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Essays in Idleness (徒然草)
Cat: LAN
Pub: 1967
#1716b

Kenko Yoshida (吉田兼好); Donald Keene
up 17008
Title

Essays in Idleness

Essays in Idleness
Index
  1. つれづれなるまゝに
  2. いでや、この世に生れては:
  3. いにしへの聖の御代の政をもわすれ:
  4. 萬にいみじくとも:
  5. 後の世の事:
  6. 不幸に愁に沈める人の:
  7. 我が身のやんごとなからんにも:
  8. あだし野の露消ゆる時なく:
  9. 世の人の心を惑はすこと:
  10. 女は髪のめでたからんこそ:
  11. 家居のつきづきしく:
  12. 神無月の頃:
  13. 同じ心ならむ人と:
  14. ひとり灯のもとにて:
  15. 和歌こそなほをかしきものなれ:
  16. いづくにもあれ:
  17. 神樂こそ、なまめかしく:
  18. 山寺にかきこもりて:
  19. 人は己をつゞまやかにし:
  20. 折節の移り変わるこそ:
  21. 某とかやいひし世すて人の:
  22. 萬の事は、月見るにこそ:
  23. 何事も、古き世のみぞ:
  24. 衰へたる末の世とはいへど:
  25. 齋王の、野の宮におはします:
  26. 飛鳥川の淵瀬:
  27. 風も吹きあへず移ろふ人の:
  28. 御國ゆづりの節會:
  29. 諒闇の年ばかり:
  30. 靜かに思へば、よろづ過ぎにし:
  31. 人の亡き跡ばかり:
  32. 雪の面白う降りたりし:
  33. 九月二十日の頃:
  34. 今の内裏作り出されて:
  35. 甲香は、ほら貝の樣:
  36. 手の惡き人の:
  37. 久しく訪れぬ頃:
  38. 朝夕へだてなく:
  39. 名利に使はれて:
  40. 或人、法然上人に:
  41. 因幡の國に:
  42. 五月五日:
  43. 唐橋の中將といふ:
  44. 春の暮つかた:
  45. 怪しの竹の編戸:
  46. 公世の二位の兄に:
  47. 柳原の邊に:
  48. ある人清水へ参りけるに:
  49. 光親卿、院の最勝講奉行:
  50. 老來りて、始めて道を:
  51. 應長のころ、伊勢の國:
  52. 龜山殿の御池に:
  53. 仁和寺に、ある法師:
  54. これも仁和寺の法師:
  55. 御室に、いみじき兒の:
  56. 家の作りやうは:
  57. 久しく隔たりて:
  58. 人のかたり出でたる:
  59. 道心あらば住む所に:
  60. 大事を思ひたたむ人は:
  61. 眞乘院に、盛親僧都とて:
  62. 御産の時:
  63. 延政門院幼く:
  64. 後七日の阿闍梨:
  65. 車の五緒は:
  66. このごろの冠は:
  67. 岡本關白殿:
  68. 賀茂の岩本、橋本は:
  69. 筑紫に、なにがしの押領使:
  70. 書寫の上人は:
  71. 玄應の清暑堂:
  72. 名を聞くより:
  73. 賎しげなるもの:
  74. 世にかたり傳ふる:
  75. 蟻の如くに:
  76. つれづれわぶる人:
  77. 世の覚え花やかなる:
  78. 世の中に、そのころ人の:
  79. 今樣の事ども:
  80. 何事も入りたたぬ:
  81. 人ごとに、我が身にうとき事を:
  82. 屏風・障子などの繪も文字も:
  83. 羅の表紙は:
  84. 竹林院入道左大臣殿:
  85. 法顯三藏の天竺に渡りて:
  86. 人の心すなほならねば:
  87. 惟繼中納言は:
  88. 下部に酒のまする事は:
  89. 或者、小野道風の書ける和漢朗詠集とて:
  90. 奧山に、猫またと云ふものありて:
  91. 大納言法印の召し使ひし乙鶴丸:
  92. 赤舌日といふ事:
  93. ある人、弓射る事を習ふに:
  94. 牛を賣る者あり:
  95. 常磐井相國:
  96. 箱のくりかたに緒を著くる事:
  97. めなもみといふ草あり:
  98. 其の物につきて:
  99. 尊き聖のい云ひ置きけることを:
  100. 堀河の相國は、美男のたのしき人にて:
  101. 久我の相國は:
  102. ある人、任大臣の節會の内辨を:
  103. 尹大納言光忠卿:
  104. 大覺寺殿にて、近習の人ども:
  105. 荒れたる宿の、人目なきに:
  106. 北の家陰に消え殘りたる雪の:
  107. 高野の證空上人、京へ上りけるに:
  108. 女の物いひかけたる返り事:
  109. 寸陰惜しむ人なし:
  110. 高名の木のぼりといひし男:
  111. 雙六の上手といひし人に:
  112. 囲碁・雙六好みてあかし暮す人は:
  113. 明日は遠國へ赴くべしと聞かん人に:
  114. 四十にも餘りぬる人の:
  115. 今出川のおほい殿:
  116. 宿河原といふ所にて:
  117. 寺院の號、さらぬ萬の物にも名をつくること:
  118. 友とするに惡き者、七つあり:
  119. 鯉の羮食ひたる日は:
  120. 鎌倉の海に鰹といふ魚は:
  1. 唐の物は、藥の外は:
  2. 養ひ飼ふものには馬・牛:
  3. 人の才能は、文明らかにして:
  4. 無益の事をなして時を移すを:
  5. 是法法師は、淨土宗に恥ぢずと雖も:
  6. 人に後れて、四十九日の佛事に:
  7. ばくちの負け極まりて、殘りなくうち入れむとせむに:
  8. 改めて益なきことは:
  9. 雅房大納言は、才賢く、善き人にて:
  10. 顔囘は、志、人に勞を施さじとなり:
  11. 物に爭はず、己を枉げて人に從ひ:
  12. 貧しきものは財をもて禮とし:
  13. 鳥羽の作り道は:
  14. 夜の御殿は東御枕なり:
  15. 高倉院の法華堂の三昧僧、何某の律師:
  16. 資季大納言入道とかや聞えける人:
  17. 醫師篤成、故法皇の御前に候ひて:
  18. 花は盛りに、月は隈なきをのみ見るものかは:
  19. 祭過ぎぬれば、後の葵不用なり:
  20. 家にありたき木は、松・櫻:
  21. 身死して財殘ることは:
  22. 悲田院の尭蓮上人:
  23. 心なしと見ゆる者も:
  24. 人の終焉の有樣のいみじかりし事など:
  25. 栂尾の上人道を過ぎたまひけるに:
  26. 御隨身秦重躬:
  27. 明雲座主、相者に逢ひ給ひて:
  28. 灸治、あまた所になりぬれば:
  29. 四十以後の人:
  30. 鹿茸を鼻にあてて:
  31. 能をつかんとする人:
  32. ある人の曰く、年五十になるまで:
  33. 西大寺靜然上人:
  34. 爲兼大納言入道召し捕られて:
  35. この人、東寺の門に雨宿りせられたりけるに:
  36. 世に從はむ人は、まづ機嫌を知るべし:
  37. 大臣の大饗は、さるべき所を申し受けて:
  38. 筆をとれば物書かれ:
  39. 杯の底を捨つることは:
  40. みなむすびといふは:
  41. 門に額懸くるを、打つといふは:
  42. 花の盛りは、冬至より百五十日とも:
  43. 遍昭寺の承仕法師、池の鳥を:
  44. 太衝の太の字:
  45. 世の人相逢ふ時:
  46. 東の人の、都の人に交はり:
  47. 人間の營みあへる業を見るに:
  48. 一道に携はる人、あらぬ道の席に臨みて:
  49. 年老いたる人の、一事すぐれたる才能ありて:
  50. 何事の式といふ事は、後嵯峨の御代迄は:
  51. さしたる事なくて人の許行くは:
  52. 貝をおほふ人の、わが前なるをばおきて:
  53. 若き時は、血氣内にあまり:
  54. 小野小町がこと、極めて定かならず:
  55. 小鷹によき犬、大鷹に使ひぬれば:
  56. 世には心得ぬ事の多きなり;
  57. 黑戸は、小松の御門位に即かせ給ひて;
  58. 鎌倉の中書王にて御鞠ありけるに:
  59. ある所の侍ども、内侍所の御(み)神樂を見て:
  60. 入宋の沙門、道眼上人:
  61. さぎちゃう は、正月に打ちたる毬杖を:
  62. 降れ降れ粉雪、たんばの粉雪:
  63. 四條大納言隆親卿、乾鮭といふものを:
  64. 人突く牛をば角を切り:
  65. 相模守時頼の母は、松下禪尼:
  66. 城陸奧守泰盛は、雙なき馬乘りなりけり:
  67. 吉田と申す馬乘りの申し侍りしは:
  68. 萬の道の人、たとひ不堪なりといへども:
  69. ある者、子を法師になして:
  70. 今日はその事をなさむと思へど:
  71. 妻といふものこそ、男の持つまじきものなれ:
  72. 夜に入りて物のはえ無しといふ人:
  73. 神佛にも、人の詣でぬ日:
  74. くらき人の、人をはかりて:
  75. 達人の人を見る眼は:
  76. ある人、久我畷を通りけるに:
  77. 東大寺の神輿、東寺の若宮より歸座のとき:
  78. 諸寺の僧のみにもあらず:
  79. 揚名介に限らず:
  80. 横川の行宣法印が申しはべりしは:
  81. 呉竹は葉ほそく:
  82. 退凡・下乘の卒塔婆:
  83. 十月を神無月と云ひて:
  84. 勅勘の所に靫かくる作法:
  85. 犯人を笞にて打つ時は:
  86. 比叡山に、大師勸請の起請文といふ事は:
  87. 徳大寺右大臣殿、檢非違使の別當のとき:
  88. 龜山殿建てられむとて:
  89. 經文などの紐を結ふに:
  90. 人の田を論ずるもの:
  91. 喚子鳥は春のものなり:
  92. 萬の事は頼むべからず:
  93. 秋の月は、限りなくめでたきものなり:
  94. 御前の火爐に火おく時は:
  95. 想夫戀といふ樂は:
  96. 平宣時朝臣、老いの後:
  97. 最明寺入道、鶴岡の社參の序に:
  98. ある大福長者の曰く:
  99. 狐は人に食ひつく者なり:
  100. 四條黄門命ぜられて曰く:
  101. 何事も邊土は、卑しく頑なれども:
  102. 建治・弘安のころは、祭の日の放免:
  103. 竹谷の乘願房、東二條院へ參られたりけるに:
  104. 田鶴の大臣殿は、童名たづ君なり:
  105. 陰陽師有宗入道、鎌倉より上りて:
  106. 多久資が申しけるは:
  107. 後鳥羽院の御時、信濃前司行長稽古:
  108. 六時禮讃は、法然上人の弟子:
  109. 千本の釋迦念佛は:
  110. よき細工は、少し鈍き刀を:
  111. 五條の内裏には妖物ありけり:
  112. 園の別當入道は、雙なき庖丁者なり:
  113. すべて人は、無智無能なるべきものなり:
  114. 萬の科あらじと思はば:
  115. 人の物を問ひたるに:
  116. 主ある家には、すゞろなる人:
  117. 丹波に出雲といふ所あり:
  118. 柳筥に据うるものは:
  119. 御隨身近友が自讚とて、七箇條:
  120. 八月十五日、九月十三日は:
  121. しのぶの浦の蜑のみるめも所狹く:
  122. 望月の圓なる事は:
  123. とこしなへに、違順につかはるゝ事は、偏に:
  124. 八つになりし年、父に問ひて云は:
Why?
  • This 'Essays in Idleness' by Yoshida Kenko was smartly translated by Donald Keene.
  • It is useful and interesting to compare the original archaic Japanese and English translation.
Résumé
Remarks

>Top

0. つれづれなるまゝに:

  • つれづれなるまゝに、日暮らし、硯に向ひて、心に移り行くよしなしごとを、そこはかとなく書きつくれば、怪しうこそ物狂ほしけれ。
  • つれづれ: 退屈, つくづく
  • よしなし; 由なし, 理由なし, くだらない
  • あやし; 奇･怪･異･賤し; 不思議な

0. Opening sentence:

  • What a strange, demented feeling it gives me when I realize I have spent whole days before this inkstone, with nothing better to do, jotting down at random whatever nonsensical thoughts have entered my head.

>Top 1. いでや、この世に生れては:

  • いでや、この世に生れては、願はしかるべきことこそ多かめれ帝の御位はいともかしこし。竹の園生の末葉まで、人間の種ならぬぞやんごとなき。一の人の御有様はさらなり、ただ人も、舎人などたまはる際は、ゆゆしと見ゆ。その子・孫までは、はふれにたれど、なほなまめかし。それより下つ方は、ほどにつけつつ、時に逢ひ、したり顔なる も、みづからはいみじと思ふらめど、いと口惜し。
  • 法師ばかり羨しからぬものはあらじ。「人には木の端のやうに思はるるよ」と清少納言が書けるも、げにさることぞかし。勢猛に、のゝしり たるにつけて、いみじとは見えず。増賀聖のいひけんやうに、名聞くるしく、佛の御教に違ふらむとぞ覚ゆる。ひたふるの世すて人は、なかなかあらまほしき方もありなん。
  • 人は、かたち・有樣の勝れたらんこそ、あらまほしかるべけれ。物うち言ひたる、聞きにくからず、愛敬ありて、言葉多からぬこそ、飽かず向はまほしけれ。めでたしと見る人の、心劣りせらるゝ本性見えんこそ、口をしかるべけれ。
  • 人品・容貌こそ生れつきたらめ、心はなどか、賢きより賢きにも、移さば移らざらん。かたち・心ざまよき人も、才なくなりぬれば、しな(＝人品)くだり、顔憎さげなる人にも立ちまじりて、かけずけおさるゝこそ、本意なきわざなれ。
  • ありたき事は、まことしき文の道、作文・和歌・管絃の道、また有職に公事の方、人の鏡ならんこそいみじかるべけれ。手など拙からず走りかき、聲をかしくて拍子とり、いたましうするものから、下戸ならぬこそ男はよけれ。
  • いで･や: さてまあ、さあ
  • ゆゆし, 斎斎し: 忌まわしい, 不吉だ, よろしくない
  • はふる, 放る: 落ちぶれる
  • けおさる, 気圧さる: 圧倒される
  • ほいなし, 本意無し: 不本意だ、残念だ

1. A person's life:

  • It is enough, it would seem, to have been born into this world for a man to desire many things. The position of the emperor, of course, is far too exalted for our aspirations. Even the remote descendants of the imperial line are sacred, for they are not of the seed of man. Ordinary nobles of a rank that entitles them to retainers - let alone those who stand in the solitary grandeurs of the chancellor - appear most impressive, and even their children and grandchildren, though their fortunes may decline, still possess a distinctive elegance. Persons of lower rank, fortunate may decline, still possess a distinctive elegance. Persons of lower rank, fortunate enough to achieve some success in keeping with their station, are apt to wear looks of self-satisfaction and no doubt consider themselves most important, but actually they are quite insignificant.
  • No one is less to be envied than a priest. Sei Shonagon wrote of priests that they seemed to outsiders "like sticks of woods," an apt description. The clerics impress nobody, even when they flaunt their authority and their importance is loudly proclaimed. It is easy to see why the holy man Soga should have said that worldly fame is unseemly in priests, and that those who seek it violate the teachings of Buddah. A true hermit might, in fact, seem more admirable.
  • It is desirable that a man's face and figure be of excelling beauty, I could sit forever with a man, provided that what he said did not grate on my ears, that he had charm, and that he did not talk very much. What an unpleasant experience it is when someone you have supposed to be quite distinguished reveals his true, inferior nature. A man's social position and looks are likely to be determined at birth, but why should not a man's mind go from wisdom to greater wisdom if it is so disposed? What a shame it is when men of excellent appearance and character prove hopelessly inept in social encounters with their inferiors in both position and appearance, solely because they are badly educated.
  • A familiarity with orthodox scholarship, the ability to compose poetry and prose in Chinese, a knowledge of Japanese poetry and music are all desirable, and if a man can serve as a model to others in matters of precedent and court ceremony, he is truly impressive. The mark of a excellent man is that he writes easily in an acceptable hand, sings agreeably and in tune, and, though appearing reluctant to accept when wine is pressed on him, is not a teetotaler.

>Top 2. いにしへの聖の御代の政:

  • いにしへの聖の御代の政をも忘れ、民の愁へ、國のそこなはるゝをも知らず、萬にきよらを盡して、いみじと思ひ、所狹きさましたる人こそ、うたて、思ふところなく見ゆれ。
  • 「衣冠より馬・車に至るまで、あるにしたがいて用ゐよ。美麗を求むることなかれ」とぞ、九條殿の遺誡にも侍る。順徳院の、禁中の事ども書かせ給へるにも、「おほやけの奉物は、おろそかなるをもてよしとす」とこそ侍れ。
  • きよら, 清ら: 気品がある, 華麗だ
  • うたて, うたた: 異様に、不快に

2. Simple and sturdy:

  • The man who forgets the wise principles of the reigns of the ancient emperors; who gives no thought to the grievances of the people or the harm done the country; who strives for the utmost luxury in everything, imaging this is the sign of magnificence; who acts as if the world were too small for him seems deplorably wanting in intelligence. Your will find in Lord Kujo's Testament the instruction, "Make do with whatever you have, from your court costume down to your horses and carriages. Do not strive for elegance." Again, you will find among the writings of the Retired Emperor Juntoku on court ceremonial, "The clothes worn by the emperor should be simple and unassuming."

>Top 3. 萬にいみじくとも、色好まざらん男は:

  • 萬にいみじくとも、色好まざらん男は、いとさうざうしく、玉の巵(さかづき)の底なき心地ぞすべき。
  • 露霜にしほたれて、所さだめず惑ひ歩き、親のいさめ、世の謗りをつゝむに心のいとまなく、合ふさ離(き)るさに思ひ亂れ、さるは獨り寢がちに、まどろむ夜なきこそ、をかしけれ。
  • さりとて、一向(ひたすら)たはれたる方にはあらで、女にたやすからず思はれんこそ、あらまほしかるべき業なれ。
  • さうざうし: <索索し; 物足りない、心寂しい
  • たはれ: <戯れ; 好色

3. About love:

  • A man may excel at everything else, but if he has no taste for lovemaking, one feels something terribly inadequate about him, as if he were a valuable winecup without a bottom.
  • What a charming figure is the lover, his clothes drenched with dew or frost, wandering about aimlessly, so fearful of his parents' reproaches or people's gossip that he has not a moment's peace of mind, frantically resorting to one unsuccessful stratagem after another; and for all that, most often sleeping alone, though never soundly.
  • But it is best that a man not be given over completely to fleshly pleasures, and that woman not consider him an easy conquest.

>Top 4. 後の世の事、心に忘れず:

  • 後の世の事、心に忘れず、佛の道うとからぬ、心にくし。
  • うとし, 疎し: 親しくない; 不案内の; 無関心だ

4. Becoming a Buddhist priest:

  • It is admirable when a man keeps his thoughts constantly on the future life and is not remiss in his devotions to the Way of the Buddha.

>Top 5. 不幸に愁に沈める人の:

  • 不幸に愁に沈める人の、頭おろしなど、ふつゝかに思ひとりたるにはあらで、有るか無きかに門さしこめて、待つこともなく明し暮らしたる、さるかたにあらまほし。
  • 顯基中納言のいひけん、「配所の月、罪なくて見ん事」、さも覚えぬべし。
  • ふつつか, 不束: 不格好、考えが浅い,

5. Looking at the moon from an exile:

  • It is better for a man sunken in grief over misfortunes to shut his gate and live in seclusion, so quietly, awaiting nothing, that people cannot tell whether or not he is at home, rather than that he hastily decide to have his head and become a priest.
  • Akimoto, the middle counselor, once spoke of wishing "to see the moon of exile, though guilty of no crime." It is easy to imagine why he felt so.

>Top 6. 我が身のやんごとなからんにも:

  • 我が身のやんごとなからんにも、まして數ならざらんにも、子といふもの無くてありなん。
  • 前中書王・九條太政大臣・花園左大臣、皆 族絶えん事を願ひ給へり。染殿大臣も、「子孫おはせぬぞよく侍る。末の後れ給へるは、わろき事なり」とぞ、世繼の翁の物語にはいへる。聖徳太子の御墓を、かねて築かせ給ひける時も、「こゝをきれ、かしこを斷て。子孫あらせじと思ふなり」と侍りけるとかや。

6. No children:

  • Even members of the nobility, let alone persons of no consequence, would do well not to have children. Prince Kaneakira, Fujiwara no Koremichi, and Minamoto no Arihito all desired that their line end with themselves. Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, according to the account in Okagami, was of the same opinion. He wrote, "You would best not have descendants. How unfortunate it would be if they proved inferior to yourself!" They say that when Prince Shotoku had a tomb built for himself before his death, he ordered the workmen to "cut here, trim there - I wish for no descendants."

>Top 7. あだし野の露消ゆる時なく:

  • あだし野の露消ゆる時なく、鳥部山の煙立ちさらでのみ住み果つる習ひならば、いかに、物の哀れもなからん。世は定めなきこそいみじけれ。
  • 命あるものを見るに、人ばかり久しきはなし。かげろふの夕を待ち、夏の蝉の春秋を知らぬもあるぞかし。つくづくと一年を暮らす程だにも、こよなうのどけしや。飽かず、惜しと思はば、千年を過すとも、一夜の夢の心地こそせめ。住みはてぬ世に、醜きすがたを待ちえて、何かはせん。命長ければ辱多し。長くとも四十に足らぬほどにて死なんこそ、目安かるべけれ。
  • そのほど過ぎぬれば、かたちを恥づる心もなく、人に出でまじらはん事を思ひ、夕の日に子孫を愛して、榮行く末を見んまでの命をあらまし、ひたすら世を貪る心のみ深く、物のあはれも知らずなり行くなん、浅ましき。
  • むさぼる, 貪る: 欲深い; 執着する
  • あはれ, 情趣がある: 優れている; 不憫だ; 悲しい

7. Indefinite life:

  • If man were never to fade away like the dews of Adashino, never to vanish like the smoke over Toribeyama, but lingered on forever in the world, how things would lose their power to move us! The most precious thing in life is its uncertainty.
  • Consider living creatures - none lives so long as man. They May fly waits not for the evening, the summer cicada knows neither spring nor autumn. What a wonderfully unhurried feeling it is to live even a single year in perfect serenity! If that is not enough for you, you might live a thousand years and still fell it was but a single night's dream. We cannot live forever in this world; why should we wait for ugliness to overtake us? The longer man lives, the more shame he endures. To die, at the latest, before one reaches forty, is the least unattractive.
  • Once a man passes that age, he desires (with no sense of shame over his appearance) to mingle in the company of others. In his sunset years he dotes on his grandchildren, and prays for long life so that he may see them prosper. His preoccupation with worldly desires grows ever deeper, and gradually he loses all sensitivity to the beauty of things, a lamentable state of affairs.

>Top 8. 世の人の心を惑はすこと:

  • 世の人の心を惑はすこと、色欲には如かず。人の心は愚かなるものかな。
  • 匂ひなどは假のものなるに、しばらく衣裳に薫物(たきもの)すと知りながら、えならぬ匂ひには、必ず心ときめきするものなり。久米の仙人の、物洗ふ女の脛(はぎ)の白きを見て、通を失ひけんは、まことに手足・膚(はだえ)などのきよらに、肥え膏(あぶら)づきたらんは、外の色ならねば、さもあらんかし。
  • たきもの, 薫き物: 練り香
  • そと, 外: 着物の外の方

8. Lust:

  • Nothing leads a man astray so easily as sexual desire. What a foolish thing a man's heart is! Though we realize, for example, that fragrances are short-lived and the scent burnt into clothes lingers but briefly, how our hearts always leap when we catch a whiff of an exquisite perfume! The holy man of Kume lost his magic powers after noticing the whiteness of the legs of a girl who was washing clothes; this was quite understandable, considering that the glowing plumpness of her arms, legs, and flesh owed nothing to artifice.

>Top 9. 女は髪のめでたからんこそ:

  • 女は髪のめでたからんこそ、人の目だつべかめれ。人の程、心ばへなどは、もの言ひたるけはひにこそ、物越しにも知らるれ。
  • 事に觸れて、うちあるさまにも、人の心をまどはし、すべて女の、うちとけたる寝も寝ず、身を惜しとも思ひたらず、堪ふべくもあらぬ業にもよく堪へ忍ぶは、たゞ色を思ふがゆゑなり。
  • まことに、愛著の道、その根深く、源遠し。六塵の樂欲多しといへども、皆厭離しつべし。その中に、たゞ、かの惑ひのひとつ止めがたきのみぞ、老いたるも若きも、智あるも愚かなるも、変はる所なしとぞ見ゆる。
  • されば、女の髪筋を縒(よ)れる綱には、大象もよくつながれ(＝大威徳陀羅尼經)、女のはける足駄にて造れる笛には、秋の鹿、必ず寄るとぞ言ひ傳へ侍る。自ら戒めて、恐るべく愼むべきは、この惑ひなり。
  • まどひ, 惑い:
  • よる, 縒･搓･撚る: よじる

9. Woman's hair:

  • Beautiful hair, of all things in a woman, is most likely to catch a man's eye. Her character and temperament may be guessed from the first words she utters, even if she is hidden behind a screen.
  • When a woman somehow - perhaps unintentionally - has captured a man's heart she is generally unable to sleep peacefully. She will not hesitate to subject herself to hardships, and will even endure cheerfully what she would normally find intolerable, all because love means so much to her.
  • The love of men and women is truly a deep-seated passion with distant roots. The senses give rise to many desires, but it should be possible to shun them all. Only one, infatuation, is impossible to control; old or young wise or foolish, in this respect all seem identical.
  • That is why they say that even a great elephant can be fastened securely with a rope plaited from the strands of a woman's hairs, and that a flute made from a sandal a woman has worn will infallibly summon the autumn deer. We must guard against this delusion of the senses, which is to be dreaded an avoided.

