2つのつるはし

 

2つのつるはし

時は西暦1200年代のアジア地方の田舎町に一人の男が居ました。

男の先祖の家は先祖の時代から農業を営んでいました。

ある日男は仕事から自宅に帰り蔵を掃除していると、初めて見る古びた大きなつるはしを見つけました。

なんだ先祖が使っていた古いつるはしかなと思い見てみると束が外れそうな程古びていた

つるはしでした。

その日の夜男は一人部屋で考え事をしていました、

彼の母は森田氏といいました。

つるはしは母の家の農具か父の家の方のつるはしか…

…

Two Pickaxes

The story takes place in a rural town in Asia in the 1200s AD.

The man's ancestors had been farmers since their time.

One day, returning home from work, the man was cleaning the storehouse when he found a large, old pickaxe he had never seen before.

Thinking it might be an old pickaxe his ancestors used, he looked at it and saw that it was so old that the handle was about to fall off.

That night, the man was alone in his room, deep in thought.

His mother's name was Morita.

Was the pickaxe his mother's farm tool, or his father's...?

...

男は其の日、深い眠りにつきました

男は夢の世界で１つの夢を見ました。

男の先祖は縦型のダイヤのシンボルを持っていました、何故♦なのか尋ねると解らないと言いました。

ダイヤモンドのシンボルを見て、綺麗な光る宝石ダイヤモンドだったかな？

領主の奥様が確か良く身に着けていた宝石でー異国の商人から買ったという噂だったなあ

その日

男は突然此のつるはしで此れからダイヤモンドを発掘していこうと考えるのでした。

其れから男は

来る日も来る日もダイヤを探して無数の岩を叩き割り、水晶があるという洞窟を探し、地中や川をつるはしでほり、

其れは其れはきらきらと輝いている石なんだろうと探し続けていました。

そうして光り輝く宝石を探して

遂に365日と7日が経過しました。拾った他の綺麗な石を売り食いつないでいた男のたった一つのつるはしが此の日木の束の部分が折れてしまい、男は遂に地面に倒れこんでこう言いました、

一体ダイヤモンドはどこにあるのか？どこにもないじゃないかと嘆きました。

途方に暮れて帰宅し、つるはしを修理して暫くすると、ある士官が自宅を訪ねてきました其の男は大府市と言いました。彼は随分と歴史のある地元の名士の様でした。大府市は男へこう言いました。

随分頑張ったみたいだなあ

此の土地には君が探しているダイヤモンドは無いのだ、愚かにも君は存在しないダイヤモンドを探し求めているが其れは此の国には無い、別の職をさがしたらどうだ？私は其れをいつも見ていた君に聞かせてやろうと思って今日此処にきたのだ。

男は其れを聞いて失意のあまりにふさぎ込んでいました。

その日から14日後…

今度は昔から町に住んでいた若い西欧人が男の前に現れました。

男はこういいました

私の国に輝くというダイヤモンドがあります、其れは危険ですが採掘できます。

私は此れから国へ帰ります、貴方も一緒に行きませんかと言いました。

男は二つ返事で嬉しそうにしていました。お礼に自宅にあったコメを持てるだけ荷物に背負って男と西欧人は船で海を大きく渡りました、

男と西欧人はコメを分け合いながら永い時間船で過ごしました。大きく国を越えて広大な海を渡りました。

大きな海を越えて男は西欧人の故郷へたどり着きました、

男は知らされた炭鉱を管理する管理人へ持参したとても大きなサファイヤを差し出してダイヤモンドの採掘の許可をもらいました。

その日から７００日と少し、経験のないダイヤモンドを異国の地で、腕で抱える事がやっとの大きなダイヤモンドを遂に採掘しました。

其の輝きは男の目にダイヤモンドを映して輝き、なんとも立派な光景だったそうです。

他のダイヤモンドは今まで売り歩いて西欧の通貨を得て男は寝る場所と栄養のある牛のミルクや肉などを男は得ていましたが勿体ないので帰りの旅費の為に他の多くのダイヤモンドも持ち帰る事にしました。

