The Story of the Man who Did Not Wish to Die

Long, long ago there lived a man called Sentaro. His surname meant “Millionaire,” but although he was not so rich as all that, he was still very far removed from being poor. He had inherited a small fortune from his father and lived on this, spending his time carelessly, without any serious thoughts of work, till he was about thirty-two years of age.

むかしむかし、千太郎(せんたろう)という名の男が住んでいた。その姓は「長者」という意味であったが、そこまで富んでいたわけではないにせよ、貧しいというにはほど遠かった。父からささやかな財を受け継いで、それで暮らし、仕事のことを真面目に考えることもなく、のんきに時を過ごして、三十二の年ごろになっていた。

One day, without any reason whatsoever, the thought of death and sickness came to him. The idea of falling ill or dying made him very wretched.

ある日、何の理由もなく、死と病の思いが千太郎の胸に浮かんだ。病にかかる、死ぬという考えは、千太郎をたいそうみじめにした。

“I should like to live,” he said to himself, “till I am five or six hundred years old at least, free from all sickness. The ordinary span of a man’s life is very short.”

「せめて五百年か六百年は」と千太郎は独りごちた。「病ひとつせずに生きていたいものだ。人の世のふつうの寿命はあまりに短い。」

He wondered whether it were possible, by living simply and frugally henceforth, to prolong his life as long as he wished.

これから先、質素につましく暮らせば、望むだけ寿命を延ばせるものだろうかと、千太郎は思案した。

He knew there were many stories in ancient history of emperors who had lived a thousand years, and there was a Princess of Yamato, who, it was said, lived to the age of five hundred. This was the latest story of a very long life record.

千太郎は、いにしえの書には千年生きた帝の話がいくつもあることを知っていたし、大和の姫君で五百歳まで生きたと言われる人のこともあった。これがいちばん新しい、たいそう長命な記録の話であった。

Sentaro had often heard the tale of the Chinese King named Shin-no-Shiko. He was one of the most able and powerful rulers in Chinese history. He built all the large palaces, and also the famous great wall of China. He had everything in the world he could wish for, but in spite of all his happiness and the luxury and the splendor of his Court, the wisdom of his councilors and the glory of his reign, he was miserable because he knew that one day he must die and leave it all.

千太郎はしばしば、秦の始皇帝という中国の王の話を聞いていた。この王は中国の歴史のなかでも最も有能で力ある支配者の一人であった。大きな宮殿という宮殿を築き、名高い万里の長城も築いた。望むものはこの世に何ひとつ欠けていなかったが、その幸せと宮廷の贅と壮麗、家臣たちの知恵と治世の栄光にもかかわらず、王はみじめであった。いつの日か死んで、それらすべてを置いていかねばならぬと知っていたからである。

When Shin-no-Shiko went to bed at night, when he rose in the morning, as he went through his day, the thought of death was always with him. He could not get away from it. Ah—if only he could find the “Elixir of Life,” he would be happy.

始皇帝が夜床につくときも、朝起きるときも、一日を過ごすあいだも、死の思いはいつもつきまとった。逃れることができなかった。ああ——もし「不老不死の薬」を見つけられさえすれば、幸せになれるのだが。

The Emperor at last called a meeting of his courtiers and asked them all if they could not find for him the “Elixir of Life” of which he had so often read and heard.

とうとう帝は家臣を集めて、しばしば読み、また聞いてきた「不老不死の薬」を見つけてはくれぬかと、みなに問うた。

One old courtier, Jofuku by name, said that far away across the seas there was a country called Horaizan, and that certain hermits lived there who possessed the secret of the “Elixir of Life.” Whoever drank of this wonderful draught lived forever.

すると徐福(じょふく)という名の年長の家臣が、海のはるか向こうに蓬莱山という国があり、そこには「不老不死の薬」の秘密を持つ仙人たちが住んでいると申し上げた。この不思議な霊薬を飲んだ者は誰でも永遠に生きるのだという。

The Emperor ordered Jofuku to set out for the land of Horaizan, to find the hermits, and to bring him back a phial of the magic elixir. He gave Jofuku one of his best junks, fitted it out for him, and loaded it with great quantities of treasures and precious stones for Jofuku to take as presents to the hermits.