>Top 10. 家居のつきづきしく、あらまほしきこそ:

  • 家居のつきづきしく、あらまほしきこそ、假の宿りとは思へど、興あるものなれ。
  • よき人の、長閑に住みなしたる所は、さし入りたる月の色も、一際しみじみと見ゆるぞかし。今めかしくきらゝかならねど、木立ちものふりて、 わざとならぬ庭の草も心ある樣に、簀子・透垣のたよりをかしく、うちある調度も昔覚えてやすらかなるこそ、心にくしと見ゆれ。
  • 多くの工の心を盡して磨きたて、唐の、大和の、珍しく、えならぬ調度ども並べおき、前栽の草木まで、心のまゝならず作りなせるは、見る目も苦しく、いとわびし。さてもやは、存へ住むべき、また、時の間の烟ともなりなんとぞ、うち見るよりも思はるゝ。 大かたは、家居にこそ事ざまは推しはからるれ。
  • 後徳大寺の大臣の寢殿に、鳶ゐさせじとて、縄を張られたりけるを、西行が見て、「鳶の居たらんは、何かは苦しかるべき。この殿の御心、さばかり にこそ」とて、その後は參らざりけると聞き侍るに、綾小路宮のおはします小坂殿の棟に、いつぞや繩を引かれたりしかば、かの例思ひ出でられ侍り しに、誠や、「烏のむれゐて池の蛙をとりければ、御覧じ悲しませ給ひてなん」と人の語りしこそ、さてはいみじくこそと覚えしか。
  • 徳大寺にも、いかなる故か侍りけん。
  • ゐる, 居る: 座る; じっとしている

10. An ideal house:

  • A house, I know, is but a temporary abode, but how delightful it is to find one that has harmonious proportions and a pleasant atmosphere.
  • One feels somehow that even moonlight, when it shines into the quiet domicile of a person of taste, is more affecting than elsewhere. A house, though it may no be in the current fashion or elaborately decorated, will appear to us by its unassuming beauty - a grove of trees with an indefinably ancient look; a garden where plants, growing of their own accord, have a special charm; a verandah and an open-work wooden fence of interesting construction; and a few personal effects left carelessly lying about, giving the place an air of having been lived in.
  • A house which multitudes of workmen have polished with every care, where strange and rare Chinese and Japanese furnishings are displayed, and even the grasses and trees of the garden have been trained unnaturally, is ugly to look at and most depressing. How could anyone live for long in such a place? The most casual glance will suggest how likely such a house is, to turn in a moment to smoke. A man's character, as a rule, may be known from the place where he lives.
  • The Gotokudaiji minister stretched a rope across his roof to keep the kites from roosting. Saigyo, seeing the rope, asked, "Why should it bother him if kites perch there? That shows you the kind of man this prince is." I have heard that Saigyo never visited him again. I remembered this story not long ago when I noticed a rope stretched over the roof of the Kosaka palace, where Prince Ayanokoji lives. Someone told me that, as a matter of fact, it distressed the prince to see how crows clustering on the roof would swoop down to seize frogs in the pond.
  • The story impressed me, and made me wonder if Sanesada may not also have had some such reason.

>Top 11. 神無月の頃:

  • 神無月の頃、栗栖野(くるすの)といふ所を過ぎて、ある山里に尋ね入る事侍りしに、遙かなる苔の細道をふみわけて、心細く住みなしたる庵あ り。木の葉に埋もるる筧(かけい)の雫ならでは、露おとなふものなし。閼伽棚(あかだな)に、菊・紅葉など折りちらしたる、さすがに住む人のあればなるべし。
  • かくても在られけるよと、あはれに見る程に、かなたの庭に大きなる柑子(こうじ)の木の、枝もたわゝになりたるが、まはりを嚴しく圍ひたりしこそ、少しことさめて、この木なからましかばと覺えしか。
  • あか, 閼伽: 仏前の供え物
  • おとなふ; 音を立てる, 響く; 訪れる; 手紙を出す (お便り)

11. Uninteresting guard fence:

  • About the tenth month I had the occasion to visit a village beyond the place called Kurusuno. I made my way far down a moss-covered path until I reached a lonely-looking hut. Not a sound could be heard, except for the dripping of a water pipe buried in fallen leaves. Sprays of chrysanthemum and red maple leaves had been carelessly arranged on the holy-water shelf. Evidently somebody was living here.
  • Moved, I was thinking, "One can live even in such a place, " when I noticed in the garden beyond a great tangerine tree, its branches bent with fruit, that had been enclosed by a forbidding fence. Rather disillusioned, I thought now, "If only the tree had not been there!"

>Top 12. 同じ心ならむ人と:

  • 同じ心ならむ人と、しめやかに物語して、をかしき事も、世のはかなき事も、うらなくいひ慰まんこそ嬉しかるべきに、さる人あるまじければ、露違はざらんと向ひ居たらんは、ただひとりある心地やせん。
  • 互に言はんほどのことをば、「げに」と聞くかひあるものから、いさゝか違ふ所もあらん人こそ、「我は然(さ)やは思ふ」など爭ひ憎(にく)み、「さるか ら、さぞ」ともうち語らはば、つれづれ慰まめと思へど、げには、少しかこつかたも、我と等しからざらん人は、大かたのよしなしごといはん程こそあらめ、まめやかの心の友には、遙かにへだたる所のありぬべきぞ、わびしきや。
  • かこつ, 託つ: 託言, かこつける; 他のせいにする, ぐちをこぼす

12. A true friend:

  • How delightful it would be to converse intimately with someone of the same mind, sharing with him the pleasures of uninhibited conversation on the amusing and foolish things of this world, but such friends are hard to find. If you must take care that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone. You might suppose that a man who listens in general agreement to what the other person is saying, but differs on minor points - who may contest an opinion, saying, "How can I possibly agree?" or argue, "It's precisely because of this that that is the case" - would be a great comfort when you were bored, but as a matter of fact, if ever anything is said which might require a word of apology - of course, even when conversing with people who are not of the same mind, differences over the usual insignificant gossip do not matter - one realizes sadly what a great distance separated this man from the true friends of one's heart.

>Top 13. ひとり灯のもとに文をひろげて:

  • ひとり灯のもとに文をひろげて、見ぬ世の人を友とするこそ、こよなう慰むわざなる。
  • 文は文選のあはれなる卷々、白氏文集 (＝白樂天の詩集)、老子のことば、南華の篇。この國の博士どもの書けるものも、いにしへのは、あはれなる事多かり。
  • あはれ: 感動、情趣、悲哀、同情、情愛、尊敬

13. Recommendable books:

  • The pleasantest of all diversions is to sit alone under the lamp, a book spread out before you, and to make friends with people of a distant past you have never known.
  • The books I would choose are the moving volumes of Wen Hsüan, the collected works of Po Shui, the sayings of Lao Tzu, and the chapters of Chuang Tzu. Among works by scholars of this country, those written long ago are often quite interesting.

>Top 14. 和歌こそ なほをかしきものなれ:

  • 和歌こそなほをかしきものなれ。あやしの賤・山がつの所作も、いひ出でつれば面白く、恐ろしき猪のししも、「臥猪の床(ふすどのとこ)」といへば、やさしくなりぬ。
  • この頃の歌は、一ふしをかしく言ひかなへたりと見ゆるはあれど、古き歌どものやうに、いかにぞや、言葉の外に、哀れに、けしき覺ゆるはなし。貫之が、 「絲による物ならなくに」といへるは、古今集の中の歌屑とかや言ひ傳へたれど、今の世の人の詠みぬべきことがらとは見えず。その世の歌には、すがた・言葉、この類のみ多し。この歌に限りて、かくいひ立てられたるも知りがたし。源氏物語には、「物とはなしに」とぞ書ける。新古今には、「のこる松さへ峰にさびしき」といへる歌をぞいふなるは、誠に、少しくだけたるすがたにもや見ゆらん。されどこの歌も、衆議判(すぎはん)の時、よろしきよし沙汰ありて、後にもことさらに感じ、仰せ下されける由、家長が日記には書けり。
  • 歌の道のみ、いにしへに變らぬなどいふ事もあれど、いさや。今もよみあへる同じ詞・歌枕も、昔の人の詠めるは、更に同じものにあらず。やすくすなほにして、姿も清げに、あはれも深く見ゆ。
  • 梁塵秘抄の郢曲(えいきょく)の言葉こそ、また、あはれなる事は多かめれ。昔の人は、ただいかに言ひ捨てたる言種も、皆いみじく聞ゆるにや。
  • いさや: さあねえ; どうだろうか

14. Old poems:

  • There is charm too in the waka. the toil of the humblest peasant or woodcutter sounds delightful when described in a waka, and even the ferocious boar becomes gentle when the poets speak of "the couch of the sleeping boar."
  • Poems of recent times occasionally seem to contain an aptly turned line or two, but I wonder why one never senses in them as in the old poetry overtones going beyond the words. Tsurayuki's poem beginning, "Although it is not twisted together of threads" has the reputation of being among the dregs of the poetry in the Kokinshu, but I doubt that any poet today could display such mastery of style. the poems of that age are characterized by similar form and diction; I cannot understand why this particular poem should have acquired such a bad reputation. It is quoted in The Tale of Genji with the second line given as mono to wa nashi ni. The poem in the Shinkokinshu ending, "Even the pines, that remain unaffected, are lonely on the peak," has also been called a failure, and indeed the form seems somewhat irregular. However, even this poem was adjudged to be quite superior when it was submitted to a poetry competition, and in later times it especially touched an emperor, as we know from Ienaga's diary.
  • Some hold that the way of poetry alone remains unchanged since ancient times, but I wonder how true that is. The same words and subjects that might still be employed today meant something quite different when employed by the poets of ancient times. Their poems are simple and unaffected, and the lovely purity of the form creates a powerful impression.
  • The language of the ballads in Ryojin Hisho is also often marked by intensity of feeling. Why is it that even the most careless utterance of men of former days should sound so splendid?

>Top 15. いづくにもあれ、暫し旅立ちたるこそ:

  • いづくにもあれ、暫し旅立ちたるこそ、目さむる心地すれ。そのわたり、こゝかしこ見ありき、田舍びたる所、山里などは、いと目馴れぬことのみぞ多かる。都へたよりもとめて文やる。「その事かの事、便宜 (びんぎ) に忘るな」など、言ひやるこそをかしけれ。
  • さやうの所にてこそ、萬に心づかひせらるれ。持てる調度まで、よきはよく、能ある人・かたちよき人も、常よりはをかしとこそ見ゆれ。寺・社などに、忍びてこもりたるもをかし。
  • びんぎ, 便宜: 便利、都合、機会、音信

15. Good journey:

  • It wakes you up to take a journey for a while, whereever it may be. As you walk around the place, looking here and there at rustic scenes and mountain villages, everything seems most unfamiliar. and how amusing it is the way people snatch the first opportunity to send a letter back to the capital; "When you get the chance, don't forget to do this, don't forget to do that. " In such a place you really notice everything. Anything good - even the possessions you have brought along with you - seems better, and anyone you meet with artistic talent or handsome features seems more impressive than he usually would. It is delightful also to go into retreat at some temple or shrine, unknown to anyone.

>Top 16. 神樂こそ、なまめかしく:

  • 神樂こそ、なまめかしく、面白けれ。大かた、物の音には、笛・篳篥(ひちりき)、常に聞きたきは、琵琶・和琴(わごん)。

16. Sacred shinto music:

  • Kagura is charming and full of interest. In general, I enjoy the sound of the flute and reed pipe when played as the accompaniment for kagura, but for everyday listening, I prefer the biwa and the wagon.

>Top 17. 山寺にかきこもりて:

  • 山寺にかきこもりて、佛に仕うまつるこそ、つれづれもなく、心の濁りも清まる心地すれ。

17. A temple in a mountain:

  • When you go into retreat at a mountain temple and serve the Buddha, you are never at a loss how to spend you time, and you feel as though the impurities in your heart are being cleansed away.

>Top 18. 人は己をつゞまやかにし:

  • 人は己をつゞまやかにし、奢りを退けて、財(たから) をもたず、世を貪らざらんぞ、いみじかるべき。昔より、賢き人の富めるは稀なり。
  • 唐土に許由(きょゆう)といひつる人は、更に身に隨へる貯へもなくて、水をも手して捧げて飮みけるを見て、なりひさご(瓢)といふ物を人の得させたりければ、ある時、木の枝にかけたりければ、風に吹かれて鳴りけるを、かしかましとて捨てつ。また手に掬(むす)びてぞ水も飮みける。いかばかり心の中涼しかりけん。
  • 孫晨(そんしん)は冬の月に衾なくて、藁一束(ひとつかね)ありけるを、夕にはこれに臥し、朝にはをさめけり。唐土の人は、これをいみじと思へばこそ、記しとゞめて世にも傳へけめ、これらの人は、語りも傳ふべからず。
  • むさぼる, 貪る: 欲張る、執着
  • ひさご, 瓢･瓠･匏: 果実なりひさご、ひょうたん; ひしゃく

18. Ultimate simple life:

  • It is excellent for a man to be simple in his tastes, to avoid extravagance, to own no possessions, to entertain no craving for worldly success. It has been true since ancient days that wise men are rarely rich. In China there was once a man call Hsü Yu who owned not a single possession. Someone, seeing him use his hands to scoop up water for drinking, presented him with what is known as a "sounding gourd." For a time Hsü Yu hung it on the branch of a tree, but it rattle when the wind blew. "How noisy!" he said, and threw it away. Hsü Yu went back to drinking water scooped up in his hands. What a clean detachment must have been in his hear!
  • Sun Ch'en slept without a quilt during the winter months. All he had was a bundle of straw that he slept on at night and put away in the morning. The Chinese considered these men so notable that they recorded their biographies for the sake of later generations. People in our country would not even think it worth mentioning them.

>Top 19. 折節の移り変わるこそ:

  • 折節の移り変わるこそ、物ごとに哀れなれ。「物の哀れは秋こそまされ」と、人ごとに言ふめれど、それも さるものにて、今一きは心も浮きたつものは、春の景色にこそあめれ。鳥の聲などもことの外に春めきて、のどやかなる日かげに、垣根の草萌え出づる頃より、やゝ春ふかく霞みわたりて、花もやうやう氣色(けしき)だつほどこそあれ、折しも雨風うちつゞきて、心あわたゞしく散りすぎぬ。青葉になり行くまで、萬にただ心をのみぞ悩ます。花橘は名にこそおへれ、なほ、梅の匂ひにぞ、いにしへの事も立ちかへり戀しう思ひ出でらるゝ。山吹の清げに、藤のおぼつかなき樣したる、すべて、思ひすて難きこと多し。
  • 「灌佛のころ、祭のころ、若葉の梢涼しげに繁りゆくほどこそ、世のあはれも、人の戀しさもまされ」と、人の仰せられしこそ、げにさるものなれ。五月、あやめ葺くころ、早苗とるころ、水鷄(くいな)のたゝくなど、心ぼそからぬかは。六月の頃、あやしき家に夕顔の白く見えて、蚊遣火ふすぶるもあはれなり。六月祓またをかし。
  • 七夕祭るこそなまめかしけれ。やうやう夜寒になるほど、鴈なきて來る頃、萩の下葉色づくほど、早稻田(わさだ)刈りほすなど、とり集めたることは秋のみぞおほかる。また野分の朝こそをかしけれ。言ひつゞくれば、みな源氏物語、枕草紙などに事ふりにたれど、同じ事、また、今更にいはじとにもあらず。おぼしき事云はぬは腹ふくるゝわざなれば、筆にまかせつゝ、あぢきなきすさびにて、かつ破(や)り捨つべきものなれば、人の見るべきにもあらず。
  • さて冬枯の景色こそ、秋にはをさをさ劣るまじけれ。汀(みぎわ)の草に紅葉のちりとゞまりて、霜いと白う置ける朝、遣水より煙のたつこそをかしけれ。年の暮れはてて、人ごとに急ぎあへる頃ぞ、またなくあはれなる。すさまじき物にして見る人もなき月の寒けく澄める、二十日あまりの空こそ、心ぼそきものなれ。御佛名(おぶつみゃう)・荷前(のさき)の使立つなどぞ、哀れにやんごとなき、公事ども繁く、春のいそぎにとり重ねて催し行はるゝ樣ぞ、いみじきや。追儺(ついな)より四方拜につゞくこそ、面白ろけれ。晦日の夜、いたう暗きに、松どもともして、夜半すぐるまで、人の門叩き走りありきて、何事にかあらん、ことことしくのゝしりて、足を空にまどふが、曉がたより、さすがに音なくなりぬるこそ、年のなごりも心細けれ。亡き人のくる夜とて魂まつるわざは、このごろ都には無きを、東の方には、猶することにてありしこそ、あはれなりしか。
  • かくて明けゆく空の気色、昨日に變りたりとは見えねど、ひきかへ珍しき心地ぞする。大路のさま、松立てわたして、花やかにうれしげなるこそ、また哀れなれ。
  • をさをさ, 長長: 少しも、ほとんど; はっきりと、きちんと

19. Changing seasons:

  • The changing of the seasons is deeply moving in its every manifestation. People seem to agree that autumn is the best season to appreciate the beauty of things. That may well be true, but the sights of spring are even more exhilarating. The cries of the birds gradually take on a peculiarly springlike quality, and in the gentle sunlight the bushes begin to sprout along the fences. then, as spring deepens, mists spread over the landscape and the cherry blossoms seem ready to open, only for steady rains and winds to cause them to scatter precipitously. The heart is subject to incessant pangs of emotion as the young leaves are growing out.
  • Orange blossoms are famous for evoking memories, but the fragrance of plum blossoms above all makes us return to the past and remember nostalgically long-ago events. Nor can we overlook the clean loveliness of the yamabuki or the uncertain beauty of wisteria, and so many other compelling sights.
  • Someone once remarked, "In summer, when the Feast of Anointing the Buddha and the Kamo Festival come around, and the young leaves on the treetops grow thick and cool, our sensitivity to the touching beauty of the world and our longing for absent friends grow stronger." Indeed, this is so. When, in the fifth month, the irises bloom and the rice seedlings are transplanted, can anyone remain untroubled by the drumming of the water rails? Then, in the sixth month, you can see the whiteness of moonflowers glowing over wretched hovels, and the smouldering of mosquito incense is affecting too. The purification rites of the sixth month are also engrossing.
  • The celebration of Tanabata is charming. then, as the nights gradually become cold and the wild geese cry, the under leaves of the hagi turn yellow, and men harvest and dry the first crop of rice. So many moving sights come together, in autumn especially. and how unforgettable is the morning after an equinoctial storm! - As I go on I realize that these sighs have long since been enumerated in The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book, but I make no pretense to trying to avoid saying the same things again. If I fail to say what lies on my mind it gives me a feeling of flatulence; I shall therefore give my brush free rein. Mine is a foolish diversion, but these pages are meant to be torn up, and no one is likely to see them.
  • To return to the subject. Winter decay is hardly less beautiful than autumn. Crimson leaves lie scattered on the grass beside the ponds, and how delightful it is on a morning when the frost is very white to see the vapor rise from a garden stream. At the end of the year it is indescribably moving to see everyone hurrying about on errands. There is something forlorn about the waning winter moon, shining cold and clear in the sky, unwatched because it is said to be depressing. The Invocation of the Buddha Names and the departure of the messengers with the imperial offerings are moving and inspring. How impressive it is that so many palace ceremonials are performed besides all the preparations for the New Year! It is striking that the Worship of the Four Directions follows directly on the Expulsion of the Demons.
  • On the last night of the year, when it is extremely dark, people light pine torches and go rushing about, pounding on the gates of strangers until well after midnight. I wonder what is signifies. After the have done with their exaggerated shouting and running so furiously that their feet hardly touch the ground, the noise at last fades away with the coming of the dawn, leaving a lonely feeling of regret over the departing old year The custom of paying homage to the dead, in the belief that they return that night, has lately disappeared from the capital, but I was deeply moved to discover that it was still performed in the East. As the day thus breaks on the New Year the sky seems no different from what it was the day before, but one feels somehow changed and renewed. the main thoroughfares, decorated their full length with pine boughs, seem cheerful and festive, and this too is profoundly affecting.

>Top 20. 某とかやいひし世すて人の:

  • 某とかやいひし世すて人の、「この世のほだしもたらぬ身に、たゞ空のなごりのみぞ惜しき。」と言ひしこそ、まことにさも覺えぬべけれ。
  • ほだし, 絆: 足枷; 障害; 仏道の妨げ

20. Sky for a hermit:

  • A certain hermit once said, "There is one thing that even I, who have no worldly entanglements, would be sorry to give up, the beauty of the sky." I can understand why he should have felt that way.

>Top 21. :

  • 萬の事は、月見るにこそ慰むものなれ。ある人の、「月ばかり面白きものは有らじ」と言ひしに、またひとり、「露こそあはれなれ」と爭ひしこそ、をかしけれ。折にふれば何かはあはれならざらん。
  • 月・花はさらなり、風のみこそ人に心はつくめれ。岩に碎けて清く流るゝ水のけしきこそ、時をもわかずめでたけれ。「沅(げん)・湘(しゃう)日夜東に流れ去る。愁人の爲にとゞまること少時(しばらく)もせず」といへる詩を見侍りしこそ、哀れなりしか。嵆康(けいこう)も、「山澤(さんたく)にあそびて、 魚鳥を見れば心樂しぶ」といへり。人遠く、水草(みぐさ)きよき所にさまよひ歩きたるばかり、心慰むことはあらじ。
  • なぐさむ, 慰む: 心が安まる、気が紛れる; diverting

21. Looking at the moon:

  • Looking at the moon is always diverting, no matter what the circumstances. A certain man once said, "Surely nothing is so delightful as the moon," but another man rejoined, "The dew moves me even more." How amusing that they should have argued the point! What could fail to be affecting in its proper season?
  • This is obviously true of the moon and cherry blossoms. The wind seems to have a special power to move men's hearts. Regardless of the season, however, a clear-flowing streams breaking against rocks makes a splendid sight. I remember how touched I was when I read the Chinese poem, "The Yüna and Hsing flow ever east, night and day alike; they never stop an instant to soothe the grieving man." Chi K'ang also has the lines, "The heart rejoices to visit mountains and lakes and see the birds and fish." Nothing gives so much pleasure as to wander to some spot far from the world, where the water and vegetation are unsullied.

>Top 22. 何事も、古き世のみぞ慕はしき:

  • 何事も、古き世のみぞ慕はしき。今樣は、無下(むげ) に卑しくこそなり行くめれ。かの木の道の匠のつくれる美しき器(うつはもの)も、古代の姿こそをかしと見ゆれ。
  • 文の詞などぞ、昔の反古(ほうご)どもはいみじき。たゞいふ詞も、口惜しうこそなりもて行くなれ。古は、「車もたげよ」「火掲げよ」とこそいひしを、今様の人は、「もてあげよ」「かきあげよ」といふ。「主殿寮人數(とのもりょうにんじゅ)だて」といふべきを、「立明し白くせよ。」と言ひ、最勝講なるをば、「御講(みかう)の廬(ろ)」とこそいふべきを、「講廬(こうろ)」と言ふ、口をしとぞ、古き人の仰せられし。
  • いやし, 卑し: 身分が低い、下品、洗練されていない

22. Archaism of words:

  • In all things I yearn for the past. Modern fashions seem to keep on growing more and more debased. I find that even among the splendid pieces of furniture built by our master cabinetmakers, those in the old forms are the most pleasing.
  • And as for writing letters, surviving scraps from the past reveal how superb the phrasing used to be. The ordinary spoken language has also steadily coarsened. People used to say "raise the carriage shafts" or "trim the lamp wick," but people today say "raise it" or "trim it." When they should say, "Let the men of the palace staff stand forth!" they say, "Torches! Let's have some light!" Instead of calling the place where the lectures on the Sutra of the Golden Light are delivered before the emperor "the Hall of the Imperial Lecture," they shorten it to "the Lecture Hall," a deplorable corruption, an old gentleman complained.

>Top 23. 衰へたる末の世とはいへど:

  • 衰へたる末の世とはいへど、猶九重の神さびたる有樣こそ、世づかずめでたきものなれ。
  • 露臺(ろだい)、朝餉(あさがれい)、何殿(でん)、何門などは、いみじとも聞ゆべし。怪しの所にもありぬべき小蔀(こじとみ)、小板敷、高遣戸なども、めでたくこそ聞ゆれ。
  • 「陣に夜の設けせよ」といふこそいみじけれ。夜の御殿(おとゞ)のをば、「掻燈(かいともし) 疾(と)うよ」などいふ、まためで たし。上卿(しゃうけい) の、陣にて事行へる樣は更なり、諸司の下人どもの、したり顔になれたるもをかし。さばかり寒き終夜(よもすがら)、此處彼處に睡 (ねぶ)り居たるこそをかしけれ。「内侍所の御鈴の音は、めでたく優なるものなり」とぞ、徳大寺の太政大臣は仰せられける。

23. About the palace:

  • They speak of the degenerate, final phase of the world, yet how splendid is the ancient atmosphere, uncontaminated by the world, that still prevails within the palace walls. The Dew Terrace, the Morning Collation, the This Hall, the That Gate - all have an impressive ring. Even objects that might equally well be found in some humble place, such as half-windows and blinds, a verandah of small boards, or a tall sliding door, sound quite splendid when the term is uses of the palace.
  • It is particularly impressive when the cry goes up in the antechamber, "Prepare for night!" It is pleasing too that they should call for the lanterns in His Majesty's bedchamber, "Light the lamps quickly!" The looks of smug competence on the faces of even minor officials of the palace staff, to say nothing of the great nobles performing official functions in council, are amusing. I was particularly entertained one extremely cold winter night to see these functionaries dozing though the ceremonies at their stations here and there in the hall. the Tokudaiji prime minister once remarked that the dancers' bells in the Hall of the Sacred Mirror had a lovely, noble sound.

