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住んでいたました。

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ると男の母は森田氏といった

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 during 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 examined it closely, only to find it so worn that the handle was about to fall off.

That night, the man was alone in his room, deep in thought, when his mother called out to him, "Mr. Morita..."

Is the pickaxe from my mother's farm or my 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。

男はダイヤモンドのシンボルを見て此のつるはしで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

遂に365日と7日が経過しました。拾った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。

つるはしを修理して途方に暮れて帰宅するとある士官が自宅を訪ねてきました其の男は士官である大府市と言いました。彼は随分と歴史のある名士の様でした。大府市は男へこう言いました。

此の土地にも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。

私は国へ帰ります、一緒に行きませんかと言いました。

男は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く、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き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。男はつるはしと短剣で盗賊を追い払いました、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。

眠りから覚めた朝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。

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先祖はまだ農業を営んでいました。

なんだ今日まで米を作っていたのかと

夢から覚めた男の母の名は森田と言いました。

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採掘を行い、ダイヤモンドは此の島に無いのだから、まるで地獄の様だ、遂に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て新しく買い替え、母へつるはしを戻して時給自足を始め、きっと私共が生きてこられたのはあなた方の先祖に関連する人々の御蔭でしょうと話し、男は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富豪達へ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 night, 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 a diamond, they said they didn't know.

Seeing the diamond symbol, the man decided to use his pickaxe to mine for diamonds.

Day after day, he searched for diamonds, smashing countless rocks, searching for caves where crystals were said to be, digging underground and in rivers with his pickaxe.

Finally, 365 days and 7 days passed. The man, who had been surviving by selling the beautiful stones he found, had his only pickaxe break at the wooden joint that day. He collapsed to the ground and said,

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

After repairing his pickaxe, he returned home dejected, only to be visited by an officer. The man's name was Obuichi. He seemed to be a prominent figure with a long history. Obuichi said to the man:

There are no diamonds in this land either. You foolishly search for diamonds that don't exist, but they don't exist in this country. Why don't you look for another job? I came here today because I wanted to tell you this, since I've always seen you like this.

The man was devastated by this news 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 are diamonds in my country. They are dangerous, but they can be mined.

I'm going back to my country. Won't you come with me?"

In return, the man loaded as much rice as he could carry onto his back, and the man and the Westerner set sail, crossing a vast ocean.

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

Crossing the vast ocean, the man arrived in the homeland of the Westerners.

He presented the large sapphire he had brought with him to the mine manager and received permission to mine diamonds.

After a little over 700 days, in a foreign land, he finally unearthed a diamond so large he could barely carry it in his arms.

Its brilliance was so magnificent that it reflected in the man's eyes.

He had been selling the other diamonds to earn Western currency, which provided him with a place to sleep and nutritious cow's milk and meat. However, not wanting to waste them, he decided to take many more diamonds back with him to cover his return journey.

Then, thieves, having heard of the diamond discovery from the wicked mine manager who had been watching the man's exploits, appeared with blades. The man drove them away with his pickaxe and dagger. His body, honed by daily use of the pickaxe, proudly brandished it.

Here, he said goodbye to the Westerners.

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

When he awoke in the morning, he finally saw the continent of his homeland and was overjoyed that he could finally return home.

Upon arriving home, he found mail that had arrived 360 days earlier, addressed to a relative; his ancestors were still farming.

"So they were still growing rice until today?" he thought.

The man woke from his dream. His mother's name was Morita.

The man finally understood why his ancestors had continued farming. Perhaps the man's ancestors had mined for diamonds, and since there were none on this island, it must have been like hell for them, leaving them utterly helpless. At that time, it seems 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?

He glanced at the pickaxe and noticed it was already broken.

The man looked at his old, cherished pickaxe,

and marveled at how a single choice like a pickaxe

could have so many different meanings and outcomes.

The man discarded the broken pickaxe, bought a new one, returned it to his mother, and began self-sufficiency. He said that surely their survival was thanks to the people related to their ancestors, and the man went on to sell a very large diamond he acquired in the foreign land of Western Europe to wealthy merchants 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.