帝は徐福に、蓬莱山の地へ出かけて仙人たちを探し、魔法の霊薬の小瓶を持ち帰るようにと命じた。そして自分のいちばんよい船を一艘与えて仕度を整えさせ、徐福が仙人たちへの贈り物として持っていけるよう、おびただしい宝と宝石を積み込ませた。

Jofuku sailed for the land of Horaizan, but he never returned to the waiting Emperor; but ever since that time Mount Fuji has been said to be the fabled Horaizan and the home of hermits who had the secret of the elixir, and Jofuku has been worshiped as their patron god.

徐福は蓬莱山の地へ向けて船出したが、待つ帝のもとへ二度と帰ってこなかった。けれどもそれ以来、富士の山こそがあの伝説の蓬莱山であり、霊薬の秘密を持つ仙人たちの住まいであると言われ、徐福はその守り神として祀られてきた。

Now Sentaro determined to set out to find the hermits, and if he could, to become one, so that he might obtain the water of perpetual life. He remembered that as a child he had been told that not only did these hermits live on Mount Fuji, but that they were said to inhabit all the very high peaks.

さて千太郎は、仙人たちを探しに出かけ、できることなら自分もその一人となって、永遠の命の水を手に入れようと心を決めた。子どものころ、仙人は富士の山に住むばかりでなく、たいそう高い峰という峰に住むと言われていると聞かされたのを思い出した。

So he left his old home to the care of his relatives, and started out on his quest. He traveled through all the mountainous regions of the land, climbing to the tops of the highest peaks, but never a hermit did he find.

そこで千太郎は古い家を親族に任せ、その探索に出発した。国じゅうの山深い地をめぐり、いちばん高い峰の頂まで登ったが、仙人には一人も出会わなかった。

At last, after wandering in an unknown region for many days, he met a hunter.

とうとう、見も知らぬ土地を何日もさまよったのち、一人の猟師に出会った。

“Can you tell me,” asked Sentaro, “where the hermits live who have the Elixir of Life?”

「教えてくれまいか」と千太郎は尋ねた。「不老不死の薬を持つ仙人たちは、どこに住んでいるのだ。」

“No.” said the hunter; “I can’t tell you where such hermits live, but there is a notorious robber living in these parts. It is said that he is chief of a band of two hundred followers.”

「いや」と猟師は言った。「そんな仙人がどこに住んでいるかは教えられん。だがこのあたりには名高い盗賊が住んでいる。手下が二百人もいる一味の頭だという話だ。」

This odd answer irritated Sentaro very much, and he thought how foolish it was to waste more time in looking for the hermits in this way, so he decided to go at once to the shrine of Jofuku, who is worshiped as the patron god of the hermits in the south of Japan.

この見当違いの答えに千太郎はたいそう苛立ち、こんなやり方で仙人を探してこれ以上時を費やすのは愚かなことだと思った。そこですぐに、日本の南で仙人たちの守り神として祀られている徐福の社へ行こうと決めた。

Sentaro reached the shrine and prayed for seven days, entreating Jofuku to show him the way to a hermit who could give him what he wanted so much to find.

千太郎は社にたどり着き、七日のあいだ祈って、自分がこれほど切に求めるものを与えてくれる仙人のもとへの道を示してくださいと、徐福に願った。

At midnight of the seventh day, as Sentaro knelt in the temple, the door of the innermost shrine flew open, and Jofuku appeared in a luminous cloud, and calling to Sentaro to come nearer, spoke thus:

七日目の真夜中、千太郎が社にひざまずいていると、いちばん奥の神殿の戸がぱっと開き、徐福が光る雲のなかに現れて、千太郎にもっと近くへ来るように呼びかけ、こう告げた。

“Your desire is a very selfish one and cannot be easily granted. You think that you would like to become a hermit so as to find the Elixir of Life. Do you know how hard a hermit’s life is? A hermit is only allowed to eat fruit and berries and the bark of pine trees; a hermit must cut himself off from the world so that his heart may become as pure as gold and free from every earthly desire. Gradually after following these strict rules, the hermit ceases to feel hunger or cold or heat, and his body becomes so light that he can ride on a crane or a carp, and can walk on water without getting his feet wet.”