>Top 24. 齋王の、野の宮におはします有樣こそ:

  • 齋王の、野の宮におはします有樣こそ、やさしく、面白き事の限りとは覺えしか。「經」･「佛」など忌みて、「中子(なかご)」、「染紙(そめがみ)」などいふなるもをかし。
  • すべて神の社こそ、捨て難く、なまめかしきものなれや。ものふりたる森の景色もたゞならぬに、玉垣しわたして、榊木に木綿(ゆふ)かけたるなど、いみじからぬかは。殊にをかしきは、伊勢・賀茂・春日・平野・住吉・三輪・貴船(きぶね)・吉田・大原野・松尾(まつのを)・梅宮(うめのみや)。
  • そめがみ, 染紙: 経典
  • なかご, 中子: 中心; 仏

24. Shrines are also wonderful:

  • I believe that the most charming and touching sight is the Shrine in the Fields when an imperial princess is in residence. It is amusing how the people there avoid Buddhist words like "sutra" or "Buddha" and speak instead of "colored paper" or "the One inside."
  • Shinto shrines as a rule are too charming to pass without stopping. There is something peculiarly affecting about the atmosphere of their ancient groves, and how could the buildings, surrounded by a vermilion fence with sacred streamers tied to the sakaki boughs, fail to impress? Especially splendid are Ise, Kamo, Kasuga, Hirano, Sumiyoshi, Miwa, Kibune, Yoshida, Oharano, Matsunoo, and Umenomiya.

>Top 25. 飛鳥川の淵瀬常ならぬ世にしあれば:

  • 飛鳥川の淵瀬常ならぬ世にしあれば、時うつり、事去り、樂しび・悲しび行きかひて、花やかなりし邊(あたり)も、人すまぬ野らとなり、變らぬ住家は人あらたまりぬ。桃李物いはねば、誰と共にか昔を語らん。まして見ぬ古のやんごとなかりけむ跡のみぞ、いとはかなき。
  • 京極殿・法成寺(ほふじゃうじ)など見るこそ、志留まり事變じにける樣は哀れなれ。御堂殿の作り磨かせ給ひて、莊園多く寄せられ、我が御族のみ、御門の御後見、世のかためにて、行末までとおぼしおきし時、いかならむ世にも、かばかりあせ果てむとはおぼしてんや。大門・金堂など近くまでありしかど、正和のころ、南門は燒けぬ。金堂はその後たふれ伏したるままにて、取りたつるわざもなし。無量壽院ばかりぞ、そのかたとて殘りたる。丈六の佛九體、いと尊くて竝びおはします。行成(ぎゃうぜい)大納言の額、兼行が書ける扉、なほあざやかに見ゆるぞあはれなる。法華堂なども、いまだ侍るめり。これも亦、いつまでかあらん。
  • かばかりの名殘だになき所々は、おのづから礎ばかり殘るもあれど、さだかに知れる人もなし。されば、萬に見ざらむ世までを思ひ掟てんこそ、はかなかるべけれ。
  • 野: やせ地; moor

25. Life is flow of a river:

  • The world is as unstable as the pools and shallows of Asuka River. Times change and things disappear: joy and sorrow come and go; a place once thrived turns into an uninhabited moor; a house may remain unaltered, but its occupants will have changed. The peach and the damson trees in the garden say nothing - with whom is one to reminisce about the past? I feel this sense of impermanence even more sharply I knew it, must have been imposing.
  • Whenever I pass by the ruins of the Kyogoku Palace, the Hojoji, and similar buildings, it moves me to think that the aspiration of the builders still lingers on, though the edifices themselves have changed completely. When Fujiwara no Michinaga erected so magnificent a temple, bestowing many estates for its support, he supposed that his descendants would always assist the emperor and serve as pillars of the state; could he have imagined that the temple would fall into such ruin, no matter what times lay ahead? The Great Gate and the Golden Hall were still standing until recent years but the Gate burned during the Show era, and the Golden Hall soon afterwards fell over. It still lies there, and no attempt has been made to restore it. Only the Muryoju Hall remains as a memento of the temple's former glory. Nine images of Amida Buddha, each sixteen feet tall, stand in a row, most awesomely. It is extremely moving to see, still plainly visible, the plaque inscribed by the Major Counselor Kozei and the door inscription by Kaneyuki. I understand that the Hokke Hall and perhaps other buildings are still standing. I wonder how much longer they too will last?
  • Some buildings that lack even such remains may survive merely as foundation stones, but no one knows for certain to what they once belonged. It is true in all things that it is a futile business attempting to plan for a future one will never know.

>Top 26. 風も吹きあへず移ろふ人の心の花に:

  • 風も吹きあへず移ろふ人の心の花に、馴れにし年月をおもへば、あはれと聞きし言の葉ごとに忘れぬものから、我が世の外になり行くならひこそ、亡き人の別れよりも勝りて悲しきものなれ。
  • されば白き絲の染まむ事を悲しび、道の衢(ちまた) のわかれむ事を歎く人もありけんかし。堀河院の百首の歌の中に、
    • むかし見し妹が垣根は荒れにけり
      茅花(つばな)まじりの菫のみして
      (＝藤原公實の歌)
  • さびしきけしき、さること侍りけむ。

26. Breaking up:

  • When I recall the months and years I spent as the intimate of someone whose affections have now faded like cherry blossoms scattering even before a wind blew, I still remember every word of hers that once so moved me; and when I realize that she, as happens in such cases, is steadily slipping away from my world, I feel a sadness greater even than that of separation from the dead.
  • That is why, I am sure, a man once grieved that white thread should be dyed in different colors, and why another lamented that roads inevitably fork. Among the hundred verses presented to the Retired Emperor Horikawa one runs:
    • The fence round her house,
      The woman I loved long ago,
      Is ravaged and fallen;
      Only violets remain
      Mingled with the spring weeds.
  • What a lonely picture - the poem must describe something that really occurred.

>Top 27. 御國ゆづりの節會行はれて:

  • 御國ゆづりの節會行はれて、劒(けん)・璽・内侍所わたし奉らるゝほどこそ、限りなう心ぼそけれ。
    新院のおりゐさせ給ひての春、よませ給ひけるとかや
    • 殿守の伴のみやつこ(御奴)よそにして
      はらはぬ庭に花ぞ散りしく
  • 今の世のことしげきにまぎれて、院にはまゐる人もなきぞ寂しげなる。かゝるをりにぞ人の心もあらはれぬべき。

27. After the abdication:

  • The moment during the ceremony of abdication of the throne when the Sword, Jewels, and Mirror are offered to the new emperor is heartbreaking in the extreme. When the newly retired emperor abdicated in the spring [of 1318] he wrote this poem, I understand:
    • Even menials
      Of the palace staff treat me
      As a stranger now;
      In my upswept garden lie
      The scattered cherry blossoms.
  • What a lonely feeling the poem seems to convey - people are too distracted by all the festivities of the new reign for anyone to wait on the retired emperor. This is precisely the kind of occasion when a man's true feelings are apt to be revealed.

>Top 28. 諒闇の年ばかり:

  • 諒闇(まことにくらし＝天子の喪)の年ばかり哀れなる事はあらじ。
  • 倚廬(いろ)の御所のさまなど、板敷をさげ、葦の御簾をかけて、布の帽額(もこう)あらあらしく、御調度ども疎かに、みな人の裝束、太刀、平緒まで、異樣なるぞゆゝしき。
  • 倚廬の御所: 天皇の喪中の仮建物

28. Mouning of the emperor:

  • Nothing is more saddening than the year of imperial mourning. The very appearance of the temporary palace is forbidding: the wooden floor built close to the ground, the crudely fashioned reed-blinds, the coarse, grey cloth hung above the blinds, the utensils of rough workmanship, and the attendants all wearing strangely drab costumes, sword scabbards, and sword knots.

>Top 29. 靜かに思へば、よろづ過ぎにしかたの:

  • 靜かに思へば、よろづ過ぎにしかたの戀しさのみぞせむ方なき。
  • 人しづまりて後、永き夜のすさびに、何となき具足とりしたゝめ、殘し置かじと思ふ反古など破りすつる中(うち)に、亡き人の手習ひ、繪かきすさびたる見出でたるこそ、たゞその折の心地すれ。このごろある人の文だに、久しくなりて、いかなる折り、いつの年なりけむと思ふは、あはれなるぞかし。
  • 手なれし具足 なども、心もなくてかはらず久しき、いと悲し。

29. Recall sweet memories:

  • When I sit down in quiet meditation, the one emotion hardest to fight against is a longing in all things for the past.
  • After the others have gone to bed, I pass the time on a long autumn's night by putting in order whatever belongs are at hand. As I tear up scraps of old correspondence I should prefer no to leave behind, I sometimes find among them samples of the calligraphy of a friend who has died, or pictures he drew for his own amusement, and I feel exactly as I did at the time. Even with letters written by friends who are still alive I try, when it has been long since we met, to remember the circumstances, the year. What a moving experience that is!
  • It is sad to think that a man's familiar possessions, indifferent to his death, should remain unaltered long after he is gone.

>Top 30. 人の亡き跡ばかり悲しきはなし:

  • 人の亡き跡ばかり悲しきはなし。中陰(ちゅういん) の程、山里などに移ろひて、便りあしく狹き所にあまたあひ居て、後のわざども營みあへる、心あわたゞし。日數(ひかず)の早く過ぐる ほどぞ、ものにも似ぬ。はての日は、いと情なう、互にいふ事もなく、我かしこげに物ひきしたため、ちりち゛りに行きあかれぬ。もとの住家にかへりてぞ、さらに悲しきことは多かるべき。「しかじかの事は、あなかしこ、跡のため忌むなる事ぞ」などいへるこそ、かばかりの中に何かはと、人の心はなほうたて覺ゆ れ。
  • 年月經ても、露忘るゝにはあらねど、去るものは日々に疎しといへる事なれば、さはいへど、その際(きは) ばかりは覺えぬにや、よしなし事いひてうちも笑ひぬ。骸(から)は、けうとき山の中にをさめて、さるべき日ばかり詣でつゝ見れば、程なく卒都婆も苔むし、木の葉ふり埋みて、夕の嵐、夜の月のみ ぞ、言問ふよすがなりける。
  • 思ひ出でて忍ぶ人あらむほどこそあらめ、そも又ほどなくうせて、聞き傳ふるばかりの末々は、哀れとやは思ふ。さるは、跡とふわざも絶えぬれば、いづれの人と名をだに知らず、年々の春の草のみぞ、心あらむ人は哀れと見るべきを、はては、嵐にむせびし松も、千年を待たで薪にくだかれ、ふるき墳(つか)はすか れて田となりぬ。その形(かた)だになくなりぬるぞ悲しき。
  • ちゅういん, 中陰: 中有ちゅうう、49日
  • うたれ: ますます; 異様に、

30. Out of sight, out of mind:

  • Nothing is sadder than the time after a death. During the forty-nine days of mourning the family, having moved to a temple in the mountains or some such place, forgathers in large numbers in inconvenient, cramped quarters, and frantically occupies itself with the motions of mourning for the dead. The days pass unbelievably fast. On the final day, all civility gone, no one has a word for anybody else, and each man, with airs of knowing exactly what is to be done, sets about packing his belongings; then all go their separate ways. Once they have returned home, many sad remembrances are sure to afflict them anew.
  • Sometimes I hear people say on such occasions, "It's bad luck to mention such and such a thing. You should avoid it, for the family's sake." How can people worry about such things in the midst of so great a tragedy? The insensitivity of people still appalls me.
  • We do not by any means forget the dead, even after months and years have gone by, but, as they say, "the departed one grows more distant each day." We may deny it, but - no doubt because our sorrow is not as sharp as at the time - we talk about foolish things, we smile.
  • The body is interred in some lonely mountain and visited only at the required times. Before long, the grave marker is covered with moss and buried in fallen leaves. the evening storms and the night moon become the only regular mourners.
  • As long as people remember the deceased person and miss him, all is still well, but before long those people too disappear, and the descendants, who know the man only from reports, are hardly likely to feel deep emotion. Once the services honoring the dead man cease, nobody knows who he was or even his name. Only the sight of the spring weeds sprouting each year by his grave will stir the emotions of sensitive people; but in the end, even the pine tree that groaned in the storm winds is broken into firewood before it reaches its allotted thousand years, and the old grave is plowed up and turned into rice land. how sad it it that even this last memento of the dead should vanish.

>Top 32. 九月二十日の頃:

  • 九月二十日の頃、ある人に誘はれ奉りて、明くるまで月見歩く事侍りしに、思し出づる所ありて、案内せさせて入り給ひぬ。荒れたる庭の露しげきに、わざとならぬ匂ひしめやかにうち薫りて、忍びたるけはひ、いと物あはれなり。
  • よきほどにて出で給ひぬれど、猶ことざまの優に覺えて、物のかくれよりしばし見居たるに、妻戸を今少しおしあけて、月見るけしきなり。やがてかけ籠らましかば、口惜しからまし。あとまで見る人ありとは如何でか知らん。かやうの事は、たゞ朝夕の心づかひによるべし。その人、程なく亡せにけりと聞き侍りし。

32. After seeing off:

  • About the twentieth of the ninth month, at the invitation of a certain gentleman, I spent the night wandering with him viewing the moon. He happened to remember a house we passed on the way, and, having himself announced, went inside. In a corner of the overgrown garden heavy with dew, I caught the faint scent of some perfume which seemed quite accidental. This suggestion of someone living in retirement from the world moved me deeply.
  • In due time, the gentleman emerged, but I was still under the spell of the place. As I gazed for a while at the scene from the shadows, someone pushed the double doors open a crack wider, evidently to look at the moon. It would have been most disappointing if she had bolted the doors as soon as he had gone! How was she to know that someone lingering behind would see her? Such a gesture could only have been the product of inborn sensitivity.
  • I heard that she died not long afterwards.

>Top 33. 今の内裏作り出されて:

  • 今の内裏作り出されて、有職の人々に見せられけるに、いづくも難なしとて、すでに遷幸の日近くなりけるに、玄輝門院の御覽じて、「閑院殿の櫛形の穴(壁に櫛形の穴をつけて通路としたもの)は、まろく、縁もなくてぞありし。」と仰せられける、いみじかりけり。これは葉(よう)の入りて、木にて縁をしたりければ、誤りにて直されにけり。

33. Origin and history of a palace:

  • When construction of the present palace had been completed, the buildings were inspected by experts on court usage, who pronounced them free of faults anywhere. The day for the emperor to move to the new palace was already near when the Abbess Genki examined it and declared "The bell-shaped windows in the Kan'in palace were rounder and without frames." This was an impressive feat of memory. The windows in the new palace, peaked at the top, had wooden borders. This mistake was later corrected.

>Top 34. 甲香は、ほら貝の樣なるが:

  • 甲香(かひこう)は、ほら貝の樣なるが、小さくて、口の程の、細長にして出でたる貝の蓋なり。武藏の國金澤といふ浦にありしを、所の者は「へなたりと申し侍る」とぞ言ひし。

34. Dialect of conchi shell like:

  • The kaiko is the lid of a shell resembling the conch, but smaller and with a long, narrow projection at the mouth. I found some at the Bay of Kanesawa in Musashi Province. The people of the place call it henatari.

>Top 35. 手の惡き人の:

  • 手の惡き人の、憚らず文かきちらすはよし。見苦しとて人に書かするはうるさし。

35. A good correspondent:

  • A person with a bad handwriting should not be embarrassed to write his own letters. There is something irritating about people who, pleading their writing is ugly, ask others to write for them.

>Top 36. 久しく訪れぬ頃:

  • 「久しく訪れぬ頃、いかばかり恨むらむと、我が怠り思ひ知られて、言葉なき心地するに、女のかたより、『仕丁(じちゃう)やある、一人』なんどいひおこせたるこそ、ありがたくうれしけれ。さる心ざましたる人ぞよき」と、人の申し侍りし、さもあるべき事なり。

36. A woman of thoughtfullness:

  • Someone once told me this story. "I had failed to visit a certain lady for a long time, and, being aware of my negligence, I could imagine how annoyed she must be with me. I felt there was nothing I could say by way of apology. Just at this time a most unexpected and welcome message came from the lady asking, 'Have you a workman you can spare?" That is the kind of disposition I admire in a woman." I was struck by the aptness of his remark.

>Top 37. 朝夕へだてなく馴れたる人の:

  • 朝夕へだてなく馴れたる人の、ともある時に、我に心をおき、ひきつくろへる樣に見ゆるこそ、今更かくやはなどいふ人もありぬべけれど、猶げにげにしく、よき人かなとぞ覺ゆる。
  • 疎き人の、うちとけたる事などいひたる、また、よしと思ひつきぬべし。

37. A really sincere friend:

  • When a person who has always been extremely close appears on a particular occasion reserved and formal towards you, some people undoubtedly will say, "Why act that way now, after all these years?" But I feel that such behavior shows sincerity and breeding.
  • On the other hand, I am sure I should feel equally attracted if someone with whom I am on distant terms should choose on some occasion to speak to me with utter frankness.

>Top 38. 名利に使はれて、靜かなる暇なく:

  • 名利に使はれて、靜かなる暇なく、一生を苦しむるこそ、愚かなれ。財(たから)多ければ身を守るにまどし。害を買ひ、煩ひを招く媒(なかだち)なり。身の後には金(こがね)をして北斗を支ふとも、人の爲にぞ煩はるべき。愚かなる人の目を喜ばしむる樂しび、又あぢきなし。大きなる車、肥えたる馬、金玉の飾りも、心あらん人はうたて愚かなりとぞ見るべき。金は山にすて、 玉は淵になぐべし。利に惑ふは、すぐれて愚かなる人なり。
  • 埋もれぬ名をながき世に殘さむこそ、あらまほしかるべけれ。位高く、やんごとなきをしも、勝れたる人とやはいふべき。愚かに拙き人も、家に生れ時にあへ ば、高き位にのぼり、驕りを極むるもあり。いみじかりし賢人・聖人、みづから卑しき位にをり、時に遇はずして止みぬる、また多し。偏に高き官・位 を望むも、次に愚かなり。
  • 智惠と心とこそ、世に勝れたる譽も殘さまほしきを、つらつら思へば、譽を愛するは人の聞きを喜ぶなり。譽むる人、譏(そし)る人、共に世に留まらず、傳へ聞かん人またまた速かに去るべし。誰をか恥ぢ、誰にか知られんことを願はん。譽はまた毀(そしり)の本(もと)なり。身の後の名、殘りて更に 益なし。これを願ふも次に愚かなり。
  • たゞし、強ひて智をもとめ、賢をねがふ人の爲に言はば、智惠出でては僞あり。才能は煩惱の増長せるなり。傳へて聞き、學びて知るは、まことの智にあらず。いかなるをか智といふべき。可・不可は一條なり。いかなるをか善といふ。まことの人は、智もなく、徳もなく、功もなく、名もなし。誰か知 り、誰か傳へむ。これ、徳をかくし、愚を守るにあらず。もとより賢愚・得失のさかひに居らざればなり。
  • 迷ひの心をもちて名利の要を求むるに、かくの如し。萬事はみな非なり。いふに足らず、願ふに足らず。

38. Really necessary things to live:

  • What a foolish thing it is to be governed by a desire for fame and profit and to fret away one's whole life without a moment of peace. Great wealth is no guarantee of security. Wealth, in fact, tends to attract calamities and disaster. Even if, after you die, you leave enough gold to prop up the North Star, it will only prove a nuisance to your heirs. The pleasures that delight the foolish man are like wise meaningless to the man of discrimination who considers a big carriage, sleek horse, gold, and jeweled ornaments all equally understandable and senseless. You had best throw away your gold in the mountains and drop your jewels into a ravine. It is an exceedingly stupid man who will torment himself for the sake of worldly gain.
  • To leave behind a reputation that will not perish through long ages to come is certainly to be desired, but can one say that men of high rank and position are necessarily superior? There are foolish and incompetent men who, having been born into an illustrious family and, being favored by the times, rise to exalted position and indulge themselves in the extremes of luxury. There are also many learned and good men who by their own choice remain in humble positions and end their days without ever having encountered good fortune. A feverish caving for high rank and position is second in foolishness only to seeking wealth.
  • One would like to leave behind a glorious reputation for surpassing wisdom and character, but careful reflection will show that what we mean by love of a glorious reputation is delight in the approbation of others. Neither those who praise nor those who abuse last for long, and the people who have heard their reports are likely to depart the world as quickly. Before whom then should we feel ashamed? By whom should we wish to be appreciated? Fame, moreover, inspires backbiting. It does no good whatsoever to have one's name survive. A craving after fame is next most foolish.
  • If I were to address myself to those who nevertheless seek desperately to attain knowledge and wisdom, I would say that knowledge leads to deceit, and artistic talent is the product of much suffering. True knowledge is not what one hears from others or acquires through study. What, then, are we to call knowledge? Proper and improper come to one and the same thing - can we call anything "good"? The truly enlightened man has no learning, no virtue, no accomplishments, no fame. Who knows of him, who will report his glory? It is not that he conceals his virtue or pretends to be stupid; it is because from the outset he is above distinctions between wise and foolish, between profit and loss.
  • If, in your delusion, you seek fame and profit, the results will be as I have described. All is unreality. Nothing is worth discussing, worth desiring.

>Top 39. 或人、法然上人に:

  • 或人、法然上人に、「念佛の時、睡りに犯されて行を怠り侍る事、如何(いかゞ)して此の障りをやめ侍らん」と申しければ、「目の覺めたらむ程、念佛し給 へ」と答へられたりける、いと尊かりけり。又、「往生は、一定(いちじょう)と思へば一定、不定と思へば不定なり」といはれけり。これも尊し。
  • また、「疑ひながらも念佛すれば往生す」とも言はれけり。是も亦尊し。

39. Cleaver response:

  • A certain man once asked the High Priest Honen, "Sometimes as I am saying the nembutsu I am seized by drowsiness and I neglect my devotions. How can I overcome this obstacle?" Honen replied, "Say the nembutsu as long as you are awake." The was a most inspiring answer. Again, he said, "if you are certain you will go to heaven, you certaily will; if you are uncertain, it is uncertain." This too was a sage remark. Again, he said, "Even if you have doubts, you will go to heaven provided you say the nembutsu." This too was a holy utterance.

>Top 40. 因幡の國に:

  • 因幡の國に、何の入道とかやいふものの女、かたちよしと聞きて、人あまたいひわたりけれども、この娘、ただ栗をのみ食ひて、更に米(よね)のたぐひを食はざりければ、「かゝる異樣のもの、人に見ゆべきにあらず」とて、親ゆるさざりけり。
  • いひわたる, 言ひ渡る; 求婚し続ける。

40. A chestnut freak girl:

  • This daughter of a certain lay priest in the privince of Inaba was reputed to be very beautiful, and many suitors asked for fer hand, but this girl ate nothing but chestnuts, and refused to touch rice or other grains Her father therefore declined the men's proposals, saying, "Such a peculiar pereson is not fit to be married."

>Top 41. 五月五日:

  • 五月五日、賀茂の競馬(くらべうま)を見侍りしに、車の前に雜人たち隔てて見えざりしかば、各々下りて、埒の際によりたれど、殊に人多く立ちこみて、分け入りぬべき様もなし。
  • かゝる折に、向ひなる楝(あふち)の木に、法師の登りて、木の股についゐて、物見るあり。取りつきながら、いたう眠(ねぶ)りて、堕ちぬべき時に目を覺 す事度々なり。これを見る人嘲りあざみて、「世のしれ物かな。かく危き枝の上にて、安き心ありて眠るらんよ」と言ふに、わが心にふと思ひし儘 に、「我等が生死(しゃうじ)の到來、唯今にもやあらむ。それを忘れて、物見て日を暮す、愚かなる事は猶まさりたるものを」と言ひたれば、前なる人ども、 「誠に然こそ候ひけれ。尤も愚かに候」と言ひて、皆後を見返りて、「こゝへいらせ給へ」とて、所を去りて、呼び入れはべりにき。
  • かほどの理、誰かは思ひよらざらむなれども、折からの、思ひかけぬ心地して、胸にあたりけるにや。人、木石にあらねば、時にとりて、物に感ずる事なきにあらず。

41. A foolish priest:

  • On the fifth day of the fifth month I went to see the horse race at the Kamo Shrine. There was such a mob before our carriage, between us and the view, that we could see nothing. We all got out of the carriage and pushed towards the railing, but the crowd was particularly dense in that area, and there seemed no chance of making our way to the fore. Just then we noticed a priest perched in the crotch of an ochi tree across the way, watching the race. Even as he clung to the tree he was nodding drowsily, again and again waking himself just as he seemed about to fall.
  • People, observing the priest, laughed at this folly. "What an idiot! Imagine anyone being able to sleep so peacefully when he's sitting on such a dangerous branch!" It suddenly occurred to me, however, "The hour of death may be upon us at any moment. To spend our days in pleasure-seeking, forgetful of this truth, is even more foolish." I blurted out the words, and some people standing before me said, "That's certainly true. It is a most stupid way to behave." Turning round towards us, they said, "Please come through here, " and made room, urging us to take their places.
  • Anybody at all might have made the same observation, but probably it came as a surprise at that particular moment and struck home. Man, not being m made of wood or stone, is at times not without emotional reactions.

>Top 42. 唐橋の中將といふ人の子に:

  • 唐橋の中將といふ人の子に、行雅僧都とて、教相の人の師する僧ありけり。氣(け)のあがる(＝のぼせる)病ありて、年のやうやうたくるほどに、鼻の中ふたがりて、息も出でがたかりければ、さまざまにつくろひけれど、煩はしくなりて、目・眉・額なども腫れまどひて、うち覆ひければ、物も見えず、二の舞の面の 樣に見えけるが、たゞ恐ろしく、鬼の顔になりて、目は頂の方につき、額の程鼻になりなどして、後は坊の内の人にも見えず籠り居て、年久しくありて、猶煩はしくなりて死ににけり。
    かゝる病もある事にこそありけれ。

42. A strange desease:

  • The monk called the Abbot Gyoga, the son of the Karahashi middle commander, was a teacher of religious doctrine. He suffered from dizzy spells and gradually, as he advanced in years, his nose stopped up, and he had difficulty in breathing. He underwent all kinds of treatment, but his ailment grew only the worse. His eyes, brows, and forehead swelled horribly and bulged out so much he could not even see. At first his face looked rather like a ninomai mask, but eventually it became quite terrifying, like a devil's face. His eyes were stuck to the top of his head, what had been his forehead became his nose, and so on. After this, he no longer showed himself even before the other priests of the temple, but remained in complete seclusion. Many years went by in this fashion, but finally his condition grew even worse and he died. Such sicknesses actually exits.

