold a person, sat over fires. Dozens of young women in white were busy around them. Some were cutting yams, some were pouring sweet syrup into the pots, and the white steam rose into the morning air.
朝になって庭に出た五位は、自分の目を疑った。長いむしろの上に、屋根に届きそうなほど高く、山芋が山のように積まれていたのだ。そのそばには、人がひとり入れそうなほど大きな鉄のかまが五つ六つ、火にかけられていた。白い着物を着た何十人もの若い女たちが、そのまわりで忙しく働いている。山芋を切る者もいれば、甘いみつをかまに注ぐ者もいて、白い湯気が朝の空気の中に立ちのぼっていた。
As Goi watched the endless yams going into the pots, he began to feel full, though he had not eaten anything at all. And when he thought that he had come all this way only to eat yam gruel, he felt strangely sad.
数かぎりない山芋がかまに入れられていくのをながめているうちに、五位は、まだ何も食べていないのに、おなかがいっぱいになってきた。そして、芋粥を食べるためだけにこんな遠くまで来たのだと思うと、なぜかもの悲しい気持ちになった。
Soon he was sitting before a huge silver bowl full of yam gruel. "Please eat as much as you like," said Toshihito. Goi closed his eyes and tried a little. It was sweet and good. He ate half a bowl. Then he could eat no more. "Don't be shy," said Toshihito, and his servants brought another bowl. "No, thank you," Goi said weakly. "I have had enough." Sweat was running down his face, even though it was cold.
まもなく五位は、芋粥がなみなみと入った大きな銀の器の前に座っていた。「さあ、好きなだけ召し上がれ」と、利仁が言った。五位は目を閉じて、少し食べてみた。甘くて、おいしい味だった。五位は器の半分を食べた。そこで、もう食べられなくなった。「遠慮はいらないよ」と利仁が言うと、家来たちがもうひとつ器を運んできた。「いえ、もうけっこうです」と、五位は弱々しく言った。「もう十分いただきました」寒いのに、顔からは汗が流れていた。
Just then, Toshihito pointed to the roof of the house. A fox was sitting there quietly in the morning sun. "Look, it is the fox from yesterday," he said. "It wants some yam gruel too. Give it some!" The fox jumped down and began to eat from a bowl on the ground.
ちょうどそのとき、利仁が屋敷の屋根を指さした。一匹のキツネが、朝日の中で静かに座っていた。「見ろ、きのうのキツネだ」と、利仁は言った。「あいつも芋粥がほしいのだ。食べさせてやれ！」キツネは飛び下りてきて、地面に置かれた器から食べはじめた。
Goi watched the fox eating, and he thought about himself as he was before he came here. He remembered the man who was laughed at by everyone and who had only one wish, to eat his fill of yam gruel. That man had been lonely, but he had been happy in his own way, because he had a dream to hold on to. Now the dream had come true, and it was gone.
キツネが食べるのをながめながら、五位は、ここへ来る前の自分のことを思った。みんなに笑われ、芋粥を飽きるほど食べたいというただひとつの願いを持っていた男のことを、思い出したのだ。あの男はさびしかったけれど、自分なりに幸せだった。心のよりどころになる夢を持っていたからだ。今、その夢はかなってしまい、そして消えてしまった。
He felt relieved that he did not have to eat any more. A cold wind blew in from the sea. Goi wiped his wet face. Then, looking at the silver bowl, he gave a big sneeze.
もうこれ以上食べなくてもよいのだと思うと、五位はほっとした。海から、冷たい風が吹きこんできた。五位は、ぬれた顔をぬぐった。それから銀の器を見つめたまま、大きなくしゃみをひとつした。