「そなたの願いはたいそう身勝手なもので、たやすくは聞き届けられぬ。そなたは不老不死の薬を見つけるために仙人になりたいと思っている。仙人の暮らしがどれほど厳しいか知っておるか。仙人は木の実と草の実と松の皮しか食べることを許されぬ。仙人はこの世から身を断ち、その心を黄金のように清らかに、あらゆる現世の欲から自由にせねばならぬ。この厳しい掟に従ううちに、仙人は次第に飢えも寒さも暑さも感じなくなり、その体はたいそう軽くなって、鶴や鯉に乗ることができ、足を濡らさずに水の上を歩けるようになるのだ。」

“You, Sentaro, are fond of good living and of every comfort. You are not even like an ordinary man, for you are exceptionally idle, and more sensitive to heat and cold than most people. You would never be able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin dress in the winter time! Do you think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a hermit’s life?”

「そなた、千太郎は、よい暮らしとあらゆる安楽を好む。並みの人間にさえ及ばぬ。並はずれて怠け者で、たいていの者よりも暑さ寒さに弱い。冬に裸足で歩くことも、薄い着物一枚で過ごすことも、とうてい叶うまい! そなたに仙人の暮らしを送るだけの辛抱や耐える力があるとでも思うのか。」

“In answer to your prayer, however, I will help you in another way. I will send you to the country of Perpetual Life, where death never comes—where the people live forever!”

「だが、そなたの祈りに応えて、別のやり方で助けてやろう。そなたを、死の訪れぬ国——人々が永遠に生きる、常世の国へ送ってやろう!」

Saying this, Jofuku put into Sentaro’s hand a little crane made of paper, telling him to sit on its back and it would carry him there.

そう言って徐福は、紙で折った小さな鶴を千太郎の手に置き、その背に乗ればそこへ運んでくれると告げた。

Sentaro obeyed wonderingly. The crane grew large enough for him to ride on it with comfort. It then spread its wings, rose high in the air, and flew away over the mountains right out to sea.

千太郎は不思議に思いながらも従った。鶴は、千太郎が楽に乗れるほどの大きさに育った。そして翼を広げ、空高く舞い上がって、山々を越えてまっすぐ海へと飛び去った。

Sentaro was at first quite frightened; but by degrees he grew accustomed to the swift flight through the air. On and on they went for thousands of miles. The bird never stopped for rest or food, but as it was a paper bird it doubtless did not require any nourishment, and strange to say, neither did Sentaro.

千太郎ははじめたいそう怯えたが、次第に空を切る速い飛翔に慣れていった。二人は何千マイルも進みつづけた。鳥は休みにも餌にも止まらなかったが、紙の鳥なのだから、きっと養いなど要らなかったのだろう。そして不思議なことに、千太郎もまた要らなかった。

After several days they reached an island. The crane flew some distance inland and then alighted.

幾日かののち、二人はひとつの島に着いた。鶴は内陸へいくらか飛んでから舞い降りた。

As soon as Sentaro got down from the bird’s back, the crane folded up of its own accord and flew into his pocket.

千太郎が鳥の背から降りるやいなや、鶴はひとりでに折りたたまれて、彼の懐へ飛び込んだ。

Now Sentaro began to look about him wonderingly, curious to see what the country of Perpetual Life was like. He walked first round about the country and then through the town. Everything was, of course, quite strange, and different from his own land. But both the land and the people seemed prosperous, so he decided that it would be good for him to stay there and took up lodgings at one of the hotels.

さて千太郎は、常世の国とはどんなところかと知りたくて、不思議がりながらあたりを見回しはじめた。まず国のまわりを歩き、それから町を抜けていった。もちろん何もかもがまるで見慣れぬもので、自分の国とは違っていた。けれども土地も人も栄えているように見えたので、ここにとどまるのがよいと決め、宿屋の一軒に部屋を取った。

The proprietor was a kind man, and when Sentaro told him that he was a stranger and had come to live there, he promised to arrange everything that was necessary with the governor of the city concerning Sentaro’s sojourn there. He even found a house for his guest, and in this way Sentaro obtained his great wish and became a resident in the country of Perpetual Life.