>Top 43. 春の暮つかた:

  • 春の暮つかた、のどやかに艷なる空に、賤しからぬ家の、奧深く、木立ものふりて、庭に散りしをれたる花、見過しがたきを、さし入りて見れば、南面(みなみおもて) の格子、皆下してさびしげなるに、東にむきて妻戸のよきほどに開きたる、御簾のやぶれより見れば、かたち清げなる男の、年二十ばかりにて、うちとけたれど、心にくくのどやかなる樣して、机の上に書をくりひろげて見居たり。いかなる人なりけむ、たづね聞かまほし。

43. Making a peep I:

  • Towards the end of spring, on a lovely, mild day, I strolled by a stately-looking mansion set on a large property with ancient trees. A cherry tree was shedding blossoms in the garden. It was impossible to pass without stopping, and I went in. The shutters on the south side were all lowered and the place looked deserted, but I could see then, through an opening in the bamboo blinds over double doors that faced east and had been left attractively ajar, a handsome young man of about twenty, at his ease but maintaining an elegant composure. He was reading a book he held open before him on a desk. I wonder who he was. I should like to visit him and ask.

>Top 44. 怪しの竹の編戸の内より:

  • 怪しの竹の編戸の内より、いと若き男の、月影に色合定かならねど、つやゝかなる狩衣に、濃き指貫、いとゆゑづきたるさまにて、さゝやかなる童一人を具して、遙かなる田の中の細道を、稻葉の露にそぼちつゝ分け行くほど、笛をえならず吹きすさびたる、あはれと聞き知るべき人もあらじと思ふに、行かむかた知らまほしくて、見送りつゝ行けば、笛を吹きやみて、山の際に總門のあるうちに入りぬ。榻にたてたる車の見ゆるも、都よりは目とまる心地して、下人に問へば、「しかじかの宮のおはします頃にて、御佛事などさぶらふにや」と言ふ。
  • 御堂の方に法師ども參りたり。夜寒の風にさそはれくる空薫物(そらだきもの)の匂ひも、身にしむ心地す。寢殿より御堂の廊にかよふ女房の追風用意など、人目なき山里ともいはず、心遣ひしたり。
  • 心のまゝにしげれる秋の野らは、おきあまる露に埋もれて、蟲の音かごとがましく、遣水の音のどやかなり。都の空よりは、雲のゆききも早き心地して、月の晴れ曇ること定めがたし。
  • さそふ, 誘ふ: 連れてくる, waft

44. Making a peep II:

  • A very young man, attired with great distinction in a glittering tunic - I could not make out the coloring in the moonlight - and trousers of a dark purple, stepped from the roughly made door of woven bamboo and, accompanied by a small boy, made his way along a path through ricefields that stretched into the distance. Drenched though he was by dew from the leaves of rice plants, he amused himself as he went along by playing a flute with consummate skill. I was curious to know where he might be headed, thinking it unlikely anyone here could appreciate such playing, and followed him. Presently, the man stopped playing his flute and, as he reached the foot of the hill, entered a mansion with an imposing gate. I could see a carriage with its shafts resting on a stand in the courtyard, looking far more conspicuous then it would have in the capital. I asked a servant why it was there and he replied, "A certain prince is residing here now, I imagine there is to be a Buddhist service."
  • Priests had assembled at the family chapel. A penetrating fragrance of incense wafted towards me in the cold night air. Ladies in waiting traversed the corridor leading from the residence to the chapel, leaving in their wake a fragrance of perfumed robes. Such attention to elegance of person was surprising in a mountain village, where none would see them.
  • The garden, like an autumn field left to grow wild, was buried in dew so heavy it spilled from the plants. The cries of the insects had a plaintive note; a garden stream murmured gently. The clouds passing to and fro seemed to move more quickly than in the capital, and the moon, never long the same, was clear and clouded by turns.

>Top 45. 公世の二位の兄に:

  • 公世(きんよ)の二位の兄に、良覺僧正と聞えしは極めて腹惡しき人なりけり。坊の傍に大きなる榎の木のありければ、人、「榎木僧正(えのきのそうじょ う)」とぞ言ひける。この名然るべからずとて、かの木を切られにけり。その根のありければ、「切杭(きりくひ) の僧正」と言ひけり。愈(いよいよ)腹立ちて、切杭を掘りすてたりければ、その跡大きなる堀にてありければ、「堀池(ほりけ)の僧正」とぞいひける。

45. Nickname of a priest:

  • Kin'yo, an officer of the second rank, had a brother called the High Priest Ryogaku, an extremely bad-tempered man. Next to his monastery grew a large nettle-tree which occasioned the nickname people gave him, the Nettle-tree High Priest. "That name is outrageous," said the high priest, and cut down the tree. The stump still being left, people referred to him now as the Stump High Priest. More furious than ever. ryogaku had the stump dug up and thrown away, but this left a big ditch. People now called him the Ditch High Priest.

>Top 46. 柳原の邊に

  • 柳原の邊に、強盜法印(ごうとうほういん)と号する僧ありけり。度々強盜にあひたる故に、この名をつけにけるとぞ。

46. A nickname of a priest:

  • The priest known as the Burglar Bishop lived near Yanagihara. His frequent encounters with burglars gave him the name, I understand.

>Top 47. ある人清水へ参りけるに:

  • ある人清水へ参りけるに、老いたる尼の行きつれたりけるが、道すがら、「嚔(くさめ)嚔」といひもて行きければ、「尼御前何事をかくは宣ふぞ」と問ひけれども、答へもせず、猶言ひ止まざりけるを、度々問はれて、うち腹だちて、「やゝ、鼻ひたる(くしゃみをする)時、かく呪はねば死ぬるなりと申せば、養ひ君の、比叡の山に兒にておはしますが、たゞ今もや鼻ひ給はむと思へば、かく申すぞかし」といひけり。有り難き志なりけんかし。

47. A strange old woman at Kiyomizu temple:

  • A certain man on his way to Kiyomizu was joined on the road by an aged nun. As they trudged along, she kept murmuring, "Kusame, kusame," until finally he asked her, "Sister, why do you say that?" Without even deigning to answer, she kept up an unbroken stream of repetitions of the word. He persisted, and when she had been asked several times she at last became angry and said, "What a nuisance of a man! Don't you know that unless you say the magic word when somebody sneezes, he'll die? The young master I've brought up is an acolyte now on Mount Hiei. He may be sneezing at this very minute, for all I know. that's why I said kusame." this was certainly a case of unusual devotion.

>Top 48. 光親卿、院の最勝講奉行して:

  • 光親卿、院の最勝講奉行してさぶらひけるを、御前へ召されて、供御をいだされて食はせられけり。さて食ひ散らしたる衝重(ついがさね)を、御簾の中へさし入れてまかり出でにけり。女房、「あな汚な。誰に取れとてか」など申しあはれければ、「有職のふるまひ、やんごとなき事なり」とかへすがえす感ぜさせ給ひ けるとぞ。

48. Common senses are changing:

  • When Load Mitsuchika was serving as supervisor of the lectures on the Sutra of the Golden Light in the palace of the cloistered emperor, he was summoned before His Majesty, who offered food from his own tray and invited Mitsuchika to eat. When Mitsuchika had hastily finished the meal, he pushed the stand behind the imperial screen of state, and took his leave. The ladies in waiting cried out to each other, "Ugh! How dirty! Does he expect us to clean up his mess?" But the cloistered emperor exclaimed in great admiration, "That is how a man familiar with precedent behaves! I am most impressed."

>Top 49. 老來りて、始めて道を行ぜんと:

  • 老來りて、始めて道を行ぜんと待つ事勿れ。古き墳(つか)、多くはこれ少年の人なり。はからざるに病をうけて、忽ちにこの世を去らんとする時にこそ、はじめて過ぎぬる方のあやまれる事は知らるなれ。誤りといふは、他の事にあらず、速かにすべき事を緩くし、緩くすべきことを急ぎて、過ぎにしことの悔しきなり。その時悔ゆとも、甲斐あらんや。
  • 人はたゞ、無常の身に迫りぬる事を心にひしとかけて、束の間も忘るまじきなり。さらば、などか、此の世の濁りもうすく、佛道を勤むる心もまめやかならざらん。
  • 「昔ありける聖は、人来たりて自他の要事をいふとき、答へて云はく、『今、火急の事ありて、既に朝夕(ちょうせき)にせまれり』とて、耳をふたぎて念佛して、終に往生を遂げけり」と、禪林の十因に侍り。心戒といひける聖は、餘りにこの世のかりそめなることを思ひて、靜かについゐける事だになく、 常はうづくまりてのみぞありける。

49. Be a priest:

  • You must not wait until you are old before you begin practicing the Way. Most of the gravestones from the past belong to men who died young.
  • A man sometimes learns for the first time how mistaken his way of life has been only when he unexpectedly falls ill and is bout to depart this world. His mistake lay in doing slowly what should have been done quickly and in hastening to do what might best have been delayed. He regrets these actions committed in the past, but what good can it do, even if he feels regret, at that stage?
  • A man should bear firmly in mind that death is always threatening, and never for an instant forget it. If he does this, why should the impurities bred in him by this world not grow lighter, and his heart not develop an earnest resolve to cultivate the Way of the Buddha?
  • The story is told in Zenrin's Ten Courses of Salvation of a holy man of long ago who, when someone came to discuss important business concerning them both answered, "An extremely urgent matter has come up, and it must be settled by morning, if no tonight." so saying, he covered his ears, recited the nembutsu, and presently achieved Buddhahood.
  • A holy man named Shinkai was so aware of the impermanence of the world that he never even sat down and relaxed, but always remained crouching.

>Top 50. 應長のころ、伊勢の國より:

  • 應長のころ、伊勢の國より、女の鬼になりたるを率て上りたりといふ事ありて、その頃二十日ばかり、日ごとに、京・白川の人、鬼見にとて出で惑ふ。「昨日は 西園寺に參りたりし、今日は院へ参るべし。たゞ今はそこそこに」など云ひあへり。まさしく見たりといふ人もなく、虚言といふ人もなし。上下たゞ鬼の事のみいひやまず。
  • その頃、東山より、安居院(あぐゐ)の邊へまかり侍りしに、四條より上(かみ)さまの人、みな北をさして走る。「一條室町に鬼あり」とのゝしり合へり。 今出川の邊より見やれば、院の御棧敷のあたり、更に通り得べうもあらず立ちこみたり。はやく跡なき事にはあらざんめりとて、人をやりて見するに、大方逢へるものなし。暮るゝまでかく立ちさわぎて、はては鬪諍(とうそう)おこりて、あさましきことどもありけり。
  • そのころおしなべて、二日三日人のわづらふこと侍りしをぞ、「かの鬼の虚言は、この兆(しるし)を示すなりけり」といふ人も侍りし。

50. Be easily swindled:

  • Along about the Ocho era there was a rumor that a man from Ise had brought to the capital a woman who had become a demon, and for twenty days or more people of the downtown and Shirakawa areas wandered here and there day after day, hoping for a look at the demon. They passed the word to one another; "Yesterday she visited the Saionji. Today she's sure to go to the cloistered emperor's palace. At the moment she's at such and such a place." Nobody actually claimed to have seen the demon, but on one, for that matter, said the report was untrue. People of all classes gossiped continuously about one subject, the demon - that, and nothing else.
  • One day, as I was on my way from Higashiyama to the area around Agui, I saw a crowd of people running from Shiga and above, all headed north. They were shouting that the demon had been seen at the corner of Ichijo and Muromachi. I looked off in the direction from where I was, near Imadegawa. There was such a crowd packed around the cloistered emperor's reviewing stand that it seemed quite impossible to get thought. I thought it unlikely the rumor could be completely groundless, and sent a man to investigate, but he could find nobody who had actually met the demon. the crowd continued to clamor in this manner until it grew dark. Finally, quarrels broke out and a number of unpleasant incidents occurred.
  • For some time afterwards, whenever anyone took sick for a few days, people tended to say that the false rumors about the demon had been a portent of the illness.

>Top 51. 龜山殿の御池に:

  • 龜山殿の御池に、大井川の水をまかせられむとて、大井の土民に仰せて、水車(みづぐるま)を作らせられけり。多くの錢(あし)を賜ひて、數日(すじつ)に營み出してかけたりけるに、大方廻らざりければ、とかく直しけれども、終に廻らで、徒らに立てりけり。
  • さて宇治の里人を召してこしらへさせられければ、やすらかに結ひて參らせたりけるが、思ふやうに廻りて、水を汲み入るゝ事、めでたかりけり。萬にその道を知れるものは、やんごとなきものなり。

51. Every man to his trade:

  • The cloistered emperor, having decided to introduce water from the Oi River into the pond of his Kameyama palace, commanded the inhabitants of Oi to build a waterwheel. He paid them generously, and the men worked hard for several days to construct it. But when the wheel was put in place it failed to turn at all. the men tried in various ways to repair it, but it stood there useless, stubbornly refusing to turn.
  • The emperor thereupon summoned some villagers from Uji and ordered them to build a water wheel. they put one together without difficulty and presented it. the wheel turned perfectly and was splendidly efficient at drawing up water. Expert knowledge in any art is a noble thing.

>Top 52. 仁和寺に、ある法師:

  • 仁和寺に、ある法師、年よるまで石清水を拜まざりければ、心憂く覺えて、ある時思ひたちて、たゞ一人徒歩より詣でけり。極樂寺・高良(こおら)などを拜みて、かばかりと心得て歸りにけり。さて傍(かたへ)の人に逢ひて、「年ごろ思ひつる事果たし侍りぬ。聞きしにも過ぎて尊くこそおはしけれ。そも參りたる人ごとに山へのぼりしは、何事かありけむ、ゆかしかりしかど、神へまゐるこそ本意なれと思ひて、山までは見ず。」とぞ言ひける。
    すこしの事にも先達(せんだち)はあらまほしきことなり。
  • かばかり: これ位、これだけ

52. Value of a guide:

  • A certain priest in the Ninnaji, regretting that he had never worshiped at Iwashimiu, though now advanced in years, made up his mind one day and set off alone on foot on his pilgrimage. He worshiped at the Gokuraku temple and the Kora shrine and , supposing that was all there was to Iwashimizu, returned to the Ninnaji. Back in his temple, he told his fellow priests, "I've succeeded in realizing my dreams of many years. the shrine was even more impressive than I had been led to believe. But I wonder why the other pilgrims all climbed the mountain. Is there something there? I wanted to have a look for myself, but may main object, after all, was to worship the god so I decided not to explore the mountain." Even in trivial matters a guide is desirable.

>Top 53. これも仁和寺の法師:

  • これも仁和寺の法師、童の法師にならむとする名殘とて、各遊ぶことありけるに、醉ひて興に入るあまり、傍なる足鼎をとりて頭にかづきたれば、つまるやうにするを、鼻をおしひらめて、顔をさし入れて舞ひ出でたるに、滿座興に入ること限りなし。
  • しばし奏でて後、拔かむとするに、大かた拔かれず。酒宴ことさめて、いかゞはせむと惑ひけり。とかくすれば、首のまはり缺けて血垂り、たゞ腫れに腫れみ ちて、息もつまりければ、うち割らむとすれど、たやすく割れず、響きて堪へがたかりければ、叶はで、すべき樣なくて、三足なる角の上に、帷子をうちかけ て、手をひき杖をつかせて、京なる醫師の許(がり)、率(い)て行きけるに、道すがら人の怪しみ見る事限りなし。醫師の許にさし入り て、むかひ居たりけむ有樣、さこそ異樣なりけめ。物をいふも、くゞもり聲に響きて聞えず。「かゝる事は書にも見えず、傳へたる教へもなし」といへば、また 仁和寺へ帰りて、親しきもの、老いたる母など、枕上により居て泣き悲しめども、聞くらむとも覺えず。
  • かゝる程に、或者のいふやう、「たとひ耳鼻こそ切れ失すとも、命ばかりはなどか生きざらむ、たゞ力をたてて引き給へ」とて、藁の蒂(しべ)をまはりにさし入れて、金を隔てて、首もちぎるばかり引きたるに、耳鼻缺(か)けうげながら、拔けにけり。からき命まうけて、久しく病み居たりけり。

53. After a horseplay:

  • This story too is about a priest at the Ninnaji. A farewell party was being offered for an acolyte about to become a priest, and the guests were all making merry when one of the priests, drunk and carried away by high spirits, picked up a three-legged cauldron nearby, and clamped it over his head. It caught on his nose, but he flattened it down, pulled the pot over his face, and danced out among the others, to the great amusement of everyone.
  • After the priest had been dancing for a while he tried to pull the pot off, but it refused to be budged. A pall fell over the gathering, and people wondered blankly what to do. they tried one thing and another, only succeeding in bruising the skin around his neck. the streamed down, an the priest's neck became so swollen that he had trouble breathing. The others tried to split the pot, but it was not easily broken and the reverberations inside were unbearable. Finally, when all else had failed, they threw a thin garment over the legs of the pot, which stuck up like horns, and, giving the priest a stick to lean on, led him off by the hand to a doctor in Kyoto. People they men on the way stared at this apparition with unconstrained astonishment.
  • The priest presented a most extraordinary sight as he sat inside the doctor's office facing him. Whatever he said came out as an unintelligible, muffled roar. "I can't find any similar case in my medical books," said the doctor, "and there aren't any oral traditions either." the priest had no choice but to return to the Ninnaji, where his close friends and his aged mother gathered at his bedside, weeping with grief, though the priest himself probably could not hear them.
  • At this point somebody suggested, "Wouldn't it be better at least to save his life, even if he loses his nose and ears? Let's try pulling the pot off with all our strength." They suffered straw around the priest's neck to protect it from the metal, then pulled hard enough to tear off his head. Only holes were left to show where his ears and nose had been the the pot was removed. They barely managed to save the priest's life, and for a long time afterwards he was gravely ill.

>Top 54. 御室に、いみじき兒のありけるを:

  • 御室(おむろ)に、いみじき兒のありけるを、いかで誘ひ出して遊ばむと企む法師どもありて、能あるあそび法師どもなど語らひて、風流の破籠(わりご) やうのもの、ねんごろに營み出でて、箱風情のものに認め入れて、雙(ならび)の岡の便りよき所に埋(うづ)み置きて、紅葉ちらしかけなど、思ひよらぬさまにして、御所へまゐりて、兒をそゝのかし出でにけり。
  • うれしく思ひて、こゝかしこ遊びめぐりて、ありつる苔の筵に竝みゐて、「いたうこそ困じにたれ。あはれ紅葉を燒(た)かむ人もがな。験(しるし)あらん僧たち、いのり試みられよ」などいひしろひて、埋みつる木のもとに向きて、數珠(じゅず)おしすり、印ことごとしく結びいでなどして、いらなくふるまひて、木の葉をかきのけたれど、つやつや物も見えず。所の違ひたるにやとて、掘らぬ所もなく山をあされども無かりけり。埋みけるを人の見おきて、御所へ參りたる間に盜めるなりけり。法師ども言の葉なくて、聞きにくくいさかひ腹だちて歸りにけり。
  • あまりに興あらむとすることは、必ずあいなきものなり。

54. Too much artifice:

  • There was a ravishing acolyte at Omuro, and various priests were scheming how they might inveigle him into going out with them. They enlisted the help of some talented entertainers who carefully prepared an elegant hamper and fitted it into a kind of box which they buried in the ground at a pleasant spot not far from Narabigaoka. The priests, after scattering autumn leaves over the place so that no one would guess anything lay buried there, returned to Omuro and induced the boy to accompany them on the picnic.
  • The priests, delighted with their success, tramped around the neighborhood with the boy until they came near the mossy spot where the box was buried. There they sat themselves in a row. "I'm absolutely exhausted," said one priest. "I wish there were somebody to burn autumn leaves!" said another. "Why don't you miracle-working priests try praying?" asked a third. The priests, rubbing their rosaries and elaborately describing magic gestures with their fingers, started to walk towards the tree beneath which the treasure lay buried. After this extraordinary performance they scraped away the leaves, to find nothing. Thinking they might have mistaken the place, they roamed over the whole mountain leaving nowhere undug, but still there was nothing. Someone had observed them burying the hamper and stolen it while they were off in Omuro. The priests, for a time at a loss for words, presently fell to quarreling most unpleasantly, and returned in a rage to the temple. Any excessively ingenious scheme is sure to end in a fiasco.

>Top 55. 家の作りやうは:

  • 家の作りやうは、夏をむねとすべし。冬はいかなる所にも住まる。暑き頃わろき住居(すまひ)は、堪へがたき事なり。
  • 深き水は涼しげなし。淺くて流れたる、遙かに涼し。細かなるものを見るに、遣戸は蔀の間よりも明し。天井の高きは、冬寒く、燈暗し。造作は、用なき所をつくりたる、見るもおもしろく、萬の用にも立ちてよしとぞ、人のさだめあひ侍りし。

55. Housce for summer season:

  • A house should be built with the summer in mind. In winter it is possible to live anywhere, but a badly made house is unbearable when it gets hot.
  • There is nothing cool-looking about deep water; a shallow, flowing stream is far cooler. When you are reading fine print you will find that a room with sliding doors is lighter than one with hinged shutters. A room with a high ceiling is cold in winter and dark by lamplight. People agree that a house which has plenty of spare room is attractive to look at and may be put to many different uses.

>Top 56. 久しく隔たりて逢ひたる人の:

  • 久しく隔たりて逢ひたる人の、わが方にありつる事、數々に殘りなく語り續くるこそあいなけれ。隔てなく馴れぬる人も、程経て見るは、恥しからぬかは。次ざまの人は、あからさまに立ち出でても、今日ありつる事とて、息もつぎあへず語り興ずるぞかし。よき人の物語するは、人あまたあれど、一人に向きて言ふを、 自ら人も聽くにこそあれ。よからぬ人は、誰ともなく、數多(あまた)の中にうち出でて、見る事のやうに語りなせば、皆同じく笑ひのゝしる、いとらうがは し。をかしき事をいひてもいたく興ぜぬと、興なき事をいひてもよく笑ふにぞ、品のほどはかられぬべき。
  • 人の見ざまのよしあし、才ある人はその事など定めあへるに、おのが身にひきかけていひ出でたる、いとわびし。
  • あいなし: 興ざめだ; つまらない

56. Too much talkative:

  • How boring it is when you meet a man after a long separation and he insists on relating at interminable length everything that has happened to him in the meantime. Even if the man is an intimate, somebody you know extremely well, how can you but feel a certain reserve on meeting him again after a time? The vulgar sort of person, even if he goes on a brief excursion somewhere, is breathless with excitement as he relates as matters of great interest everything that has happed to him. When the well-bred man tells a story he addresses himself to one person, even if many people are present, though the others too listen, naturally. But the illbred man flings out his words into the crowd, addressing himself to no one in particular, and describes what happed so graphically that everyone bursts into boisterous laughter. You can judge a person's breeding by whether he is quiet impassive even when he tells an amusing story or laughs a great deal even when relating a matter of no interest.
  • It is most distressing, when the good and bad of somebody's appearance or the quality of a certain person's scholarship is being evaluated, for the speaker to refer to himself by way of comparison.

>Top 57. 人のかたり出でたる歌物語の:

  • 人のかたり出でたる歌物語の、歌のわろきこそ本意なけれ。すこしその道知らん人は、いみじと思ひては語らじ。
  • すべていとも知らぬ道の物がたりしたる、かたはらいたく聞きにくし。
  • かたはらいたし, 傍ら痛し: 傍で見ていてもにがにがしい

57. Know-it-all:

  • It is exasperating when discussions of poetry are devoted to bad poems. How, one wonders, could anyone with the smallest knowledge of the art have supposed such verses were worthy of discussion?
  • Even to an outsider, it is both embarrassing and painful to listen to someone discuss a subject - whatever it may be - that he doesn't really know.

>Top 58. 道心あらば住む所にしもよらじ:

  • 「道心あらば住む所にしもよらじ、家にあり人に交はるとも、後世を願はむに難かるべきかは」と言ふは、更に後世知らぬ人なり。げにはこの世をはかなみ、必ず生死を出でむと思はむに、何の興ありてか、朝夕君に仕へ、家を顧る營みの勇ましからん。心は縁にひかれて移るものなれば、靜かならでは道は行じがたし。
  • その器物(うつはもの)、昔の人に及ばず、山林に入りても、飢をたすけ、嵐を防ぐよすがなくては、あられぬわざなれば、おのづから世を貪るに似たる事も、便りに觸れば、などか無からん。さればとて、「背けるかひなし。さばかりならば、なじかは捨てし」などいはんは、無下の事なり。
  • さすがに一たび道に入りて、世をいとなむ人、たとひ望みありとも、勢ひある人の貪欲多きに似るべからず。紙の衾、麻の衣、一鉢のまうけ、藜(あかざ)の羮(あつもの)、いくばくか人の費をなさむ。求むる所はやすく、その心早く足りぬべし。形に恥づる所もあれば、さはいへど、惡には疎く、善には近づくことのみぞ多き。
  • 人と生れたらんしるしには、いかにもして世を遁れむ事こそあらまほしけれ。偏に貪ることをつとめて、菩提に赴かざらむは、よろづの畜類にかはる所あるまじくや。

58. Anyway be a priest:

  • Some say, "As long as your mind is set on enlightenment, it does not make such difference where you live. Even if you live with your family and mingle in society why should that interfere with your prayers for happiness in the future life?" Men who speak in such terms know nothing whatsoever about the meaning of prayers for the future life. Indeed, once a man realizes how fleeting this life is and resolves to escape at all costs from the cycle of birth and death, what pleasure can he take in daily attendance on some lord or in schemes to benefit his family? A man's mind is influenced by his environment, and unless he has peaceful surroundings he will have difficulty in carrying out his religious duties.
  • People today cannot compare in resourcefulness with men of the past. They go into the mountain forests to live as hermits, only to find the life unendurable without some means of allaying their hunger and shielding themselves from the storms. As a result, how can they help but display at times something akin to a craving for worldly goods?
  • But it would be absurd to conclude therefore: "There is no point in becoming a priest. If that is the best a man can do, why should he abandon the world?" Despite everything once a man has entered the Way of the Buddha and turned his back on the world, even supposing he has desires they cannot possibly resemble the deep-seated cravings of men in power. How much expense to society are his paper bedclothes, his hempen robe, a bowl of food, ad some millet broth? His wants are easily met, he heart quickly satisfied. Since, moreover, he is in some sense ashamed of his appearance, he obviously will most often stay away from evil and keep close to good.
  • It is desirable somehow to make a break from this world so that one may benefit from having been born a man. the man who surrenders himself to his desires and neglects the path of enlightenment is hardly any different from the brute beats.