すると今度は普段から男の活躍を見ていた性悪な管理人から大きなダイヤモンドの発掘の知らせを聞きつけた盗賊が刃をもって現れました。男は慌ててつるはしと短剣で盗賊を何とか追い払いました、日ごろからつるはしで体が鍛えられていた男はつるはしを自慢げにふりあげました。

此処で世話になった西欧人とお別れの挨拶をしました。

男は故郷に帰るために又船で旅路へ入りました。船で寝て過ごす、随分長い船路の時間が経っていました。

ある日眠りから覚めた朝、船の外を見ると遂に故郷の大陸が見えて男はやっと故郷に帰れるととても喜びました。

そうして男は帰宅すると360日前に自宅についた郵便物が親族のもので男の親族はまだ農業を営んでいました。

なんだあの日まで米を作っていたのかと

その日、長い旅路に疲れ果てた男は自宅で深い眠りにつきました

次の日になり…

眠りから覚めた男の母の名は森田と言いました。

そうして男は先祖が何故農業を営んだのかと遂に想像がついたのです。もしかしたら、

男の先祖はダイヤモンドを求めてかつて採掘を行い、ダイヤモンドは此の島に無いのだから、其れはきっとまるで地獄の様だ、遂にただ先祖はただ困り果てていたのだろう、其の時同じ地方に住んでいた母の関連者や或いは母が今此処に生まれ変わる前の頃、自給自足を教えてくれた農業に関連する人々の先祖があったようで、もしかしたらそうしてつるはしの使い方を田畑を耕すために用いたのか？と

ふと、つるはしを見るとつるはしは既に丁度壊れていました。

男は長年愛用していた古びたつるはしを見て

つるはし一つの選択肢で

色々な意味や結果が違うものかと思い感嘆すると

男は其の壊れたつるはしを捨て、２つのつるはしを新しく買い替え、家庭で時給自足を始め、ある日母に話しました、私達がかつて、つるはしを手にして生きてこられたのはきっとあなた方の先祖に関する人々の御蔭でしょうと話し、新しいつるはしの一つを母に手渡した、きっと先祖は農に関わった方だったから、之を忘れるべきでないと思いますと話し、

男は町一番の富豪へ西欧大陸という異国の土地で手に入れたとても大きなダイヤモンドを売って豊かに暮らしたそうです。

おわり

この話は管理者が自宅で発見したひとつのつるはしを見て

そのつるはしは父方の農業のものか、母方の氏に関する森田姓の農のつるはしなのか

どうなのか解らなかった経験と縦型のDiamondのシンボルを父方が所持していたので

こういった選択もあったかもしれないと想像した実話＆フィクションの物語です。

又、なかなかうまくいかなかった家庭ですが母方の方が優れていた時代や先祖の時代の恩があるかもしれないと

思う、仮想大越国家などで事実不明の中、一見一つの傾向の栄誉があるようにも思えてしまう不明な時の中で戒めの思いを考えるべきであろうという発想が込められています。

That day, the man fell into a deep sleep.

In his dreams, he had a dream.

His ancestors had a vertical diamond symbol; when he asked why it was ♦, they said they didn't know.

Looking at the diamond symbol, he wondered if it was a beautiful, sparkling gem, a diamond?

He recalled that the lord's wife often wore such a gem—rumored to have bought it from a foreign merchant.

That day,

the man suddenly decided to use his pickaxe to excavate diamonds.

From then on, the man

day after day, he searched for diamonds, smashing countless rocks, searching for caves where crystals were said to be, digging through the ground and rivers with his pickaxe,

He continued searching, believing that these were sparkling, glittering stones.

And so, searching for glittering gems,

365 days and 7 days passed. The man, who had been making a living by selling other beautiful stones he found, had his only pickaxe break at the wooden joint that day. He finally collapsed to the ground and cried out:

"Where are the diamonds? They're nowhere to be found!" he lamented.