主人は親切な男で、千太郎がよそ者でここに住みに来たのだと話すと、この町の代官に掛け合って、千太郎の滞在に必要なことをみな整えてやろうと約束した。それどころか客のために家まで見つけてくれた。こうして千太郎は大きな願いを叶え、常世の国の住人となった。

Within the memory of all the islanders no man had ever died there, and sickness was a thing unknown. Priests had come over from India and China and told them of a beautiful country called Paradise, where happiness and bliss and contentment fill all men’s hearts, but its gates could only be reached by dying. This tradition was handed down for ages from generation to generation—but none knew exactly what death was except that it led to Paradise.

島の者たちが覚えているかぎり、ここで死んだ者は一人もなく、病というものは知られていなかった。天竺や中国から僧たちが渡ってきて、極楽という美しい国のことを語った。そこでは幸いと至福と満ち足りが人々の心を満たすのだが、その門には死ぬことによってしかたどり着けないのだという。この言い伝えは代々長く受け継がれてきた——けれども死が何なのかを正しく知る者は誰もおらず、ただそれが極楽に通じるということだけが知られていた。

Quite unlike Sentaro and other ordinary people, instead of having a great dread of death, they all, both rich and poor, longed for it as something good and desirable. They were all tired of their long, long lives, and longed to go to the happy land of contentment called Paradise of which the priests had told them centuries ago.

千太郎やそのほかの並みの人々とはまるで違って、島の人々は死を大いに恐れるどころか、富める者も貧しい者もみな、よいもの、望ましいものとしてそれを待ち望んでいた。誰もが長い長い生に飽き飽きしていて、何百年も前に僧たちが語った、極楽という満ち足りの国へ行きたがっていた。

All this Sentaro soon found out by talking to the islanders. He found himself, according to his ideas, in the land of Topsyturvydom. Everything was upside down. He had wished to escape from dying. He had come to the land of Perpetual Life with great relief and joy, only to find that the inhabitants themselves, doomed never to die, would consider it bliss to find death.

これらすべてを、千太郎は島の人々と話すうちにまもなく知った。自分の考えからすれば、あべこべの国にいることになる。何もかもが逆さまだった。千太郎は死から逃れたいと願っていた。大きな安堵と喜びとともに常世の国へやって来たのに、決して死ねぬ定めのこの住人たち自身は、死を見つけることこそ至福だと考えているのだった。

What he had hitherto considered poison these people ate as good food, and all the things to which he had been accustomed as food they rejected. Whenever any merchants from other countries arrived, the rich people rushed to them eager to buy poisons. These they swallowed eagerly, hoping for death to come so that they might go to Paradise.

千太郎がそれまで毒と思っていたものを、この人々はよい食べ物として食べ、彼が食べ物として慣れ親しんできたものはみな退けた。よその国から商人が着くと、富める者たちが我先にと駆け寄って毒を買った。極楽へ行けるように死が訪れることを願って、それを勢いよく飲み込むのである。

But what were deadly poisons in other lands were without effect in this strange place, and people who swallowed them with the hope of dying, only found that in a short time they felt better in health instead of worse.

けれどもよその土地では命取りの毒も、この不思議な場所では効かなかった。死ねると望んで飲み込んだ人々は、しばらくすると具合が悪くなるどころかかえってよくなることに気づくばかりだった。

Vainly they tried to imagine what death could be like. The wealthy would have given all their money and all their goods if they could but shorten their lives to two or three hundred years even. Without any change to live on forever seemed to this people wearisome and sad.

人々はむなしく、死とはどんなものかと思い描こうとした。裕福な者たちは、たとえ二、三百年でも寿命を縮められるものなら、金も財産もすべて差し出したであろう。何の移り変わりもなく永遠に生きるということは、この人々には退屈で悲しいことに思われたのである。

In the chemist shops there was a drug which was in constant demand, because after using it for a hundred years, it was supposed to turn the hair slightly gray and to bring about disorders of the stomach.