>Top 59. 大事を思ひたたむ人は:

  • 大事を思ひたたむ人は、さり難き心にかゝらむ事の本意を遂げずして、さながら捨つべきなり。「しばしこの事果てて」、「同じくは彼の事沙汰しおきて」、「しかしかの事、人の嘲りやあらん、行末難なく認め設けて」、「年来もあればこそあれ、その事待たん、程あらじ。物さわがしからぬやうに」など思はんには、え去らぬ事のみいとゞ重なりて、事の盡くる限りもなく、思ひたつ日もあるべからず。おほやう、人を見るに、少し心ある際は、皆このあらましにてぞ一期は過ぐめる。
  • 近き火などに逃ぐる人は、「しばし」とやいふ。身を助けむとすれば、恥をも顧みず、財(たから)をも捨てて遁れ去るぞかし。命は人を待つものかは。無常の來ることは、水火の攻むるよりも速かに、遁れがたきものを、その時老いたる親、いときなき子、君の恩、人の情、捨てがたしとて捨てざらんや。

59. Be a priest II:

  • A man who has determined to take the Great Step should leave unresolved all plans for disposing of urgent or worrisome business.
  • Some men think, "I'll wait a bit longer, until I take care of this matter," or "I might a well dispose of that business first," or "People will surely laugh at me if I leave such and such as it stands. I'll arrange things now so that there won't be any future criticism," or "I've managed to survive all these years. I'll wait till that matter is cleared up. It won't take long. I mustn't be hasty." But if you think in such terms the ay for taking the Great Step will never come, for you will keep discovering more and more unavoidable problems, and there will never be a time when you run out of unfinished business.
  • My observation of people leads me to conclude, generally speaking, that even people with some degree of intelligence are likely to go through life supposing they have ample time before them. But would a man fleeing because a fire has broken out in his neighborhood say to the fire, "Wait a moment, please!"? to save his life, a man will run away, indifferent to shame, abandoning his possessions. Is a man's life any more likely to wait for him? Death attacks faster than fire or water, and is harder to escape. When its hour comes, can you refuse to give up your aged parents, your little children, your duty to your master, your affections for others, because they are hard to abandon?

>Top 60. 眞乘院に、盛親僧都とて:

  • 眞乘院に、盛親僧都(じょうしんそうず)とて、やんごとなき智者ありけり。芋頭(いもがしら)といふ物を好みて、多く食ひけり。談義の座にても、大きなる鉢にうづたかく盛りて、膝もとにおきつゝ、食ひながら書をも讀みけり。煩ふ事あるには、七日(なぬか)、二七日(ふたなぬか)など、療治とて籠り居て、思ふやうによき芋頭を選びて、ことに多く食ひて、萬の病をいやしけり。人に食はすることなし。たゞ一人のみぞ食ひける。極めて貧しかりけるに、師匠、死にざまに、錢二百貫と坊ひとつを讓りたりけるを、坊を百貫に賣りて、かれこれ三萬疋を芋頭の錢(あし)と定めて、京なる人に預けおきて、十貫づゝ取りよせて、 芋頭を乏しからずめしけるほどに、また、他用(ことよう)に用ふる事なくて、その錢皆になりにけり。「三百貫のものを貧しき身にまうけて、かく計らひける、誠にあり難き道心者(だうしんじゃ)なり。」とぞ人申しける。
  • この僧都、ある法師を見て、「しろうるり」といふ名をつけたりけり。「とは、何ものぞ」と、人の問ひければ、「さる者を我も知らず。もしあらましかば、この僧の顔に似てん」とぞいひける。
  • この僧都、みめよく、力強く、大食にて、能書・學匠・辯説、人にすぐれて、宗の法燈なれば、寺中にも重く思はれたりけれども、世を輕く思ひたる曲者にて、萬(よろづ)自由にして、大かた人に隨ふといふ事なし。出仕して饗膳などにつく時も、皆人の前据ゑわたすを待たず、我が前に据ゑぬれば、 やがて獨り打ち食ひて、歸りたければ、ひとりついたちて行きけり。齋(とき)・非時(ひじ)も、人に等しく定めて食はず、我が食ひたき時、夜中にも曉にも食ひて、睡(ねぶ)たければ、晝もかけ籠りて、いかなる大事あれども、人のいふこと聽き入れず。目覺めぬれば、幾夜も寝(い)ねず。心を澄まし嘯(うそぶ)きありきなど、世の常ならぬさまなれども、人に厭はれず、萬許されけり。徳の至れりけるにや。
  • 1貫=100疋=銭1000文

60. Taro mania:

  • Joshiin, an abbot of the Shinjo-in, was a high-ranking priest of great holiness.
    He was extremely fond of what are known as "potato heads", and devoured prodigious quantities of them. He kept a large bowl heaped with these potatoes by his knee in his scripture class, and wold go on eating as he lectured on the sacred books. If ever he fell ill he would shut himself up in his room for a week or a fortnight, announcing that he was taking a cure, and indulge himself with especially good potatoes, eating more than ever. This how he cured any and all ailments. He never gave his potatoes to anyone else, but ate them all himself.
  • Joshin had always been extremely poor, but his teacher on his deathbed left Joshin 200 kan of copper coins and a monks' residence hall. Joshin sold the building for 100 kan, making a total of 30,000 hiki, all of which he decided to use for buying potatoes. He deposited the money with a man in the capital and had potatoes delivered to him in lots of 10 kan worth each. In this way he was able to eat all the potatoes he could desire, so many indeed that although he made no other use of the money, it soon disappeared. People said, "A poor man who falls heir to 300 kan and then spends it in that way must be pious indeed."
  • Once, when this abbot saw a certain priest, he dubbed him the Shiroururi. Someone asked what a shiroururi was. He replied, "I have no idea, but if such a thing existed, I am sure it would look like that priest's face."
  • This abbot was handsome, robustly built, a great eater, and better than anyone at calligraphy, Buddhist scholarship, and rhetoric. He was highly regarded within his temple as a beacon of the sect, but, being an eccentric who cared nothing for society and acted exactly as he pleased in everything, he refused ever to confirm to the others. Even when he sat down to a collation after performing a service, he would never wait until the others were served, but began eating by himself as soon as the food was put before him. then, the moment he felt like leaving he would stand up from the table and go off by himself. He did not eat even collations in his temple at the regular times with the others, but whenever he felt like eating whether in the middle of the night or at the break of day. when he felt like sleeping, he shut himself in his room, even in broad daylight, and refused to listen when people addressed him, no matter how urgent their business might be. Once he awakened, he might then spend several nights without sleeping, going about serenely, whistling as he went. His behavior was unconventional, but people, far from disliking him, allowed him everything. Might it have been because his virtue had attained the highest degree?

>Top 61. 御産の時:

  • 御産(ごさん)の時、甑(こしき)落す事は、定まれることにはあらず。御胞衣(おんえな)滯る時の呪なり。滯らせ給はねば、この事なし。
  • 下ざまより事おこりて、させる本説なし。大原の里の甑をめすなり。ふるき寳藏の繪に、賤しき人の子産みたる所に、甑おとしたるを書きたり。
  • えな, 胞衣: 後産

61. A custom of birth:

  • The custom of dropping a rice steamer from the palace roof on the occasion of an imperial birth is not a regular practice. It is a kind of magic, resorted to when the afterbirth has been slow. Unless this occurs, the ceremony is not performed. The custom originated with the lower classes and has no real historical justification. The rice steamers are ordered from the village of Ohara. A painting, preserved in an old treasury depicts a member of the lower classes dropping a rice steamer from the roof of a house where a child is being born.

>Top 62. 延政門院幼くおはしましける時:

  • 延政門院幼(いときな)くおはしましける時、院へ參る人に、御言(おこと)づてとて申させ給ひける御歌、
  • ふたつ文字 牛の角文字 直ぐな文字
    ゆがみもじとぞ君はおぼゆる
    恋しく思ひ参らせ給ふとなり。
  • こひしく

62. A cryptographic poem:

  • When the Princess Ensei was a small child she asked someone going to the cloitere emperor's palace to relay the following poem as a message from her;
    • The letter in two strokes,
      The letter like an ox' horns,
      The straight letter,
      And the crooked letter too
      All spell my love for you.
  • The poem means that she missed her father, the cloitered emperor.

>Top 63. 後七日の阿闍梨:

  • 後七日の阿闍梨、武者を集むる事、いつとかや盜人に逢ひにけるより、宿直人とてかくことごとしくなりにけり。一年(ひととせ)の相は、この修中に有樣にこそ見ゆなれば、兵を用ひんこと、穩かならぬ事なり。
  • さう, 相: 姿, 形, augury

63. Custom of Buddhist service:

  • The use of soldiers to protect the Leader during the Second Week ceremonies goes back to some time in the past when robbers interrupted the rites. The soldiers were known as "officers on watch" and their functions gradually developed into the present ritual. The auguries for the entire year are revealed by the conduct of these ceremonies, and the use of soldiers is therefore disturbing.

>Top 64. 車の五緒は必ず人によらず:

  • 「車の五(いつゝお)は必ず人によらず、ほどにつけて、極むる官・位に至りぬれば、乘るものなり」とぞ、ある人仰せられし。

64. Ox carriage:

  • A certain gentleman expressed the opinion that the use of five hanging straps on the blinds of a carriage is not necessarily the privilege of a particular class of person. Any man who has reached the highest rank to which his birth entitles him may ride in such a carriage.

>Top 65. このごろの冠は:

  • このごろの冠(かぶり)は、昔よりは遙かに高くなりたるなり。古代の冠桶を持ちたる人は、端(はた)をつぎて今は用ゐるなり。

65. Fashion of a crown:

  • Court caps in recent years have become much taller than formerly. People who own the old-fashioned boxes must add an extra lid to accommodate the new caps.

>Top 66. 岡本關白殿:

  • 岡本關白殿、盛りなる紅梅の枝に、鳥一雙を添へて、この枝につけて參らすべき由、御鷹飼、下毛野武勝(たけかつ)に仰せられたりけるに、「花に鳥つくる術、知り候はず、一枝に二つつくることも、存じ候はず」と申しければ、膳部に尋ねられ、人々に問はせ給ひて、また武勝に、「さらば、己が思はむやうにつけて參らせよ」と仰せられたりければ、花もなき梅の枝に、一つ付けて参らせけり。
  • 武勝が申し侍りしは、「柴の枝、梅の枝、つぼみたると散りたるに付く。五葉などにも付く。枝の長さ七尺、あるひは六尺、返し刀五分に切る。枝の半に鳥を付く。付くる枝、踏まする枝あり。しゞら藤の割らぬにて、二所付くべし。藤の先は、火うち羽(ば)の長(たけ) に比べて切りて、牛の角のやうに 撓(たわ)むべし。
  • 初雪の朝、枝を肩にかけて、中門より振舞ひて参る。大砌(おほみぎり)の石を傳ひて、雪に跡をつけず、雨覆ひの毛を少しかなぐり散らして、二棟の御所の高欄によせ掛く。祿を出ださるれば、肩にかけて、拜して退く。初雪といへども、沓のはなの隱れぬほどの雪には参ら ず。雨覆ひの毛を散らすことは、鷹は、弱腰を取ることなれば、御鷹の取りたるよしなるべし」と申しき。
  • 花に鳥付けずとは、いかなる故にかありけん。長月ばかりに、梅のつくり枝に、雉を付けて、「君がためにと折る花は時しもわかぬ」と言へること、伊勢物語に見えたり。造り花は苦しからぬにや。

66. Master of falconry:

  • The chancellor from Okamoto one gave Shimotsuke no Takekatsu, the master of falconry, a brace of pheasants and a branch of fully opened red plum blossoms with the command that he attach the birds to the branch. Takekatsu replied, "I do not know how to attach birds to a branch in blossom, nor do I know how to attach a pair to a single branch." The chancellor asked the palace chef and various other people if they knew the art, but finally he summoned Takekatsu again and said, "It looks as if no one else knows either. Attach the birds in whatever way you think best." Takakatsu attached one pheasant to a bare plum branch and offered this to the chancellor.
  • Takekatsu explained, "A pheasant may be attached to a branch of brushwood or else to a plum branch, but if it is to a plum branch only to one which is in bud or has lost its blossoms. It may also be attached to a five-needled pine. the branch should be seven or else six feet long. it is pointed by slashing downwards diagonally, then cutting upwards from the opposite side to a depth of half an inch. The pheasant is attached halfway along the branch. Sometimes the pheasant is attached by the head, sometimes by the feet. The bird should be fastened at two places with arrowroot vine that has not been split. The ends of the vine should be cut to the same length as the false wing of the bird and twisted into the shape of an ox's horns.
  • The branch, customarily presented on the morning of the first snow, is carried over the shoulder, and brought in through the central gate with appropriate ceremony. the messenger follows the stone pavement under the eaves, taking care not to leave footprints in the snow. He plucks a few of the downy rump feathers and scatters them, then leans the branch against the porch railing of the palace building. If a gift is bestowed, he throws it over his shoulder, bows in gratitude and withdraws. "Even if snowfall is the first of the year, a pheasant should not be offered if the snow is too scant to cover the toes of the shoes. The rump feathers are scattered to suggest that the pheasant has been captured by an imperial falcon, since the falcon normally seizes its prey by the small of the back."
  • I wonder why a pheasant is not attached to a branch in flower. A passage in Ise Monogatari tells how someone n early autumn once tied a pheasant to an artificial branch of plum and sent it with the poem, "These blossoms, that now I pluck for you, my lord, distinguish not the season." I wonder if artificial flowers were not inappropriate.

>Top 67. 賀茂の岩本、橋本は:

  • 賀茂の岩本、橋本(＝共に社の名前)は、業平・實方(＝藤原實方)なり。人の常にいひ紛(まが)へ侍れば、一年(ひととせ)參りたりしに、老いたる宮司の過ぎしを呼び止めて、尋ね侍りしに、「實方は、御手洗(＝参詣人が手を洗ふ所)に影の映りける所と侍れば、『橋本や、なほ水の近ければ』と覺え侍る。吉水和尚の、
    • 月をめで花をながめし古(いにしえ)の
      やさしき人はこゝにあり原
    と詠みたまひけるは、岩本の社とこそ承りおき侍れど、己らよりは、なかなか御存じなどもこそさぶらはめ」と、いと忝(うやうや)しく言ひたりしこそ、いみじく覺えしか。
  • 今出川院(いまでがわのいん)近衞とて、集(しゅう)どもにあまた入りたる人は、若かりける時、常に百首の歌を詠みて、かの二つの社の御前の水にて書きて手向けられけり。誠にやんごとなき譽ありて、人の口にある歌多し。作文・詩序などいみじく書く人なり。

67. Branch shrines of Kamigamo Shirine:

  • The Iwamoto and Hashimoto sanctuaries within the Kamo shrine are dedicated respectively to Narihira and Sanekata. People are constantly confusing the two. One year I visited the shrine and stopped an aged priest who was passing by to inquire about them. He answered, "They say that Sanekata's is at the place where he left his reflection in the sacred steam. Hashimoto is the close of the two sanctuaries to the water, so I imagine that one is his. I have heard that the lines by the abbot from Yoshimizu,
    • That charming gentleman
      Of ancient times who loved
      The moon and brooded
      Over the cherry blossoms
      Lies here - Ariwara,
    refer to the Iwamoto shrine, but I am sure you are much better informed than we are."
  • I was impressed by his extremely deferential way of speaking. The Lady Konoe, who was in the service of the cloistered princess of Imadegawa, was the author of numerous poems included in the imperial anthologies. When she was young she would often compose cycles of a hundred poems and write them down with ink mixed with water from the stream before these two sanctuaries; she would then offer her manuscript at the shrine. She enjoyed a truly exceptional reputation, and many of her poems were on people's lips. She was also a splendid writer of Chinese poetry and of prefaces to collections of poetry.

>Top 68. 筑紫に、なにがしの押領使などいふやうなる者:

  • 筑紫に、なにがしの押領使などいふやうなる者のありけるが、土大根(つちおおね)を萬にいみじき藥とて、朝ごとに二つづゝ燒きて食ひける事、年久しくなりぬ。ある時、館(たち)のうちに人もなかりける隙をはかりて、敵襲ひ來りて圍み攻めけるに、館の内に兵二人出で来て、命を惜しまず戰ひて、皆追ひ返してけり。いと不思議に覚えて、「日頃こゝにものし給ふとも見ぬ人々の、かく戰ひしたまふは、いかなる人ぞ」と問ひければ、「年來たのみて、朝な朝な召しつる土大根らに候」といひて失せにけり。
    深く信を致しぬれば、かゝる徳もありけるにこそ。

68. Requital of a radish:

  • There was in Tsukushi a certain man, a constable of the peace it would seem, who for many years had eaten two broiled radishes each morning under the impression that radishes were a sovereign remedy for all ailments. Once some some enemy forces attacked and surrounded his constabulary, choosing a moment when the place was deserted. Just then, two soldiers rushed out of the building, and engaged the enemy, fighting with no thought for their lives until they drove away all the enemy troops. The constable, greatly astonished, asked the two soldiers, "You have fought most gallantly, gentlemen, considering I have never seen you here before. Might I ask who you are?" "We are the radishes you have faithfully eaten every morning for so many years," they answered, and with these words they disappeared. So deep was his faith in radishes that even such a miracle could occur.

>Top 69. 書寫の上人は:

  • 書寫の上人は、法華讀誦の功積りて、六根淨にかなへる人なりけり。旅の假屋に立ち入られけるに、豆の殻を焚きて豆を煮ける音の、つぶつぶと鳴るを聞き給ひ ければ、「疎からぬ己等しも、恨めしく我をば煮て、辛き目を見するものかな」と言ひけり。焚かるゝ豆がらのはらはらと鳴る音は、「我が心よりする事かは。燒かるゝはいかばかり堪へがたけれども、力なきことなり。かくな恨み給ひそ」とぞ聞えける。

69. Beans talked:

  • The holy man of Shosha accumulated so much merit by frequent reading aboud of the Lotus Sutra that his six senses attained a state of purity. Once while on a journey, he entered an inn and heard the murmur of beans as they were boiled over a fire of ban husks. The beans were saying, "How cruel of you, who have been so close to us, to subject us to this terrible ordeal of boiling!" The husks made a crackling sound as they burnt which, the holy man could tell, meant, "Do you suppose we like doing it? Being burnt is horribly painful, but there is nothing we can do to prevent it. Don't be so angry with us."

>Top 70. 玄應の清暑堂の御遊に:

  • 玄應の清暑堂の御遊に、玄上は失せにしころ、菊亭の大臣、牧馬を彈じ給ひけるに、座につきてまづ柱(ぢゅう)を探られたりければ、ひとつ落ちにけり。御懐に續飯(そくひ)をもち給ひたるにて付けられにければ、神供の參るほどによく干て、事故(ことゆえ)なかりけり。
  • いかなる意趣かありけん、物見ける衣被(きぬかづき) の、寄りて放ちて、もとのやうに置きたりけるとぞ。
  • ことゆえ, 事故: さしさわり

70. Use one's wit:

  • During the Geno era a palace concert was given in the Seisho Hall just after the famous biwa Genjo had been lost. The minister from the Chrysanthemum Pavilion was to play on the biwa called Bokuba. He took his seat and was making sure, first of all, that the frets were in place when one fell off. He used some rice paste he kept in his wallet to fasten the fret back on the instrument. It dried satisfactorily during the presentation of the offerings to the gods, and nothing untoward occurred during the concert. A woman in the audience, who wore silken hood, having some grievance against the musician, had sneaked up to his biwa and, wrenching the fret from the instrument, had replaced it as before, so that no one would detect anything was amiss.

>Top 71. 名を聞くより:

  • 名を聞くより、やがて面影はおしはからるゝ心地するを、見る時は、又かねて思ひつるまゝの顔したる人こそなけれ。昔物語を聞きても、この頃の人の家のそこ程にてぞありけむと覺え、人も、今見る人の中に思ひよそへらるゝは、誰もかく覺ゆるにや。
  • またいかなる折ぞ、たゞ今人のいふことも、目に見ゆるものも、わが心のうちも、かゝる事のいつぞやありしがと覺えて、いつとは思ひ出(い)でねども、まさしくありし心地のするは、我ばかりかく思ふにや。

71. Déjà vue:

  • As soon as I hear a name I feel convinced I can guess what the owner looks like, but it never happens, when I actually meet the man, that his face is as I had supposed. I wonder if everybody shares my experience of feeling, when I hear some story about the past, that the house mentioned in the story must have been rather like this or that house belonging to people of today, or that the persons of the story resemble people I see now.
  • It has happened on various occasions too that I have felt, just after someone has said something or I have seen something or thought of something, that it has occurred before. I cannot remember when it was, but I feel absolutely certain that the thing has happened. Am I the only one who has such impressions?

>Top 72. 賎しげなるもの:

  • 賎しげなるもの。居たるあたりに調度の多き、硯に筆の多き、持佛堂に佛の多き、前栽に石・草木の多き、家のうちに子孫(こうまご)の多き、人にあひて詞の多き、願文に作善多く書き載せたる。
  • 多くて見苦しからぬは、文車の文(ふみ)、塵塚の塵(ちり)。

72. Too much is as bad as too little:

  • Things which seem in poor taste: too many personal effect cluttering up the place where one is sitting; too many brushes in an ink-box; too many Buddhas in a family temple; too many sones and plants in a garden; too many children in a house; too many words on meeting someone; too many meritorious deeds recorded in a petition. Things which are not offensive, no matter how numerous; books in a book cart, rubbish in a rubbish heap.

>Top 73. 世にかたり傳ふる事:

  • 世にかたり傳ふる事、誠は愛なきにや、多くは皆虚言なり。あるにも過ぎて、人はものをいひなすに、まして年月すぎ、境も隔たりぬれば、言いたき侭(まま)に語りなして、筆にも書き留めぬれば、やがて定りぬ。 道々のものの上手のいみじき事など、かたくななる人の、その道知らぬは、そゞろに神の如くにいへども、道知れる人は更に信も起さず。音にきくと見る時とは、何事も變るものなり。
  • かつ顯(あら)はるゝも顧みず、口に任せていひちらすは、やがて浮きたることと聞ゆ。又、我も誠しからずは思ひながら、人のいひしままに、鼻の程をごめきて言ふは、その人の虚言にはあらず。げにげにしく所々うちおぼめき、能く知らぬよしして、さりながら、つまづま合せて語る虚言は、 恐ろしき事なり。
  • わがため面目あるやうに言はれぬる虚言は、人いたくあらがはず、皆人の興ずる虚言は、一人「さもなかりしものを」と言はんも詮なくて、聞き居たる程に、證人にさへなされて、いとゞ定りぬべし。
  • とにもかくにも、虚言多き世なり。ただ、常にある、珍しからぬ事のままに心えたらん、よろづ違ふべからず。下ざまの人のものがたりは、耳驚くことのみあり。よき人はあやしき事を語らず。
  • かくは言へど、佛神の奇特(きどく)、權者(ごんじゃ)の傳記、さのみ信ぜざるべきにもあらず。これは世俗の虚言を懇に信じたるもをこがましく、「よもあらじ」などいふも詮なければ、大方は誠しくあひしらひて、偏に信ぜず、また疑ひ嘲るべからず。
  • いひちらす; 言いふらす, spew

73. How to treat exaggerated tales, or lies:

  • Is it because the truth is so boring that most stories one hears are false? People tend to exaggerate even when relating things they have actually witnessed, but when months or years have intervened, and the place is remote, they are all the more prone to invent whatever tales suit their fancies, and, when these have been written down, fictions are accepted as fact. This holds true of skill in the various arts; ignorant men who know nothing about these arts praise the masters indiscriminately, as if they were gods, but the expert gives no credence to such tales. Things known by report always prove quite different when one has actually seen them.
  • When a man spews forth whatever nonsense comes to his mind, not caring that he may be exposed on the spot, people soon realize that he is lying. Again if a man, though himself doubting the truth of a story, tells it exactly as it was related to him, with a self-satisfied twitching of the nose, the lie is not his. But it is frightening when a man tells a lie convincingly, deliberately blurring the details in places and pretending not to remember exactly what happened, but carefully leaving no loose ends.
  • Nobody protests very energetically at a lie which redounds to his own prestige.
    If, when everyone lese is listening with pleasure to some lie, you decide that it would be pointless to be the only one to protest, "That wasn't what happened," and listen in silence, you may even be cited as a witness, and the story will seem all the more authentic.
  • There's no escaping it - the world is full of lies. It is safest always to accept what one hears as if it were utterly commonplace and devoid of interest. Stories told by the lower classes are full of startling incidents. the well-bred man doe not tell stories about prodigies.
  • I do not mean to suggest, however, that one should not believe wholeheartedly in the miracles of the gods and Buddhas, or in the lives of the incarnations. It is foolish to accept popular superstitions uncritically, but to dismiss them as being "most improbable" serves no purpose. In general, the best course is to treat such matters as if they were true, neither giving one's unqualified belief nor doubting or mocking them.

>Top 74. 蟻の如くに集りて:

  • 蟻の如くに集りて、東西に急ぎ、南北に走(わし)る。貴きあり、賎しきあり。老いたるあり、若きあり。行く所あり、歸る家あり。夕に寝(い)ねて、朝に起く。營む所何事ぞや。生を貪り、利を求めてやむ時なし。
  • 身を養ひて何事をか待つ、期するところ、たゞ老(おい)と死とにあり。その來る事速かにして、念々の間に留まらず。これを待つ間、何の樂しみかあらむ。惑へるものはこれを恐れず。名利に溺れて、先途の近きことを顧みねばなり。愚かなる人は、またこれをかなしぶ。常住ならんことを思ひて、變化の理を知らねばなり。
  • ねんねん, 念念; 一瞬一瞬; 一つ一つ

74. Old age and death await us.:

  • They flock together like ants, hurry east and west, run north and south. Some are mighty, some humble. Some are aged, some young. They have places to go, houses to return to. At night they sleep, in the morning get up. But what does all this activity mean? There is no ending to their greed for long life, their grasping for profit.
  • What expectations have they that they take such good care of themselves? All that awaits them in the end is old age and death, whose coming is swift and does not falter for one instant. What joy can there be while waiting for this end? The man who is deluded by fame and profit does not fear the approach of old age and death because he is so intoxicated by worldly cravings that he never stops to consider how near he is to his destination. The foolish man, for his part, grieves because he desires ever-lasting life and is ignorant of the law of universal change.