Dejected, he returned home and repaired his pickaxe. Shortly after, an officer visited his house. The man's name was Obuichi. He seemed to be a prominent local figure with a long history. Obuichi said to the man:

"You seem to have tried very hard.

There are no diamonds in this land that you are looking for. You are foolishly searching for a diamond that doesn't exist, but it doesn't exist in this country. Why don't you look for another job? I came here today because I wanted to tell you this, as I've always seen you struggling."

The man was devastated by this and became withdrawn.

Fourteen days later…

A young Westerner, who had lived in the town for a long time, appeared before the man.

The man said:

"There is a diamond in my country that shines brightly; it is dangerous, but it can be mined.

I am returning to my country now; would you like to come with me?"

The man readily agreed, looking delighted. As a thank you, the man and the Westerner loaded as much rice as they could carry onto their backs and set sail across the vast ocean.

The man and the Westerner spent a long time on the ship, sharing the rice. They crossed vast oceans, crossing many countries.

After crossing the great ocean, the man arrived in the Westerner's homeland.

The man presented the very large sapphire he had brought with him to the manager in charge of the mine and received permission to mine for the diamond.

A little over 700 days later, in a foreign land, he finally unearthed a diamond so large he could barely hold it in his arms, despite his lack of experience with diamonds.

Its brilliance shone brightly in the man's eyes, a truly magnificent sight.

The man had been selling other diamonds to earn Western currency, which provided him with a place to sleep and nutritious cow's milk and meat. However, feeling it would be a waste to keep them, he decided to take many more diamonds with him to cover his return journey.

Then, a wicked caretaker, who had witnessed the man's exploits, heard about the discovery of a large diamond, and a band of thieves appeared, wielding blades. The man, hastily using his pickaxe and dagger, managed to drive them away. His body, honed by years of using the pickaxe, proudly brandished it.

He then said goodbye to the Westerners who had helped him.

The man set sail again to return home. He spent a long time sleeping on the ship.

One morning, waking from his sleep, he looked outside and finally saw his homeland. The man was overjoyed that he could finally return home.

When the man returned home, he found mail that had arrived 360 days earlier addressed to a relative, and that his relatives were still farming.

"So they were still growing rice until that day?"

That day, exhausted from his long journey, the man fell into a deep sleep at home.

The next day…

The man awoke to find his mother's name was Morita.

And then the man finally understood why his ancestors had farmed. Perhaps…

His ancestors had once mined for diamonds, and since there were no diamonds on this island, it must have been like hell. His ancestors must have been utterly desperate. Perhaps there were relatives of his mother who lived in the same region, or perhaps ancestors of people involved in agriculture who taught his mother self-sufficiency before she was reborn here. Perhaps that's how they learned to use a pickaxe to cultivate the fields?

Suddenly, he looked at his pickaxe and saw that it was already broken.

The man looked at his old, worn-out pickaxe, which he had used for many years,

and marveled at how different meanings and outcomes could be depending on the choice of pickaxe.

He threw away the broken pickaxe, bought two new ones, and began a self-sufficient lifestyle at home. One day, he told his mother, "Surely, the fact that we were able to live with pickaxes in our hands is thanks to the people of your ancestors," and he handed her one of the new pickaxes, saying, "Surely our ancestors were involved in agriculture, and we should never forget this."

The man then went on to sell a very large diamond he had acquired in the foreign land of Western Europe to the wealthiest man in town and lived a prosperous life.

The End

This story is a true story and fictional tale in which the narrator, upon discovering a pickaxe at home,

is unsure whether it belonged to his father's farming family or to his mother's family, the Morita clan.

This experience, combined with the fact that his father's family possessed a vertical diamond symbol,

is a reflection of the possibility that such a choice might have been made.

Furthermore, although the family struggled, the narrator considers the possibility of a time when the mother's side was more successful, or perhaps a debt of gratitude from their ancestors.

The story also incorporates the idea that in a time of uncertainty, where facts are unclear, such as in a fictional Dai Viet nation, one might see a certain tendency as honorable, prompting reflection on a cautionary tale.