薬屋には、たえず引く手あまたの薬があった。百年ほど使うと髪がわずかに白くなり、胃の腑の具合を悪くするとされていたからである。

Sentaro was astonished to find that the poisonous globe-fish was served up in restaurants as a delectable dish, and hawkers in the streets went about selling sauces made of Spanish flies. He never saw any one ill after eating these horrible things, nor did he ever see any one with as much as a cold.

千太郎は、毒のある河豚が料理屋で美味として供され、街では行商人がスペイン蠅から作った薬味を売り歩いているのを見て驚いた。けれどもこの恐ろしいものを食べて具合を悪くした者を一人も見たことがなかったし、風邪ひとつ引いた者さえ見なかった。

Sentaro was delighted. He said to himself that he would never grow tired of living, and that he considered it profane to wish for death. He was the only happy man on the island. For his part he wished to live thousands of years and to enjoy life. He set himself up in business, and for the present never even dreamed of going back to his native land.

千太郎は大喜びであった。生きることに飽きることなど決してあるまい、死を願うなど罰当たりなことだと自分に言い聞かせた。この島でただ一人の幸せな男であった。彼としては幾千年も生きて、この世を楽しみたかった。商いを始め、当分のあいだは故郷へ帰ることなど夢にも思わなかった。

As years went by, however, things did not go as smoothly as at first. He had heavy losses in business, and several times some affairs went wrong with his neighbors. This caused him great annoyance.

けれども年が経つにつれ、物事は初めのように順調にはいかなくなった。商いで大きな損を出し、隣人たちとのあいだで何度か揉め事も起きた。それは千太郎をひどく煩わせた。

Time passed like the flight of an arrow for him, for he was busy from morning till night. Three hundred years went by in this monotonous way, and then at last he began to grow tired of life in this country, and he longed to see his own land and his old home. However long he lived here, life would always be the same, so was it not foolish and wearisome to stay on here forever?

千太郎にとって時は矢のように過ぎた。朝から晩まで忙しかったからである。こうして代わり映えのしないまま三百年が過ぎ、そしてとうとうこの国での暮らしに飽きはじめ、自分の国と故郷の家を見たくてたまらなくなった。ここにどれほど長く生きても、暮らしはいつも同じままなのだから、いつまでもここにとどまるのは愚かで退屈なことではないか。

Sentaro, in his wish to escape from the country of Perpetual Life, recollected Jofuku, who had helped him before when he was wishing to escape from death—and he prayed to the saint to bring him back to his own land again.

常世の国から逃れたいと願う千太郎は、かつて死から逃れたいと願ったときに助けてくれた徐福のことを思い出した。そしてどうか自分の国へ帰してくださいと、その神に祈った。

No sooner did he pray than the paper crane popped out of his pocket. Sentaro was amazed to see that it had remained undamaged after all these years. Once more the bird grew and grew till it was large enough for him to mount it. As he did so, the bird spread its wings and flew, swiftly out across the sea in the direction of Japan.

祈るやいなや、紙の鶴が懐から跳び出した。千太郎は、これほどの年月ののちにも傷ひとつなくそれが残っていたことに驚いた。鳥はふたたび大きくなっていき、彼が乗れるほどになった。千太郎が乗ると、鳥は翼を広げ、海を越えて日本の方角へ速やかに飛んだ。

Such was the willfulness of the man’s nature that he looked back and regretted all he had left behind. He tried to stop the bird in vain. The crane held on its way for thousands of miles across the ocean.

ところがこの男の気性のわがままなことには、千太郎は振り返って、あとに残してきたすべてを惜しんだ。鳥を止めようとしたがむだだった。鶴は大海原を何千マイルも飛びつづけた。

Then a storm came on, and the wonderful paper crane got damp, crumpled up, and fell into the sea. Sentaro fell with it. Very much frightened at the thought of being drowned, he cried out loudly to Jofuku to save him. He looked round, but there was no ship in sight. He swallowed a quantity of sea-water, which only increased his miserable plight. While he was thus struggling to keep himself afloat, he saw a monstrous shark swimming towards him. As it came nearer it opened its huge mouth ready to devour him. Sentaro was all but paralyzed with fear now that he felt his end so near, and screamed out as loudly as ever he could to Jofuku to come and rescue him.