>Top 75. つれづれわぶる人は:

  • つれづれわぶる人は、いかなる心ならむ。紛るゝ方なく、唯一人あるのみこそよけれ。
  • 世に從へば、心外の塵にうばはれて惑ひ易く、人に交はれば、言葉よそのききに隨ひて、さながら心にあらず。人に戲れ、物に爭ひ、一度は恨み、一 度は喜ぶ。そのこと定れることなし。分別妄(みだ)りに起りて、得失やむ時なし。惑ひの上に醉へり、醉の中に夢をなす。走りていそがはしく、ほれて忘れたること、人皆かくのごとし。
  • いまだ誠の道を知らずとも、縁を離れて身を閑(しづか)にし、事に與(あづか)らずして心を安くせんこそ、暫く樂しぶともいひつべけれ。「生活・人事(にんじ)・技能・學問等の諸縁を止めよ」とこそ、摩訶止觀にも侍れ。
  • わぶる, 侘ぶる: わびしく思う、つらく思う

75. : Maka Shikan - break your ties with everything:

  • I wonder what feelings inspire a man to complain of "having nothing to do." I am happiest when I have nothing to distract me and I am completely alone.
  • If a man conforms to society, his mind will be captured by the filth of the outside world, and he is easily led astray; if he mingles in society, he must be careful that his words do not offend others, and what he says will not at all be what he feels in his heart. He will joke with others only to quarrel with them, now resentful, now happy, his feelings in constant turmoil. Calculations is added to delusion, and in a state of the man dreams. People are all alike; they spend their days running about frantically, oblivious to their insanity.
  • Even if a man has not yet discovered the path of enlightenment, as long as he removes himself from his worldly ties, leads a quiet life, and maintains his peace of mind by avoiding entanglements, he may be said to be happy, at least for the time being.
  • It is written in Maka Shikan, "Break your ties with your daily activities, with personal affairs, with your arts, and with learning."

>Top 76. 世の覚え花やかなるあたりに:

  • 世の覚え花やかなるあたりに、嘆きも喜びもありて、人多く往きとぶらふ中に、聖法師の交りて、いひ入れ佇みたるこそ、さらずともと見ゆれ。
    さるべきゆゑありとも、法師は人にうとくてありなん。

76. :

  • When large numbers of people have assembled at the house of some highly esteemed family on a tragic or joyous occasion, it seems regrettable that ascetic priests should mingle with the crowd hovering at doorway and waiting to be admitted. Even if there is some special reason for their presence, priests should keep aloof from people.

>Top 77. 世の中に、そのころ人のもてあつかひぐさに:

  • 世の中に、そのころ人のもてあつかひぐさに言ひあへること、いろふべきにはあらぬ人の、よく案内(あない)知りて、人にも語り聞かせ、問ひ聞きたるこそうけられね。ことに、かたほとりなる聖法師などぞ、世の人の上は、わがことと尋ね聞き、如何でかばかりは知りけむと覺ゆるまでぞ、言ひ散らすめる。

77. Big ears and chattering:

  • I find it intolerable when people who have no concern with some matter that has become a current subject of gossip acquaint themselves thoroughly with the intimate details, pass on to others their findings, or persist in further inquiries. It often happens that some country bumpkin of a priest pries into strangers' business as if it were his concern, then spreads reports so detailed it makes one wonder how he could have learned so much.

>Top 78. 今樣の事どもの珍しきを:

  • 今樣の事どもの珍しきを、いひ廣め、もてなすこそ、又うけられね。世にこと古(ふ)りたるまで知らぬ人は、心にくし。
  • 今更の人などのある時、こゝもとに言ひつけたる言種(ことぐさ)、物の名など心得たるどち、片端言ひかはし、目見あはせ、笑ひなどして、心しらぬ人に心得ず思はすること、世なれず、よからぬ人の、必ずあることなり。

78. Talking curious episodes:

  • I find it insufferable too the way people spread word about the latest novelties and make a fuss over them. I am charmed by the man who remains unaware of such fashions until they have become quite an old story to everyone else.
  • The man without breeding or social graces will, when a new arrival is present, invariably mention subjects and persons familiar to the other members of a gathering, carrying on a conversation in fragments and with knowing glances and laughter, making the stranger, who fails to catch their meaning, feel like an utter ignoramus.

>Top 79. 何事も入りたたぬさましたるぞよき:

  • 何事も入りたたぬさましたるぞよき。よき人は知りたる事とて、さのみ知りがほにやは言ふ。片田舎よりさしいでたる人こそ、萬の道に心得たるよしのさしいらへはすれ。されば世に恥しき方もあれど、自らもいみじと思へる氣色、かたくななり。
  • よく辨(わきま)へたる道には、必ず口おもく、問はぬかぎりは、言はぬこそいみじけれ。
  • しりがほ, 知り顔: 知ったかぶり, know-it-all
  • わきまへ, 辨え: 識別、分別

79. Subjects one knows thoroughly:

  • A man should avoid displaying deep familiarity with any subject. Can one imagine a well-bred man talking with the air of a know-it-all, even about a matter with which he is in fact familiar? The boor who pops up on the scene from somewhere in the hinterland answers questions with an air of utter authority in every field. As a result, though the man may also possess qualities that compel our admiration, the manner in which he displays his high opinion of himself is contemptible.
  • It is impressive when a man is always slow to speak, even on subjects he knows thoroughly and does not speak at all unless questioned.

>Top 80. 人ごとに、我が身にうとき事を:

  • 人ごとに、我が身にうとき事をのみぞ好める。法師は兵の道をたて、夷(えびす)は弓ひく術知らず、佛法知りたる氣色(きそく)し、連歌し、管絃を嗜みあへり。されど、おろかなる己が道より、なほ人に思ひ侮(あなづ)られぬべし。
  • 法師のみにもあらず、上達部、殿上人、上ざままでおしなべて、武を好む人多かり。百たび戰ひて百たび勝つとも、いまだ武勇の名を定めがたし。その故は運に乘じて敵(あた)を砕く時、勇者にあらずといふ人なし。兵盡き、矢窮(きわま)りて、遂に敵に降らず、死を安くして後、はじめて名を顯はすべき道なり。生けらんほどは、武に誇るべか らず。人倫に遠く、禽獸に近き振舞、その家にあらずば、好みて益なきことなり。

80. Doing something quite unrelated:

  • Everybody enjoys doing something quite unrelated to his normal way of life. The priest devotes himself to the arts of the soldier; the soldier (apparently unfamiliar with the art of drawing a bow) pretends to know the Buddhist Law and amuses himself with linked verse and music. But priests and soldiers are both likely to be scorned more for these accomplishments than for their failings in their own professions.
  • Not only priests, but nobles, courtiers, and even men of the highest rank are often fond of arms. But though they fight a hundred times and win a hundred victories it is no easy matter to win the reputation of a martial hero. Every man is brave when he can profit by good fortune to crush the enemy; only if a man accepts death calmly when his sword is broken and his arrows exhausted, refusing to the end to surrender, can he prove he is worthy to be called a "hero." A man has no right to boast of his martial prowess as long as he is still living. The soldier's life is remote from that of humankind and closer to that of the beasts; it is useless, unless on happens to be born into a warrior family, to indulge in the martial arts.

>Top 81. 屏風・障子などの繪も文字も:

  • 屏風・障子などの繪も文字も、かたくななる筆樣(ふでやう)して書きたるが、見にくきよりも、宿の主人の拙く覺ゆるなり。
  • 大かた持てる調度にても、心おとりせらるゝ事はありぬべし。さのみよき物を持つべしとにもあらず、損ぜざらむためとて、品なく見にくきさまに爲(し)なし、珍しからんとて、用なき事どもし添(そ)へ、煩はしく好みなせるをいふなり。古めかしきやうにて、いたくことごとしからず、費もなくて、物がらのよきがよきなり。

81. :

  • A screen or sliding door decorated with a painting or inscription in clumsy brushwork gives an impression less of its own ugliness than of the bad taste of the owner.
  • It is all too apt to happen that a man's possessions betray his inferiority. I am not suggesting that a man should own nothing but masterpieces. I refer to the practice of deliberately building in a tasteless and ugly manner "to keep the house from showing its age," or adding all manner of useless things in order to create an impression of novelty, though only producing an effect of fussiness. Possessions should look old, nor overly elaborate; they need not cost much, but their quality should be good.

>Top 82. 羅の表紙は:

  • 「羅(うすもの)の表紙は、疾(と)く損ずるが侘しき」と人のいひしに、頓阿が、「羅は上下はづれ、螺鈿(らでん)の軸は、貝落ちて後こそいみじけれ」と 申し侍りしこそ、心勝りて覺えしか。一部とある草紙などの、同じ樣にもあらぬを、醜しといへど、弘融僧都が、「物を必ず一具に整へんとするは、拙き者のする事なり。不具なるこそよけれ」と言ひしも、いみじく覺えしなり。
  • 「總て、何も皆、事の整ほりたるはあしき事なり。爲殘(しのこ)したるを、さて打ち置きたるは、面白く、生き延ぶる事(わざ)なり。 内裏造らるゝにも、必ず、造り果てぬ所を殘す事なり」と、ある人申し侍りしなり。先賢の作れる内外(ないげ)の文にも、章段の闕けたる事のみこそ侍れ。

82. Leaving one place unfinished:

  • Somebody once remarked that thin silk was not satisfactory as a scroll wrapping because it was so easily torn Ton'a replied, "It is only after the silk wrapper has frayed at top and bottom, and the mother-of-peal has fallen from the roller that a scroll looks beautiful." This opinion demonstrated the excellent taste of the man. People often say that a set of books looks ugly if all volumes are not in the same format, but I was impressed to hear the Abbot Koyu say, "It is typical of the unintelligent man to insist on assembling complex sets of everything. Imperfect sets are better."
  • In everything, no matter what it may be, uniformity is undesirable. Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting, and gives one the felling that there is room for growth. Someone once told me, "Even when building the imperial palace, they always leave one place unfinished." In both Buddhist and Confucian writings of the philosophers of former times, there are also many missing chapters.

>Top 83. 竹林院入道左大臣殿:

  • 竹林院入道左大臣殿、太政大臣にあがり給はんに、何の滯りかおはせむなれども、「珍しげなし。一の上(かみ)にてやみなん」とて、出家し給ひにけり。洞院左大臣殿、この事を甘心し給ひて、相國の望みおはせざりけり。
  • 「亢龍の悔いあり」とかやいふ事侍るなり。月滿ちては缺け、物盛りにしては衰ふ。萬の事、先の詰りたるは、破れに近き道なり。
  • めづらし, 珍し: 素晴らしい; 清新である
  • 一の上: 左大臣:
  • 亢: たかぶる; 傲慢な

83. The moon waxed only to wane:

  • Nothing stood in the way of the lay priest of Chikurin'in and minister of the left rising to be prime minister, but he said, "I doubt that being prime minister will make much difference. I'll stop at minister of the left." He subsequently took Buddhist orders.
  • the Toin minister of the left, impressed by this story, himself never entertained any ambitions of becoming prime minister.
  • The old adage has it, "When the dragon has soared to the summit he knows the chagrin of descent." The moon waxed only to wane; things reach their height only presently to decline. In all things, the principle holds true that decline threatens when further expansion is impossible.

>Top 84. 法顯三藏の天竺に渡りて:

  • 法顯三藏の天竺に渡りて、故郷の扇を見ては悲しび、病に臥しては漢の食を願ひ給ひける事を聞きて、「さばかりの人の、無下にこそ、心弱き氣色を人の國にて見え給ひけれ」と人の言ひしに、弘融僧都、「優に情ありける三藏かな」といひたりしこそ、法師の樣にもあらず、心にくく覺えしか。

84. How touchingly human:

  • When Fa-hsien was in India it made him sad to see a fan from his native land, and when he lay sick he longed for Chinese food. Someone who heard this story remarked, "To think that so eminent a man should have let people in a foreign country see how terribly weak-spirited he was!" But the Abbot Koyu answered, "How touchingly human of him!" I felt that his comment was charming, not at all what one expects from a priest.

>Top 85. 人の心すなほならねば:

  • 人の心すなほならねば、僞りなきにしもあらず。されども、自ら正直の人、などかなからん。己すなほならねど、人の賢を見て羨むは世の常なり。至りて愚かなる人は、たまたま賢なる人を見て、これを憎む。「大きなる利を得んが爲に、少しきの利を受けず、僞り飾りて名を立てむとす」と謗る。おのれが心に違へるによりて、この嘲りをなすにて知りぬ。この人は下愚の性うつるべからず、僞りて小利をも辭すべからず。假にも賢を学ぶべからず。
  • 狂人の真似とて大路を走らば、則ち狂人なり。惡人の真似とて人を殺さば、惡人なり。驥(き)を学ぶは驥の類ひ、舜を学ぶは舜の徒(ともがら)なり。僞りても賢を学ばむを賢といふべし。

85. A man who studied wisdom should be called wise.:

  • Man's heart being devious, there is no absence of imposture. But how could there not be a few honest men too? It commonly happens that men, thought themselves not honest, are envious of the goodness they observe in others. Occasionally, it is true, some exceedingly stupid man will fell hatred for any good man he may encounter, and slander him in these terms; "That man refuses small profits because he hopes for big ones. He puts on a false front of virtue so that he may earn the reputation of being a man of integrity." The fool makes this criticism because the good man's nature differs from his own; from this it it evident that he is a man of ingrained stupidity whose nature will not change; he could not even falsely refuse a small profit, nor cloud he even for brief time emulate the good man.
  • If you run through the streets, saying you imitate a lunatic, you are in fact a lunatic. If you kill a man, saying you imitate a criminal, you are a criminal yourself. By the same token, a horse that imitates a champion thoroughbred may be classed as a thoroughbred, and the man who imitates Shun belongs to Shun's company. A man who studied wisdom, even insincerely, should be called wise.

>Top 86. 惟繼中納言は:

  • 惟繼(これつぐ)中納言は、風月の才に富める人なり。一生精進にて、讀經うちして、寺法師の圓伊僧正と同宿して侍りけるに、文保に三井寺焼かれし時、坊主にあひて、「御坊をば寺法師とこそ申しつれど、寺はなければ今よりは法師とこそ申さめ」と言はれけり。いみじき秀句なりけり。

86. I shall call you simply 'priest.':

  • The Middle Counselor Koretsugu is richly endowed as a writer of Chinese poetry. He has spent his life in Buddhist devotions and in constant reading of the sutras. formerly, he shared quarters with Bisho En'i, a priest of the Miidera, but when the etemple was burned in the Bumpo era, Koretsugu remarked to the bishop, "I have always called you 'priest of the temple,' but now that the temple is gone I shall call you simply 'priest.' " this was a excellent play of words.

>Top 87. 下部に酒のまする事は:

  • 下部(しもべ)に酒のまする事は心すべき事なり。
    宇治に住みける男、京に具覺坊とてなまめきたる遁世の僧を、小舅なりければ、常に申し睦びけり。ある時、迎へに馬を遣したりければ、「遥かなる程なり。口つきの男 に、まづ一度せさせよ」とて、酒を出したれば、さしうけさしうけ、よゝと飮みぬ。
  • 太刀うち佩きて、かひがひしげなれば、頼もしく覺えて、召し具して行くほどに、木幡の程にて、奈良法師の兵士(ひょうじ)あまた具して逢ひたるに、この男立ち對(むか)ひて、「日暮れにたる山中に、怪しきぞ。止まり候 へ」と言ひて、太刀をひき拔きければ、人も皆太刀抜き、矢矧(やは)げなどしけるを、具覺坊手をすりて、「現心(うつしごゝろ)なく醉ひたるものに候ふ。 枉(ま)げて許し給はらん」と言ひければ、おのおの嘲りて過ぎぬ。
  • この男具覺坊にあひて、「御坊は口惜しき事し給ひつるものかな。おのれ醉ひたること侍らず。高名仕(つかまつ)らんとするを、拔ける太刀空しくなし給ひつること」と怒りて、ひた斬りに斬り落しつ。さて、「山賊(やまだち)あり」とのゝしりけ れば、里人おこりて出であへば、「われこそ山賊よ」と言ひて、走りかゝりつゝ斬り廻りけるを、あまたして手負はせ、打ち伏せて縛りけり。
  • 馬は血つきて、宇治大路の家に走り入りたり。浅ましくて、男ども數多走らかしたれば、具覺坊は、梔原(くちなしばら)にによひ伏したるを、求め出でて舁(か)きもて來つ。辛き命生きたれど、腰きり損ぜられて、かたはに成りにけり。
  • によふ, 呻吟ふ: うなる、うめく

87. Be careful about giving drink to menials:

  • One should be careful about giving drink to menials. A man who lived in Uji had a brother-in-law in Kyoto, a hermit-priest of exquisite tastes named Gugakubo, with whom he always associated as a close friend. One day when he had sent his horse to fetch the priest, the latter said, "We have a long way ahead of us. Give the horse driver something to drink before we set out." Sake was set out before the groom, who swilled down cup after cup.
  • When they set out on the road the man clapped a broad sword to his side and looked so imposing that Gugakubo felt quite reassured. On the way, in the neighborhood of Kobata, they encountered some Nara priests accompanied by a large bodyguard of soldiers. The groom, accosting them, cried, "A very suspicious lot they are, here in the mountains after dark. Halt there!" He drew his sword and the others all drew theirs or fixed arrows to their bow. Gugakubo, rubbing is hands imploringly, exclaimed, "He doesn't know what he's doing - he's drunk! Please forgive him, thought he doesn't deserve it." the men shouted insults at the horse-driver, but continued on their way.
  • The groom, turning to Gugakubo, said, "That was a mean trick to have played on me, sir. I'm not drunk. I drew my sword, hoping I might make a name for myself, but you ruined everything." In a rage, he slashed wildly at Gugakubo and cut him down. the groom then gave a great shout of "Bandits!" at which villagers swarmed out, only for him to cry, "I'm the bandit myself!" He chased after them, slashing in all directions, until finally the villagers, by force of numbers, wounded him, knocked him to the ground and tied him up.
  • The horse, spattered with blood, galloped back to its stable on the Uji High Road. the owner, shocked to se the riderless horse, sent many men running off to investigate. they found Gugakubo lying prostrate and groaning in gardenia Moor, and carried him back. He barely escaped with his life, but was so badly injured by sword wounds in the back that he was left a cripple.

>Top 88. 或者、小野道風の書ける和漢朗詠集とて:

  • 或者、小野道風の書ける和漢朗詠集とて持ちたりけるを、ある人、「御相傳浮けることには侍らじなれども、四條大納言撰ばれたるものを、道風書かむこと、時代や違ひはべらむ、覺束なくこそ」といひければ、「さ候へばこそ、世に有り難きものには侍りけれ」とていよいよ秘藏しけり。

88. : Anachronism of manuscript:

  • A certain man owned a copy of Wakan Roei Shu which, he claimed, was in the hand of Ono no Tofu. Another man commented, "I am sure that there must be good reason for the attribution, sir, but does it not seem an anachronism that Tofu (10C) should have written the manuscript of a work compiled by Fujiwara no Kinto (11C), a man born after his death? It seems rather strange." The owner replied, "That's precisely what makes this manuscript so unusual." He treasured it more than ever.

>Top 89. 奧山に、猫またと云ふものありて:

  • 「奧山に、猫またと云ふものありて、人を食ふなる」と人のいひけるに、「山ならねども、これらにも、猫の經あがりて、猫またになりて、人とる事はあなるものを」といふものありけるを、なに阿彌陀佛とかや連歌しける法師の、行願寺の邊にありけるが、聞きて、「一人ありかむ身は心すべきことにこそ。」と思ひける頃しも、ある所にて、夜ふくるまで連歌して、たゞ一人かへりけるに、小川の端にて、音に聞きし猫また、あやまたず足もとへふと寄り來て、やが て掻きつくまゝに、頚のほどを食はんとす。肝心もうせて、防がんとするに力もなく、足も立たず、小川へ転び入りて、「助けよや、猫また、よやよや」と叫べば、家々より松どもともして、走り寄りて見れば、このわたりに見知れる僧なり。「こは如何に」とて、川の中より抱き起したれば、連歌の賭物とりて、扇小箱など懷に持ちたりけるも、水に入りぬ。希有にして助かりたるさまにて、這ふ這ふ家に入りにけり。
    飼ひける犬の、暗けれど主を知りて、飛びつきたりけるとぞ。
  • よや: よう、おーい、、

89. Nekomata or his own dog?:

  • Someone remarked, "In the mountains there is a man-eating beast called the nekomata." Another man said, "They're not only found in the mountains. Even in this neighborhood cats have grown into nekomata, with time and experience, and some have been known to eat people." A priest named Amidabutsu, a linked-verse poet who lived near the Gyoganji, heard this story and decided that he would have to be more careful henceforth when he traveled alone. Not long afterwards he was returning home alone after having spent much of the night composing linked verse at a certain place. He had reached the bank of a stream, when suddenly a nekomata, looking exactly as it had been described, bounded up to his feet. It leaped on the priest and tried to bite his throat. The priest was so terrified that he had not the strength to defend himself. His legs gave way and he tumbled into the river, crying, "Help! A nekomata! A nekomata's after me!" People came running out from nearby houses with lighted torches and found the priest, a well-known figure in the neighborhood. "What happened?" they cried. When they lifted him from the river they discovered he had fallen in with the fan and little boxes won as prizes for his linked verse clutched to his bosom. Looking as of only a miracle had saved him, he crawled back into his house. Apparently his dog, recognizing its master in the dark, had jumped on him.

>Top 90. 大納言法印の召し使ひし乙鶴丸:

  • 大納言法印の召し使ひし乙鶴丸、やすら殿といふ者を知りて、常にゆき通ひしに、ある時出でて歸り來たるを、法印、「いづくへ行きつるぞ」と問ひしか ば、「やすら殿の許(がり)罷りて候」と言ふ。「そのやすら殿は、男か法師か」とまた問はれて、袖かき合せて、「いかゞ候ふらん。頭をば見候はず」と答へ申しき。などか、頭ばかりの見えざりけん。

90. A layman or a priest?:

  • Otozurumaru, a boy in the service of the major counselor and high priest, was intimate with one Sir Yasura and constantly went to vist him. Once when the boy had retuned after a visit, the high priest asked him, "Where have you been?" the boy answered, "To see Sir Yasura." The boy was asked, "Is this Sir Yasura a layman or a priest?" He respectuflly brought his sleeves together and replied, "I am not sure. I have never seen his head." Why should he hae been unable to see the man's head, I wonder.

>Top 91. 赤舌日といふ事:

  • 赤舌日(しゃくぜつにち)といふ事、陰陽道(おんみゃうだう) には沙汰なき事なり。昔の人これを忌まず。この頃、何者の言ひ出でて忌み始めけるにか、この日ある事、末通らずといひて、その日言ひたりしこと、爲(し)たりし事、叶はず、得たりし物は失ひつ、企てたりし事成らずといふ、愚かなり。吉日を選びてなしたるわざの、末通らぬを數へて見んも、亦等しかるべし。
  • その故は、無常變易(へんやく)の境、ありと見るものも存せず、始めあることも終りなし。志は遂げず。望みは絶えず。人の心不定なり。ものみな幻化なり。何事かしばらくも住する。この理を知らざるなり。「吉日に惡をなすに、必ず凶なり。惡日に善を行ふに、かならず吉なり」といへり。吉凶は人によりて、日によらず。
  • 吉: auspicous

91. Good or ill fortune is determined by man:

  • The yin-yang teachings have nothing to say on the subject of the Red Tongue Days. Formerly people did not avoid these days but of late - I wonder who was responsible for starting this custom - people have taken to saying such things as "An enterprise begun on a Red Tongue Day will never see an end" or "Anything you say or do on a Red Tongue Day is bound to come to naught; you lose what you've won, your plans are undone." What nonsense! If one counted the projects began on carefully selected "lucky days" which came to nothing in the end, there would probably be quite as many as the fruitless enterprises begun on the Red tongue Days.
  • This world is a place of such uncertainty and change that what we imagine we see before our eyes really does not exit, and what has a beginning is likely to be without any end. Our aspirations are not realized, but our hopes for them never cease. We cannot be sure that the mind exists. External things are all illusions. Does anything remain unaltered even for the shortest time? Fear of Red Tongue Days comes from ignorance of these principles. It is written, "A wicked deed performed on an auspicious day will certainly prove ill-omened. A good deed performed on an unlucky day will certainly prove auspicious." Good or ill fortune is determined by man, not by the day.

>Top 92. ある人、弓射る事を習ふに:

  • ある人、弓射る事を習ふに、諸矢(もろや)をたばさみて的に向ふ。師の云はく、「初心の人、二つの矢を持つことなかれ。後の矢を頼みて、初めの矢になほざりの心あり。毎度たゞ得失なく、この一矢に定むべしと思へ」と言ふ。わづかに二つの矢、師の前にて一つをおろそかにせんと思はんや。懈怠(けだい)の心、 みづから知らずといへども、師これを知る。このいましめ、萬事にわたるべし。
  • 道を學する人、夕には朝あらむことを思ひ、朝には夕あらむことを思ひて、重ねて懇に修せむことを期(ご) す。況んや一刹那のうちにおいて、懈怠の心あることを知らんや。何ぞ、たゞ今の一念において、直ちにすることの甚だ難き。

92. A boww with two arros in his hand:

  • A certain man who was learning to shoot a bow aimed at the target with two arrows in his hand. His teacher said, "A beginner should not hold two arrows. It will make him rely on the second arrow and be careless with the first. Each time you shoot you should think not of hitting or missing the target but of making this one the decisive arrow." I wonder if anyone with only two arrows would be careless with one of them in the presence of his teacher. But though the pupil is himself unaware of any carelessness, the teacher will notice it. This caution applies to all things.
  • A man studying some branch of learning thinks at night that he has the next day before him, and in the morning that he will have time that night; he plans in this way always to study more diligently at some future time. How much harder it is to perceive the laziness of mind that arises in an instant! Why should it be so difficult to do something now, in the present moment?

>Top 93. 牛を賣る者あり:

  • 「牛を賣る者あり。買ふ人、明日その價をやりて牛を取らんといふ。夜の間に牛死ぬ。買はんとする人に利あり、賣らんとする人に損あり」と語る人あり。
  • これを聞きて、傍(かたへ)なる者の曰く、「牛の主、まことに損ありといへども、又大なる利あり。その故は、生あるもの、死の近き事を知らざること、牛、既に然なり。人、また同じ。はからざるに牛は死し、計らざるに主は存せり。一日の命、萬金よりも重し。牛の價、鵝毛(が まう)よりも輕し。萬金を得て一錢を失はん人、損ありといふべからず」と言ふに、皆人嘲りて、「その理は牛の主に限るべからず」と言ふ。
  • また云はく、「されば、人、死を憎まば、生を愛すべし。存命の喜び、日々に樂しまざらんや。愚かなる人、この樂しみを忘れて、いたづがはしく外の樂しみを求め、この財(たから)を忘れて、危く他の財を貪るには、志、滿つる事なし。生ける間生を樂しまずして、死に臨みて死を恐れば、この理あるべ からず。人みな生を樂しまざるは、死を恐れざる故なり。死を恐れざるにはあらず、死の近き事を忘るゝなり。もしまた、生死(しゃうじ)の相にあづからずといはば、實の理を得たりといふべし。」といふに、人、いよいよ嘲る。

93. Pleasure of being alive:

  • Someone told the story, "Let's suppose a man has an ox to sell. A buyer says he will pay the price and take the ox the following day. During the night the ox dies. The prospective buyer profits and the prospective seller loses."
  • A bystander, hearing the story, remarked, "The owner of the ox certainly suffered a loss, but at the sometime he secured a great profit, too. You see, living creatures never realize how close they are to death. This was true of the ox, and the same is true of human beings. Unpredictably the ox died; unpredictably too the owner survived. A day of life is more precious than ten thousand pieces of gold; the worth of an ox weights less than a duck's feather. The man who gains a fortune at the cost of a single coin cannot be said to have suffered a loss." At this everybody laughed at him. "You needn't lose an ox in order to learn the value of life," they said.
  • The man continued, "People who hate death should love life. How is it possible for men not to rejoice each day over the pleasure of being alive? Foolish men, forgetting this pleasure, laboriously seek others; forgetting the wealth they possess, they risk their lives in their greed for new wealth. But their desires are never satisfied. While they live they do no rejoice in life, but, when faced with death, they fear it - what could be more illogical?
  • "People fail to enjoy life because they do no fear death. No, it is not that they have no fear of death; rather, they forget how close it is. But if a man said he was indifferent to such external distinctions as life and death, he could certainly be said to have grasped the true principles." At this, everybody laughed at him all the more.

>Top 94. 常磐井相國:

  • 常磐井相國、出仕したまひけるに、敕書を持ちたる北面あひ奉りて、馬よりおりたりけるを、相國、後に、「北面なにがしは、敕書を持ちながら下馬し侍りし者なり。かほどの者、いかでか君に仕うまつり候ふべき」と申されければ、北面を放たれにけり。
  • 勅書を馬の上ながら捧げて見せ奉るべし、下るべからずとぞ。

94. An imperial message:

  • Once, when the Tokiwai prime minister was on his way to the palace, he was met in the road by a warrior of the cloistered emperor's guard, who was bearing an imperial message for him. The man respectfully dismounted from his horse to present the letter. Later, the prime minister reported to the cloistered emperor, "A certain member of Your Majesty's guard dismounted for me, even though he was bearing an imperial message. How can such a man serve Your Majesty?" The man was accordingly dismissed from the guards. An imperial message should be presented while seated on horse-back. The bearer should not dismount.

>Top 95. 箱のくりかたに緒を著くる事:

  • 「箱のくりかたに緒を著くる事、いづ方につけ侍るべきぞ」と、ある有職の人に尋ね申し侍りしかば、「軸に付け、表紙につくること、兩説なれば、何れも難なし。文の箱は、多くは右につく。手箱には軸につくるも常のことなり」と仰せられき。

95. Cord attached on the right or left:

  • I once asked an expert in court usage to which loop on a box the cords should be attached. He answered, "Some say the left side, others the right. Since there is no agreement, either will do. Most document boxes have their cord attached on the right. The cord of a toilet-article box is normally attached on the left."

>Top 96. めなもみといふ草あり:

  • めなもみといふ草あり。蝮(くちばみ)にさされたる人、かの草を揉みてつけぬれば、すなはち癒ゆとなん。見知りておくべし。
  • くちばみ, 蝮: viper

96. A plant called menamomi:

  • There is a plant called menamomi. A man who has been bitten by a viper will be cured immediately if he crushes leaves from this plant and applies the crushed leaves to the wound. One must learn to recognize it.

>Top 97. 其の物につきて:

  • 其の物につきて、その物を費し損ふもの、數を知らずあり。身に虱あり。家に鼠あり。國に賊あり。小人に財(ざい)あり。君子に仁義あり。僧に法あり。

97. :

  • There are innumerable instances of things which attach themselves to something else, then waste and destroy it. The body has lice; a house has mice; a country has robbers; inferior men have riches; superior men have benevolence and righteousness; priests have the Buddhist law.

>Top 98. 尊き聖のい云ひ置きけることを:

  • 尊き聖のい云ひ置きけることを書き付けて、一言芳談(いちごんほうだん)とかや名づけたる草紙を見侍りしに、心に會ひて覺えし事ども。
    一　爲(し)やせまし、爲(せ)ずやあらましと思ふことは、おほやうは、爲ぬはよきなり。
    一　後世を思はんものは、糂汰瓶(じんだがめ)一つも持つまじきことなり。持經・本尊(ほぞん)にいたるまで、よき物を持つ、よしなきことなり。
    一　遁世者は、なきに事かけぬやうをはからひて過ぐる、最上のやうにてあるなり。
    一　上臈は下臈になり、智者は愚者になり、徳人は貧になり、能ある人は無能になるべきなり。
    一　佛道を願ふといふは、別のこと無し、暇ある身になりて、世のこと心にかけぬを、第一の道とす。
    この外も、ありし事ども、覺えず。
  • よしなし, 由無し: 理由がない; 無益である

98. :

  • These are the things I found most to my taste when I read the book called Ichigon Hodan, which records the sayings of the great priests:
    1. When in doubt whether or not to do something, generally it is best not to do it.
    2. A man concerned about the future life should not own even a miso pot. Owning valuables, even if they happen to be personal copies of sutras or images of guardian Buddhas, is harmful to salvation.
    3. The hermit's way of life is best; he feels no want even if he has nothing.
    4. It is good for the man of high rank to act like a humble person, for a scholar to act like an ignoramus, for the rich man to act like a pauper, and for the talented man to act awkwardly.
    5. There is only one way to seek Buddhist enlightenment; you must lead a quiet life and pay no heed to worldly matters. This is the first esential.
  • There were other things, but I don't remember them.

>Top 99. 堀河の相國は、美男のたのしき人にて:

  • 堀河の相國は、美男のたのしき人にて、その事となく過差を好み給ひけり。御子 基俊卿を大理(だいり)になして、廳務を行はれけるに、廳屋の唐櫃見苦しとて、めでたく作り改めらるべきよし仰せられけるに、この唐櫃は、上古より傳はりて、その始めを知らず、數百年を經たり。累代の公物、古弊をもちて規模とす。たやすく改められ難きよし、故實の諸官等申しければ、その事やみにけり。

99. :

  • The Horikawa prime minister was a handsome and affluent man who enjoyed ostentation in whatever he did. He appointed his son, Lord Mototoshi, to be chief of the imperial police. When the son commenced his official functions, the father, deciding that the file chest in the office was unsightly, ordered it to be rebuilt in a more elegant style. However, this file chest had been passed down from ancient times. Nobody knew its origins, but certainly it had been there for several hundred years. This article of government property, dating back many reigns, had by its very dilapidation become a model. Officials familiar with court precedent voiced the opinion that the chest was not to be altered lightly, and Horikawa abandoned his plan.

>Top 100. 久我の相國は:

  • 久我の相國は、殿上にて水を召しけるに、主殿司(とのもづかさ)、土器(かわらけ)を奉りければ、「まがりを參らせよ」とて、まがりしてぞ召しける。
  • まがり, 鋺: 木製の椀

100. A wooden cup:

  • Once, when the Koga prime minister as in the palace, he wanted a drink of water. A palace servant offered him an earthenware cup. "Bring me a wooden cup," he said, and drank from it.

>Top 101: ある人、任大臣の節會の内辨を:

  • ある人、任大臣の節會の内辨を勤められけるに、内記のもちたる宣命を取らずして、堂上せられにけり。きはまりなき失禮(しちらい)なれども、立ち帰り取る べきにもあらず、思ひ煩はれけるに、六位の外記(げき)康綱、衣被(きぬかづ)の女房をかたらひて、かの宣命をもたせて、忍びやかに奉らせけり。いみじかりけり。

101. Serving as internal presiding officer:

  • A certain man, who was serving as internal presiding officer at the ceremonies marking the investiture of a minister, ascended the imperial dais without first receiving the proclamation of appointment from the scribe of the secretariat. This was an unspeakable breach of etiquette, but he could not very well go back to fetch it. He was aniously wondering waht to do, when Yasutsuna, the sixth-rank scribe of the prime minister, enlisted the help of a lady in a wimple, and had her carry the proclamation to the presiding offcer and secretly pass it to him. He showed admirable quick-wittedness.

>Top 102: 尹大納言光忠卿:

  • 尹大納言(いんのだいなごん)光忠卿、追儺の上卿(しゃうけい)を務められけるに、洞院右大臣殿に次第を申し請けられければ、「又五郎男(またごろうおのこ)を師とするより外の才覺候はじ」とぞ宣ひける。かの又五郎は、老いたる衞士の、よく公事に馴れたる者にてぞありける。近衞殿著陣したまひける時、膝突を忘れて、外記を召されければ、火たきて候ひけるが、「まづ膝突をめさるべくや候らん」と、忍びやかに呟きける、いとをかしかりけり。

102. The Lay Priest Mitsutada:

  • The major counselor and chief of the board of censors, the Lay Priest Mitsutada, when serving as master at the Expulsion of the Demons, requested instruction on the order of ceremonials from the Toin minister of the right. The latter said, "You could not find a better teacher than that fellow Matagoro." Matagoro was an old groundsman, a man well-versed in court matters. Once when the Lord Konoe had taken his place at a ceremony, he was already summoning the secretary, having forgotten his kneeling mat, when Matagoro, who was tending the fire, whispered to him, "I think you should call for your kneeling mat first," a most amusing comment.

>Top 103: 大覺寺殿にて、近習の人ども:

  • 大覺寺殿にて、近習の人ども、なぞなぞをつくりて解かれけるところへ、醫師(くすし)忠守參りたりけるに、侍從大納言公明卿、「我が朝のものとも見えぬ忠守かな」となぞなぞにせられたりけるを、「唐瓶子」と解きて笑ひあはれければ、腹立ちて退(まか)り出にけり。
  • 平忠盛: 伊勢平氏(瓶子)はすがめ(酢瓶/斜視)なりけり

103. Playing at riddles in the Daigakuji palace:

  • Once when the retired emperor's courtiers were playing at riddles in the Daigakuji palace, the physician Tadamori joined them. The chamberlain and Major Counselor Kin'akira posed the riddle; "What is it, like Tadamori, that doesn't seem to be Japanese?" Somebody gave the answer "Kara-heiji - a metal wine jug." The others all joined in the laugh, but Tadamori angrily stalked out.

>Top 104: 荒れたる宿の、人目なきに:

  • 荒れたる宿の、人目なきに、女の憚る事あるころにて、つれづれと籠り居たるを、ある人、とぶらひ給はんとて、夕月夜のおぼつかなき程に、忍びて尋ねおはしたるに、犬のことごとしく咎むれば、下衆女(げすおんな)の出でて、「いづくよりぞ」と言ふに、やがて案内せさせて入り給ひぬ。 心ぼそげなる有様、いかで過すらんと、いと心ぐるし。あやしき板敷に、しばし立ち給へるを、もてしづめたるけはひの、若やかなるして、「こなた」と言ふ人あれば、たてあけ所狭(せ)げなる遣戸よりぞ入り給ひぬる。
  • 内のさまは、いたくすさまじからず。心にくく、灯はかなたにほのかなれど、ものの綺羅など見えて、俄かにしもあらぬ匂ひ、いとなつかしう住みなしたり。「門よくさしてよ。雨もぞふる。御車は門の下に、御供の人はそこそこに」と言へば、「今宵ぞやすき寝(い)は寢(ぬ)べかめる」と、うちさゝめくも、忍びたれど、ほどなければ、ほの聞ゆ。
  • さて、この程の事ども、細やかに聞え給ふに、夜ぶかき鳥も鳴きぬ。來しかた行くすゑかけて、まめやかなる御物語に、この度は鳥も花やかなる聲にうちしきれば、明け離るゝにやと聞きたまへど、夜深く急ぐべきところの様(さま)にもあらねば、少したゆみ給へるに、隙(ひま)白くなれば、忘れ難きことなど言ひて、立ち出で給ふに、梢も庭もめづらしく青みわたりたる卯月ばかりの曙、艷にをかしかりしを思し出でて、桂の木の大きなるが隠るゝまで、今も見送り給ふとぞ。
  • ほど, 程: 時間; 空間, 広さ
  • たゆむ, 弛む: 弱まる、弛ませる, tarry

104. Calling on a woman who had been living alone:

  • A certain man, thinking to call on a woman who had been living alone in dilapidated lodgings, bored with her retainers, during an enforced absence from the court, went secretly in search of her dwelling by the light of an early moon. Her dogs, suspicious of the intruder, barked furiously at him, and a scullery maid came out to demand, "Who is it, please?" The man persuaded her to admit him directly. His first glimpse of the forlorn appearance of the place made him feel sorry for the woman, and he wondered how she could endure living there. He stood for a while on the scruffy wooden floor until a waiting woman appeared and addressed him in a soft but youthful voice, "This way, please," she said. He went inside through a door that slid open reluctantly.
  • The interior of the house was not especially gloomy; indeed the place had charm. A lamp glowed faintly in the distance, bright enough to reveal the beauty of the furnishings, and an incense that clearly had been burning for a long time made the place seem delightful to live in.
  • "Make sure the gate is securely fastened. I'm afraid it may rain. Put his carriage under the gate roof, and see that his people have somewhere to rest," a voice said. Then someone whispered, "Tonight we should be able to enjoy a good night's rest." She spoke softly, so as not to be heard, but the room was so small he faintly caught her words.
  • Later, as the gentleman was relating in detail the many things that had happened since last they met the first cockcrows sounded in the late night. As their intimate conversation ranged from past to future, the cockcrows, louder than before, became insistent, and he wondered if day was breaking; but as this did not see a place where one must hurry off while the night is still dark, he tarried a bit longer. When at length the cracks in the shutters showed white, he whispered final endearments that left an unforgettable impression, and got up to depart. It was a dawn in May, when the treetops and the garden were a dazzling mass of green.
  • Even now he recalls the charm and loveliness of the scene, and when he passes the house he turns back to gaze at the tall bay tree until it disappears from sight.

>Top 105: 北の家陰に消え殘りたる雪の:

  • 北の家陰に消え殘りたる雪の、いたう凍りたるに、さし寄せたる車の轅(ながえ)も、霜いたくきらめきて、有明の月さやかなれども、隈なくはあらぬ に、人離れなる御堂の廊に、なみなみにはあらずと見ゆる男、女と長押(なげし)に尻かけて、物語するさまこそ、何事にかあらん、盡きすまじけ れ。
  • かぶし・かたちなど、いとよしと見えて、えもいはぬ匂ひの、さと薫りたるこそ、をかしけれ。けはいなど、はづれはづれ聞こえたるも、ゆかし。

105. Scraps of heir conversation reaching me:

  • The unmelted snow lying in the shade north of the house was frozen hard, and even the shafts of a carriage drawn up there glittered with frost. The dawn moon shone clear, but its light was not perpetrating. In the corridor of a deserted temple a man of obvious distinction sat beside a woman on a doorsill, chatting. Whatever it was they were discussing, there seemed no danger they would run out of things to say.
  • The woman had a charming manner of tilting her head towards the man, and I caught an occasional, enchanting whiff of some exquisite perfume. The scraps of heir conversation reaching me made me long to hear the rest.

>Top 106. 高野の證空上人、京へ上りけるに:

  • 高野の證空上人、京へ上りけるに、細道にて、馬に乘りたる女の行きあひたりけるが、口引きける男、あしく引きて、聖の馬を堀へ落してけり。
  • 聖、いと腹あしく咎めて、「こは希有の狼藉かな。四部の弟子はよな、比丘よりは比丘尼は劣り、比丘尼より優婆塞は劣り、優婆塞より優婆夷は劣れり。かくの如くの優婆夷などの身にて、比丘を堀に蹴入れさする、未曾有の惡行なり」といはれければ、口引きの男、「いかに仰せらるゝやらん、えこそ聞き知らね」といふに、上人なほいきまきて、「何といふぞ。非修(ひしゅ)非學の男(おのこ)」とあらゝかに言ひて、きはまりなき放言しつと思ひける氣色にて、馬引きか へして逃げられにけり。
  • 尊かりける諍(いさか)いなるべし。

106. The holy man Shoku of Koya:

  • Once, when the holy man Shoku of Koya was on his way to the capital, at a narrow part of the road he ran into a woman riding on a horse. Her groom failed to rein the horse, with the result that the holy man's mount was pushed into a ditch. The holy man angrily rebuked the man: "What incredible disrespect! Among the four classes of disciples of Buddha, a bikuni is inferior to a biku, an ubasoku to a bikuni, and an ubai to an ubasoku. This is an unheard-of out rage - for an ubai like you to kick me, a biku, into a ditch."
  • The groom replied, "What do you mean, sir? I can't make sense of what you say." The holy man, more annoyed than ever, cried, "What's that you say, you infidel, you ignoramus!" Having pronounced these harsh words, he looked as if he regretted his intemperate abuse and, turning his horse in the direction from which he had come, fled the scene.
  • It sounds as if this was a most elevate quarrel.

>Top 107. 女の物いひかけたる返り事:

  • 女の物いひかけたる返り事、とりあへずよき程にする男は、有りがたきものぞとて、龜山院の御時、しれたる女房ども、若き男達(おのこだち)の參らるゝ毎 に、「郭公(ほととぎす) や聞き給へる」と問ひて試みられけるに、某の大納言とかやは、「數ならぬ身は、え聞き候はず」と答へられけり。堀河 内大臣殿は、「岩倉にて聞きて候ひしやらん」と仰せられけるを、「これは難なし。數ならぬ身むつかし」など定め合はれけり。
  • すべて男をば、女に笑はれぬ樣におほしたつべしとぞ。「淨土寺の前關白殿は、幼くて、安喜門院のよく教へまゐらせさせ給ひける故に、御詞などのよきぞ」と人の仰せられけるとかや。山階左大臣殿は、「怪しの下女の見奉るも、いと恥しく、心づかひせらるゝ」とこそ、仰せられけれ。女のなき世なりせば、衣紋(えもん)も冠も、いかにもあれ、ひきつくろふ人も侍らじ。
  • かく人に恥ぢらるゝ女、いかばかりいみじきものぞと思ふに、女の性(しょう)は皆ひがめり。人我(にんが)の相深く、貪欲甚だしく、物の理を知らず、たゞ迷ひの方に心も早く移り、詞も巧みに、苦しからぬ事をも問ふ時は言はず。用意あるかと見れば、また、あさましき事まで、問はずがたりに言ひ出す。深くたばかり飾れる事は、男の智慧にも優りたるかと思へば、その事、あとより顯はるゝを知らず。質朴(すなお) ならずして、拙きものは女なり。その心に隨ひてよく思はれんことは、心憂かるべし。されば、何かは女の恥かしからん。もし賢女あらば、それも物うとく、すさまじかりなん。たゞ迷ひを主としてかれに隨ふ時、やさしくもおもしろくも覺ゆべきことなり。
  • ひがむ, 僻む: perverse
  • くるし, 苦し: 見苦しい
  • かれ, 彼: あの人(男にも女にも)

107. Women are all perverse by nature:

  • Few men can give a quick and apt repone to a witticism from a woman, they say. During the reign of the Cloistered Emperor Kameyama some mischievous court ladies made a practice of testing young men who came to court by asking if they had ever heard a nightingale sing. A certain major counselor answered, "An insignificant person the likes of myself could never be so privileged." The Horikawa minister of the interior said, "I believe I have heard one at Iwakura." The women said, "That's a perfectly good answer . The major counselor's calling himself insignificant was unfortunate." Such were their evaluations.
  • A man should be trained in such a way that no woman will ever laugh at him. I once heard someone say that it was thanks to the instruction the Jodoji chancellor received as a boy from the Retired Empress Anki that he spoke so ably. The Yamashina minister of the left once said, "I fell embarrasses and nervous even when some wretched serving girl looks at me." In a world without women it would not make any difference what kind of clothes or hat a man wore; nobody would take the trouble to dress properly.
  • One might wonder, then, what exalted creatures women must be to inspire such fear in men. In fact, women are all perverse by nature. They are deeply self-centered, grasping in the extreme, devoid of all susceptibility to reason, quick to indulge in superstitious practices. They are clever talkers, but may refuse to utter a word when asked even some perfectly unobjectionable question. One might suppose this meant they were cautious, but they are equally apt to start discussing, quite unsolicited, matters better passes over in silence. their ingenuity in embroidering their stories is too much for the wisdom of any man, but when, presently, their fictions are exposed, they never perceive it. Women are devious but stupid. How disagreeable it is to be forced to cater to their wishes in order to please them. What woman is worthy of such deference? Even if such a thing as an intelligent woman existed, she would surely prove to be aloof and unendearing. Only when a man enslaved by his infatuation in courting a woman does she seem charming and amusing.

>Top 108. 寸陰惜しむ人なし:

  • 寸陰惜しむ人なし。これよく知れるか、愚かなるか。愚かにして怠る人の爲にいはば、一錢輕しといへども、これを累(かさ)ぬれば、貧しき人を富める人となす。されば、商人の一錢を惜しむ心、切なり。刹那覺えずといへども、これを運びてやまざれば、命を終ふる期(ご)、忽ちに到る。
  • されば、道人は、遠く日月を惜しむべからず。ただ今の一念、空しく過ぐることを惜しむべし。もし人來りて、わが命、明日は必ず失はるべしと告げ知らせたらんに、今日の暮るゝ間、何事をか頼み、何事をか營まむ。我等が生ける今日の日、何ぞその時節に異ならん。一日のうちに、飮食(おんじき) ・便利・睡眠・ 言語(ごんご)・行歩(ぎゃうぶ)、止む事を得ずして、多くの時を失ふ。その餘りの暇、いくばくならぬうちに無益の事をなし、無益の事を言ひ、 無益の事を思惟(しゆい)して、時を移すのみならず、日を消(せう)し、月をわたりて、一生をおくる、最も愚かなり。
  • 謝靈運は法華の筆受なりしかども、心、常に風雲の思ひを觀ぜしかば、惠遠(えおん)・白蓮の交はりをゆるさざりき。しばらくもこれなき時は、死人に同じ。光陰何のためにか惜しむとならば、内に思慮なく、外に世事なくして、止まむ人は止み、修(しゅう)せむ人は修せよとなり。

108. Nobody begrudges wasting a little time:

  • Nobody begrudges wasting a little time. Does this represent a reasoned judgment or merely foolishness, I wonder. If I were to address myself to those who are lazy out of foolishness, I should point out that a single copper coin is of trifling value, but an accumulation of these coins will make a rich man of a poor one. That is why a merchant so jealously hoards each coin. We may not be aware of the passing instants, but as we go on ceaselessly spending them, suddenly the term of life is on us. For this reason, the man who practices the Way should not begrudge the passage of distant time to come, but the wasting of a single present moment.
  • If some man came and informed you that you would certainly lose your life the following day, what would you have to look forward to, what would you do to occupy yourself while waiting for this day to end? In what does the day we are now living differ from our last day? Much of our time during any day is wasted in eating and drinking, at stool, in sleeping, talking, and walking. To engage in useless activities, to talk about useless things, and to think about useless things during the brief moments of free time left us is not only to waste this time, but to blot out days that extend into months and eventually into a whole lifetime. This is most foolish of all.
  • Hsieh Ling-yün edited the translation of the Lotus Sutra, but his mind constantly preoccupied with his hopes for advancement; Hui-yün therefore denied him admission to the White Lotus society.
  • A man who fails even for a short time to keep in mind the preciousness of time is no different from a corpse. If you wish to know why each instant must be guarded so jealously, it is so that a man inwardly will have no confusing thoughts and outwardly no concern with worldly matters; that if he wishes to rest at that point, he many rest, but if he wishes to follow the Way, he may follow it.

>Top 109. 高名の木のぼりといひし男:

  • 高名の木のぼりといひし男、人を掟てて、高き木にのぼせて梢を切らせしに、いと危く見えしほどはいふこともなくて、降るゝ時に、軒長(のきた け)ばかりになりて、「あやまちすな。心して降りよ」と言葉をかけ侍りしを、「かばかりになりては、飛び降るとも降りなん。如何にかく言ふぞ」と申し侍り しかば、「その事に候。目くるめき、枝危きほどは、おのれが恐れ侍れば申さず。あやまちは、安き所になりて、必ず仕ることに候」といふ。
  • あやしき下臈なれども、聖人の戒めにかなへり。鞠も、かたき所を蹴出して後、やすくおもへば、必ず落つと侍るやらむ。
  • のきたけ, 軒長: eave

109. A man who was famous as a tree climber:

  • A man who was famous as a tree climber was guiding someone in climbing a tall tree. He ordered the man to cut the top branches, and, during this time, when the man seemed to be in great danger, the expert said nothing. Only when the man was coming down and had reached the height of the eaves did the expert call out, "Be careful! Watch your step coming down!" I asked him, "Why did you say that? At coming that height he could jump the rest of the way if he chose."
  • "That's the point," said the expert. "As long as the man was up at a dizzy height and the branches were threatening to break, he himself was so afraid I said nothing. Mistakes are always made when people get to the easy places."
  • This man belonged to the lowest class, but his words were in perfect accord with the precepts of the sages. In football too, they say that after you have kicked out of a difficult place and you think the next one will be easier you are sure to miss the ball.