そのとき嵐が来て、この不思議な紙の鶴は湿ってくしゃくしゃになり、海に落ちた。千太郎もともに落ちた。溺れると思うとひどく怯えて、助けてくれと徐福に大声で叫んだ。あたりを見回したが、船の影ひとつ見えなかった。海の水をしこたま飲み込み、それはみじめな有様をいっそう悪くするばかりだった。そうして浮かんでいようともがいていると、途方もなく大きな鮫が自分のほうへ泳いでくるのが見えた。近づくと鮫は、今にも呑み込もうと大きな口を開けた。最期が迫るのを感じて、千太郎は恐ろしさにほとんど身がすくみ、来て助けてくださいと、ありったけの大声で徐福に叫んだ。

Lo, and behold, Sentaro was awakened by his own screams, to find that during his long prayer he had fallen asleep before the shrine, and that all his extraordinary and frightful adventures had been only a wild dream. He was in a cold perspiration with fright, and utterly bewildered.

すると、なんと、千太郎は自分の叫び声で目を覚まし、長い祈りのあいだに社の前で眠り込んでいたこと、あの並はずれて恐ろしい冒険がみな荒唐無稽な夢にすぎなかったことを知った。恐ろしさに冷や汗をかき、すっかり途方に暮れていた。

Suddenly a bright light came towards him, and in the light stood a messenger. The messenger held a book in his hand, and spoke to Sentaro:

突然、明るい光が近づいてきて、その光のなかに使いの者が立っていた。使いは手に一冊の書を持ち、千太郎に語りかけた。

“I am sent to you by Jofuku, who in answer to your prayer, has permitted you in a dream to see the land of Perpetual Life. But you grew weary of living there, and begged to be allowed to return to your native land so that you might die. Jofuku, so that he might try you, allowed you to drop into the sea, and then sent a shark to swallow you up. Your desire for death was not real, for even at that moment you cried out loudly and shouted for help.”

「わたしは徐福に遣わされてまいった。徐福はそなたの祈りに応えて、夢のなかで常世の国を見ることを許されたのだ。だがそなたはそこに生きることに飽き、死ねるように故国へ帰してくれと乞うた。そこで徐福は、そなたを試すために海へ落とし、鮫を遣わして呑み込ませようとした。そなたの死への願いは本物ではなかった。そのときでさえ、そなたは大声で叫び、助けを求めたのだからな。」

“It is also vain for you to wish to become a hermit, or to find the Elixir of Life. These things are not for such as you—your life is not austere enough. It is best for you to go back to your paternal home, and to live a good and industrious life. Never neglect to keep the anniversaries of your ancestors, and make it your duty to provide for your children’s future. Thus will you live to a good old age and be happy, but give up the vain desire to escape death, for no man can do that, and by this time you have surely found out that even when selfish desires are granted they do not bring happiness.”

「仙人になろうとするのも、不老不死の薬を見つけようとするのも、そなたにはむなしいことだ。それはそなたのような者のためのものではない——そなたの暮らしは厳しさに欠けている。父祖の家へ帰り、善良で勤勉に生きるのがいちばんよい。先祖の年忌を欠かさず営み、子らの行く末を整えることを務めとせよ。そうすればよい老いを迎えて幸せに生きられよう。だが死から逃れようという空しい願いは捨てよ。誰にもそれはできぬのだから。そして今ごろはもう分かったであろう、身勝手な願いが叶えられても、それは幸いをもたらしはせぬのだと。」

“In this book I give you there are many precepts good for you to know—if you study them, you will be guided in the way I have pointed out to you.”

「そなたに与えるこの書には、知っておくとよい教えが数多く記されている——それを学べば、わたしが示した道へ導かれるであろう。」

The angel disappeared as soon as he had finished speaking, and Sentaro took the lesson to heart. With the book in his hand he returned to his old home, and giving up all his old vain wishes, tried to live a good and useful life and to observe the lessons taught him in the book, and he and his house prospered henceforth.

使いの者は語り終えるやいなや消え去り、千太郎はその教えを心に刻んだ。書を手に故郷の家へ帰り、昔の空しい願いをみな捨てて、善良で人の役に立つ暮らしを送り、書に説かれた教えを守ろうと努めた。そしてそれからのち、千太郎もその家も栄えたのである。