>Top 110. 雙六の上手といひし人に:

  • 雙六(すぐろく)の上手といひし人に、その術(てだて)を問ひ侍りしかば、「勝たんとうつべからず、負けじとうつべきなり。いづれの手か疾く負けぬべきと案じて、その手を使はずして、一目なりとも遲く負くべき手につくべし」といふ。
  • 道を知れる教、身を修め、國を保たむ道も、またしかなり。

110. A champion backgammon player

  • I once asked a man rated as a champion backgammon player the secret of his success. He said, "You should never play to win, but so as not to lose. Decide which moves will lead to a quick defeat, and avoid them, choosing instead moves which seem likely to result in a slower defeat, if only by one throw of the dice."
  • This was the teaching of an expert in his art; the same holds true also of how a man should control his conduct or a ruler govern the state.

>Top 111. 囲碁・雙六好みてあかし暮す人は:

  • 「囲碁・雙六好みてあかし暮す人は、四重・五逆にもまされる惡事とぞ思ふ」とある聖の申ししこと、耳に止まりて、いみじく覚え侍る。

111. a man to spend his days and nights at go and backgammon:

  • A certain priest once said that he considered it a worse offense for a man to spend his days and nights amusing himself at go and backgammon than to commit the Four Great Crimes or the Five Capital Offenses. His words still linger in my ears and seem most admirable.

>Top 112. 明日は遠國へ赴くべしと聞かん人に:

  • 明日は遠國へ赴くべしと聞かん人に、心しづかになすべからむわざをば、人言ひかけてむや。俄の大事をも營み、切(せち)に歎くこともある人は、他の事を聞き入れず、人の愁い・喜びをも問はず。問はずとて、などやと恨むる人もなし。されば年もやうやうたけ、病にもまつはれ、況んや世をも遁れたらん人、亦これに同じかるべし。
  • 人間の儀式、いづれの事か去り難からぬ。世俗の默し難きに從ひて、これを必ずとせば、願ひも多く、身も苦しく、心の暇もなく、一生は雜事の小節にさへられて、空しく暮れなん。日暮れ、道遠し、吾が生(しゃう)既に蹉跎(さだ)たり、諸縁を放下(ほうげ)すべき時なり。信をも守らじ、禮儀をも思はじ。この心を持たざらん人は、物狂ひともいへ。現(うつう)なし、情なしとも思へ。譏(そし)るとも苦しまじ。譽むとも聞きいれじ。
  • さだ,蹉跎 : 思うようにいかない

112. Would anyone ask a man who was leaving the following day:

  • Would anyone ask a man who was reportedly leaving the following day for a distant country to perform some task that had to be executed slowly? A man who has urgent business to dispose of, or is afflicted by some terrible grief, has no ears for matters, and will not ask about others' sorrows or joys. But even if he fails to make polite inquiries, nobody is resentful or asks why. The same holds true of people who have gradually become senile with age, or are beset by illness and, or course, of those who have fled the world.
  • Is there any of the usual social occasions which it is not difficult to avoid? But if you decide that you cannot very well ignore your worldly obligations, and that you will therefore carry the out properly the demands on your time will multiply, bringing physical hardship and mental tension; in the end, you will spend your whole life pointlessly entangled in petty obligations.
  • "The day is ending, the way is long; my life already begins to stumble on its journey." The time has come to abandon all ties. I shall not keep promises nor consider decorum. Let anyone who cannot understand my feelings feel free to call me mad, let him think I am out of my senses, that I am devoid of human warmth. Abuse will not bother me; I shall not listen if praised.

>Top 113. 四十にも餘りぬる人の:

  • 四十(よそぢ)にも餘りぬる人の、色めきたる方、自ら忍びてあらんは如何はせん。言(こと)に打ち出でて、男・女のこと、人の上をもいひ戲(たは)るゝこそ、似げなく、見苦しけれ。
  • 大かた聞きにくく見ぐるしき事、老人(おいびと)の若き人に交はりて、興あらむと物いひ居たる、數ならぬ身にて、世の覚えある人を隔てなきさまに言ひたる。貧しき所に、酒宴好み、客人(まろうど)に饗應せんときらめきたる。

113. If a man over forty has a secret love affair:

  • If a man over forty occasionally has a secret love affair, what can be done about it? But if he openly discusses it, or jokes about his relations with women or the private affairs of other people, it is unbecoming at his age and ugly.
  • In general, nothing is more unpleasant to hear or see than an old man mingling with a group of young people and relating such stories in the hope of ingratiating himself; or an undistinguished person addressing a man of reputation as if they were intimates; or a poor man, fond of feasting, going to extravagant lengths to entertain his guests.

>Top 114. 今出川のおほい殿:

  • 今出川のおほい殿、嵯峨へおはしけるに、有栖川のわたりに、水の流れたる所にて、齋王丸 御牛を追ひたりければ、足掻(あがき)の水、前板までさゝとかゝりけるを、爲則、御車の後(しり)に候ひけるが、「希有の童(わらは)かな。斯る所にて御牛をば追ふものか」と言ひたりければ、おほい殿、御氣色悪しくなりて、「おのれ、車やらんこと、齋王丸に勝りてえ知らじ。希有の男なり」とて御車に頭をうちあてられにけり。
  • この高名の齋王丸は、太秦殿(うづまさどの)の男、料の御牛飼ぞかし。この太秦殿に侍りける女房の名ども、一人は膝幸(ひざさち)、一人はこと槌(ことつち)、一人は胞腹(はうはら)、一人は乙牛(おとうし)とつけられけり。

114. Once, when the prince from Imadegawa was on his way to Saga,:

  • Once, when the prince from Imadegawa was on his way to Saga, in the neighborhood of Arisugawa, at a place where water flowed over the road, Saiomaru drove the prince's carriage oxen ahead so vigorously that water kicked up by their hooves splashed onto the front running board. Tamenori was riding escort behind the carriage. He cried, "You incredible simpleton! What do you mean by whipping the oxen in such a place?" the prince, annoyed by these words, call out, "Look, you! I'm sure you don't know as much about driving a carriage as Saiomaru. You yourself are the incredible simpleton." He knocked Tamenori's head against the carriage.
  • They say that the famous Saiomaru was the manservant of Lord Uzumasa and the keeper of the imperial carriages. The ladies who waited on Lord Uzumasa were called Hizasachi, Kototsuchi, Hobara, and Otoushi.

>Top 115. 宿河原といふ所にて:

  • 宿河原といふ所にて、ぼろぼろ多く集りて、九品の念佛を申しけるに、外より入りくるぼろぼろの、「もしこの中(うち)に、いろをし坊と申すぼろやおはしま す」と尋ねければ、その中より、「いろをし、こゝに候。かく宣ふは誰(た)ぞ」と答ふれば、「しら梵字と申す者なり。おのれが師、なにがしと申しし人、東 國にて、いろをしと申すぼろに殺されけりと承りしかば、その人に逢ひ奉りて、恨み申さばやと思ひて、尋ね申すなり」と言ふ。
  • いろをし、「ゆゝしくも尋ねお はしたり。さる事はべりき。こゝにて對面したてまつらば、道場をけがし侍るべし。前の河原へ参り合はん。あなかしこ。わきざしたち、いづ方をも見つぎ給ふな。數多のわづらひにならば、佛事のさまたげに侍るべし」と言ひ定めて、二人河原に出であひて、心ゆくばかりに貫きあひて、共に死にけり。ぼろぼろといふものは、昔はなかりけるにや。近き世に、梵論字(ぼろんじ)・梵字・漢字などいひける者、そのはじめなりけるとかや。世を捨てたるに似て、我執ふかく、佛道を願ふに似て、闘諍(とうじゃう)を事とす。放逸無慚のありさまなれども、死を輕くして、少しもなづまざる方のいさぎよく覺えて、人の語りしまゝに書きつけ侍るなり。

115. A large number of mendicant priests had gathered:

  • A large number of mendicant priests had gathered at a place called Shukugawara and were reciting the Invocation to the Buddha in nine stages when a latecomer joined them and asked, "Excuse me, is there a priest named Irish among you?" One of the number replied, "I am Irooshi. Who are you, and why do you ask?" "My name is Shirabonji, and I have been informed that my teacher, a certain gentleman, was killed by the mendicant priest Irooshi in the Eastern Provinces, and I have come here hoping to have the honor of meeting that man and exacting vengeance. That is why I ask."
  • Irooshi said, "you have come on a noble mission. Yes, such a thing indeed happened. But fighting with you here would pollute this place of devotion. Let us go to the river bed before the temple and join in combat there. My fellow priests, I ask that under no circumstances you aid either of us. If this dispute should involve many, it would hinder the performance of the holy service."
  • The two men, having settle the circumstances of the duel, went together to the river bed where they fought to their heart's satisfaction until they ran each other through and both died.
  • I wonder if what we call boroboro - mendicant priests - actually existed in the old days. They seem to have originated in recent times under the names boronji, bonji, kanji, and so on. These men act as if they have abandoned the world, but have strong worldly attachments; they seem to be seeking the way of Buddha, but they make a business of quarreling. Though they are unruly and unprincipled in their behavior, their contempt for death and their utter detachment from life is appealing. I have recorded what others have told me about them.

>Top 116. 寺院の號、さらぬ萬の物にも名をつくること:

  • 寺院の號(な)、さらぬ萬の物にも名をつくること、昔の人は少しも求めず、唯ありの侭に安くつけけるなり。この頃は、深く案じ、才覺を顯はさむとしたる樣に聞ゆる、いとむつかし。人の名も、目馴れぬ文字をつかむとする、益(やく)なき事なり。
  • 何事も珍らしき事を求め、異説を好むは、淺才の人の必ずあることなりとぞ。

116. The people of former times never made the least attempt:

  • The people of former times never made the least attempt to be ingenious when naming temples or other things, but bestowed quite casually whatever names suggested themselves. The names given recently sound as if they had been mulled over desperately in an attempt to display the bestower's cleverness, an unfortunate development. In giving a child a name, it is foolish to use unfamiliar characters.
  • A craving for novelty in everything and a fondness for eccentric opinions are the marks of people of superficial knowledge.

>Top 117. 友とするに惡き者、七つあり:

  • 友とするに惡(わろ)き者、七つあり。一つには、高くやんごとなき人、二つには、若き人。三つには、病なく身つよき人。四つには、酒を好む人。五つには、武(たけ)く勇める兵。六つには、虚言(そらごと)する人。七つには、慾ふかき人。
  • 善き友三つあり。一つには、ものくるゝ友。二つには、醫師。三つには、智惠ある友。

117. Seven kinds of persons make bad friends:

  • Seven kinds of persons make bad friends. The first is the man of lofty position; the second, the young man; the third, the man of robust constitution who has never known a day's illness; the forth, the man fond of liquor; the fifth, the fierce soldier; the sixth, the liar; the seventh, the miser.
  • Three kinds of men make desirable friends. First is the friend who gives you things; second, a doctor; and third, the friend with wisdom.

>Top 118. 鯉の羮食ひたる日は:

  • 鯉の羮(あつもの)食ひたる日は、鬢(びん)そゝけずとなむ。膠(にかは)にも作るものなれば、粘りたる物にこそ。
  • 鯉ばかりこそ、御前にても切らるゝものなれば、やんごとなき魚なり。鳥には雉、さうなきものなり。雉・松茸などは、御湯殿(おゆどの)の上にかゝりたるも苦しからず。その外は心憂きことなり。中宮の御方の御湯殿の上の黒御棚(くろみのたな)に、雁の見えつるを、北山入道殿の御覽じて、歸らせたまひて、やがて御文にて、「かやうのもの、さながらその姿にて、御棚にゐて候ひしこと、見ならはず。さま惡しきことなり。はかばかしき人のさぶらはぬ故にこそ」など申されたりけり。

118. They say that on a day when you've eaten carp soup:

  • They say that on a day when you've eaten carp soup your sidelocks stay in place. Carp is used for making glue, no doubt because of its viscidity.
  • The carp is a most exalted fish, the only one which may be sliced in the presence of the emperor. Among birds, the pheasant is without peer. Pheasants and mushrooms may without objection be kept in the palace kitchen. Any other food is unseemly. They lay priest from Kitayama once noticed a wild goose lying in the black-lacquered cupboard of the empress' palace. When he had returned home he at once wrote her a letter saying, "I have never before seen such a creature, in its natural shape, lying in the cupboard. I am shocked. I presume this means that Your Majesty has no reliable person looking after you."

>Top 119. 鎌倉の海に鰹といふ魚は:

  • 鎌倉の海に鰹といふ魚は、かの境には雙なきものにて、この頃もてなすものなり。それも、鎌倉の年寄の申し侍りしは、「この魚、おのれ等若かりし世までは、はかばかしき人の前へ出づること侍らざりき。頭は下部も食はず、切り捨て侍りしものなり」と申しき。
  • かやうの物も、世の末になれば、上ざままでも入りたつわざにこそ侍れ。

119. The fish called katsuo is unequaled:

  • The fish called katsuo is unequaled among those caught in the sea off Kamakura, and of late has been much in demand. An old gentleman of Kamakura told me, "When we were young this fish was never served to persons of quality. Even the servants refused to eat the head. They cut it off and threw it away." It is typical of these degenerate times that such fish have become accepted by the upper classes.

>Top 120. 唐の物は、藥の外は:

  • 唐の物は、藥の外は、みななくとも事欠くまじ。書(ふみ)どもは、この國に多く広まりぬれば、書きも寫してん。唐土船の、たやすからぬ道に、無用のものどものみ取り積みて、所狹く渡しもて來る、いと愚かなり。
  • 「遠きものを寶とせず」とも、また、「得がたき寶をたふとまず」とも、書にも侍るとかや。

120. Even if we were deprived of Chinese goods:

  • Even if we were deprived of Chinese goods, we should not miss them, except for medicines. Many Chinese books are available all over the country, and anyone who wishes can copy one. It is the height of foolishness that Chinese ships should make the dangerous journey over here, crammed with cargoes of useless things.
  • I believe it is written in the classics somewhere, "He did not prize things from afar," and again, "He did not value treasures that were hard to obtain."

>Top 121. 養ひ飼ふものには馬・牛:

  • 養ひ飼ふものには馬・牛。繋ぎ苦しむるこそ痛ましけれど、なくて叶はぬ物なれば、如何はせむ。犬は、守り防ぐつとめ、人にも優りたれば、必ずあるべし。されど、家毎にあるものなれば、ことさらに求め飼はずともありなん。
  • その外の鳥・獸、すべて用なきものなり。走る獸は檻にこめ、鎖をさされ、飛ぶ鳥は翼を切り、籠(こ)に入れられて、雲を戀ひ、野山を思ふ愁へ、やむ時なし。その思ひ我が身にあたりて忍び難くは、心あらん人、これを樂しまんや。生(しゃう)を苦しめて目を喜ばしむるは、桀・紂が心なり。王子猷が鳥を愛せし、林に樂しぶを見て逍遥の友としき。捕へ苦しめたるにあらず。
  • 「凡そ、珍しき鳥、怪しき獸、國に養はず」とこそ文にも侍るなれ。

121. Domestic animals include the horse and the ox:

  • Domestic animals include the horse and the ox. It is a pity we must bind and afflict them, but unavoidable, since they are indispensable to us. You should certainly keep a dog; dogs are better than men at watching and protecting a house. However, every house already has a dog anyway, so you need not search for one especially for this purpose.
  • All other birds and beasts are useless. When animals that run are confined to pens or fastened with chains, when birds that fly have their wings clipped or are put in cages, the longing of the birds for the clouds and the grief of the animals over separation from their mountains will be unceasing. How can any man who is capable of imagining how wretched he would feel under the circumstances take pleasure in keeping these pets? A man who enjoys torturing living creatures is of the same company as Chieh and Chou. Wang Tzu-yu loved birds, but for him this meant watching them sport in the woods and making them the companions of his walks. He did not catch and torture them.
  • It is stated in the classics, "Rare birds and strange beasts should not be kept in this country."

>Top 122. 人の才能は、文明らかにして:

  • 人の才能は、文明らかにして、聖の教へを知れるを第一とす。次には手かく事、旨とする事はなくとも、これを習ふべし。學問に便りあらむ爲なり。次に醫術を習ふべし。身を養ひ、人を助け、忠孝のつとめも、醫にあらずばあるべからず。次に弓射、馬に乘る事、六藝に出せり。必ずこれを窺ふべし。文・武・醫の道、 まことに缺けてはあるべからず。これを學ばんをば、いたづらなる人といふべからず。次に、食は人の天なり。よく味ひをとゝのへ知れる人、大きなる徳とすべ し。次に、細工、よろづの要多し。
  • この外の事ども、多能は君子のはづるところなり。詩歌にたくみに、絲竹に妙なるは、幽玄の道、君臣これを重くすとはいへども、今の世には、これをもちて世を治むること、漸く愚かなるに似たり。金(こがね)はすぐれたれども、鐵(くろがね)の益多きに如かざるがごとし。

122. The most important qualifications of a man:

  • The most important qualifications of a man are familiarity with the classics and a knowledge of the teachings of the sages. Next is handwriting; even if a man does not make this art his chief study, he should learn it anyway, for it will help him in his learning. Next, he should study medicine. A knowledge of medicine is indispensable in order to keep oneself in good health, to help others, and to fulfill one's duties of loyalty and filial affection. Next, archery and riding certainly deserve attention, for they are listed among the Six Arts. A knowledge of letters, arms, and medicine is truly essential. Any man who would study these arts cannot be called an idler.
  • Next, since food nurtures man like Heaven itself, a knowledge of how to prepare tasty food must be accounted a great asset in a man. Next comes manual skill, which has innumerable uses.
  • As for other things, too many accomplishments are an embarrassment tot he gentlemen. Proficiency in poetry and music, both noble arts, has always been esteemed by rulers and subjects alike, but it would seem that nowadays they are neglected as a means of governing the country gold is the finest of the metals but it cannot compare to iron in its many uses.

>Top 123. 無益の事をなして時を移すを:

  • 無益の事をなして時を移すを、愚かなる人とも、僻事する人ともいふべし。國の爲、君の爲に、止む事を得ずしてなすべき事多し。その餘りの暇、いくばくならず思ふべし。人の身に止む事を得ずして營む所、第一に食ふ物、第二に著る物、第三に居る所なり。人間の大事、この三つには過ぎず。飢ゑず、寒からず、風雨に冒されずして、しづかに過すを樂しみとす。但し人皆病あり。病に冒されぬれば、その愁へ忍び難し。醫療を忘るべからず。藥を加へて、四つの事、 求め得ざるを貧しとす。この四つ、缺けざるを富めりとす。この四つの外を求め營むを、驕とす。四つの事儉約ならば、誰の人か足らずとせん。

123. A man who wastes his time doing useless things:

  • A man who wastes his time doing useless things is either a fool or a knave. Many things must be done, like it or not for your country or lord, and they leave you little time of your own. Consider: for his own welfare a man has no choice but to labor so he may secure food, clothing, and shelter. Man's worldly necessities do not go beyond these three. When he can live peacefully, neither hungry nor cold nor buffeted by the wind and rain, he is happy. But all men are prey to sickness, and when sickness trikes, the pains are hard to bear; the healing art should not be forgotten. Adding medicine gives four essentials. If a man needs but cannot obtain them, he is poor; if he lacks none of the four, he is rich. If one seeks to obtain more than these four, it is extravagance. Why should anyone who is modest in his demands for these four ever feel that he has not enough?

>Top 124. 是法法師は、淨土宗に恥ぢずと雖も:

  • 是法法師は、淨土宗に恥ぢずと雖も、學匠をたてず、たゞ明暮念佛して、やすらかに世を過すありさま、いとあらまほし。

124. The priest Zeho ranks second to none:

  • The priest Zeho ranks second to none as a scholar of the Pure Land Sect, but instead of making a show of his learning, he recites the nembutsu day and night, a quiet way of life that I find most admirable.

>Top 125. 人に後れて、四十九日の佛事に:

  • 人に後れて、四十九日(なゝなのか)の佛事に、ある聖を請じ侍りしに、説法いみじくして皆人涙を流しけり。導師かへりて後、聽聞の人ども、「いつよりも、 殊に今日は尊くおぼえ侍りつる」と感じあへりし返り事に、ある者の曰く、「何とも候へ、あれほど唐の狗に似候ひなむ上は」と言ひたりしに、あはれもさめてをかしかりけり。さる導師のほめやうやはあるべき。
  • また人に酒勸むるとて、「おのれまづたべて人に強ひ奉らんとするは、劒にて人を斬らむとするに似たる事なり。二方に刃つきたるものなれば、もたぐる時、まづ我が頚を斬るゆゑに、人をばえ斬らぬなり。おのれまづ醉ひて臥しなば、人はよも召さじ」と申しき。劒にて斬り試みたりけるにや。いとをかしかりき。

125. For the Buddhist services on the forty-ninth da:

  • For the Buddhist services on the forty-ninth day after a man's death, the family summoned a certain holy man who preached so beautifully that everybody wept. After he had left, those who had heard the sermon remarked to one another in admiration that the services that day had been mor inspiring than usual. Somebody countered, "It is not surprising, when you consider how much he looks like a Chinese dog." At these words the atmosphere of awe dissolved, and everybody was amused. Who ever heard of praising a priest in such terms?
  • Again, I heard it remarked that if, when offering sake to someone, you first drink some yourself and then try to force it on the other man, it is like trying to kill a man with a double-edged sword; since the blade cuts both ways, you are likely in lifting it to cut your own throat before you can cut the other man's. If you are the first to fall into a drunken stupor, no one else is likely to drink. I wonder if the man who made these remarks had ever tried to kill anyone with a double-edged sword. It was really amusing.

>Top 126. ばくちの負け極まりて、殘りなくうち入れむとせむに:

  • 「(ばくち)の負け極まりて、殘りなくうち入れむとせむに逢ひては、打つべからず。立ち歸り、続けて勝つべき時の至れると知るべし。その時を知るを、よき博奕といふなり」と、あるもの申しき。

126. Someone once told me

  • Someone once told me, "When a man has been losing heavily at gambling and then declares his intention of betting all the money he has left, you should not gamble with him. You should recognize that the time has come for his luck to turn and for him to start a winning streak. A good gambler knows when that time has come."

>Top 127. 改めて益なきことは:

  • 改めて益なきことは、改めぬをよしとするなり。

127. It is best not to change something:

  • It is best not to change something if changing it will not do any good.

>Top 128. 雅房大納言は、才賢く、善き人にて:

  • 雅房大納言は、才賢く、善き人にて、大將にもなさばやと思しける頃、院の近習なる人、「只今、淺ましき事を見侍りつ」と申されければ、「何事ぞ」と問はせ給ひけるに、「雅房卿、鷹に飼はんとて、生きたる犬の足を切り侍りつるを、中垣の穴より見侍りつ」と申されけるに、うとましく、にくくおぼしめして、日ごろの御氣色も違ひ、昇進もしたまはざりけり。さばかりの人、鷹を持たれたりけるは思はずなれど、犬の足は跡なき事なり。虚言は不便(ふびん)なれども、かゝる事を聞かせ給ひて、にくませ給ひける君の御心は、いと尊きことなり。
  • 大かた生けるものを殺し、痛め、闘はしめて遊び樂しまん人は、畜生殘害の類なり。萬の鳥獸、小さき蟲までも、心をとめてありさまを見るに、子 を思ひ、親をなつかしくし、夫婦を伴ひ、妬み、怒り、慾おほく、身を愛し、命を惜しめる事、偏(ひとえ)に愚癡なる故に、人よりも勝りて甚だし。彼に苦し みを與へ、命を奪はん事、いかでか痛ましからざらん。
  • すべて一切の有情を見て慈悲の心なからむは、人倫にあらず。
  • ふびん, 不便: 気の毒

128. The Major Counselor Masafusa was a learned and virtuous man:

  • The Major Counselor Masafusa was a learned and virtuous man. The cloistered emperor was thinking of making him general of the inner palace guards when a man in personal attendance reported to him, "I have just seen a most horrible sight." "What was it?" His Majesty asked. the man replied, "Though a hole in the fence between his house and mine I saw Lord Masafusa cut off the legs of a living dog to feed to his hawks." The emperor, hearing this, decided that Masafusa must be a vile and loathsome man. His customary partiality towards Masafusa gave way to estrangement, and he did not promote him. It was off that such a man should keep hawks, but the story about the dog's legs was completely untrue. Masafusa was the unfortunate victim of the lie, but the emperor's feelings of revulsion when he herd the story bespeak his nobility.
  • As a rule, people who take pleasure in killing living creatures or making one creature fight another, are themselves akin to the beasts of prey. If we carefully observe the countless varieties of birds and beasts, even tiny insects, we shall discover that they love their children, long to be near their parens, that husband and wife remain together, that they are jealous, angry, greedy, self-seeking, and fearful for their own lives to an even worse degree than men because they lack intelligence. How an we not feel pity when pain is inflicted on them or people take their lives?
  • A man who can look on sentient creatures without feeling compassion is no human being.

>Top 129. 顔囘は、志、人に勞を施さじとなり:

  • 顔囘は、志、人に勞を施さじとなり。すべて、人を苦しめ、物を虐(しいた)ぐる事、賎しき民の志をも奪ふべからず。また、幼き子を賺(すか)し、嚇(お ど)し、言ひ辱(はづか)しめて興ずることあり。大人しき人は、まことならねば、事にもあらず思へど、幼き心には、身にしみて恐ろしく、恥づかしく、浅ましき思ひ、誠に切なるべし。これを惱して興ずる事、慈悲の心にあらず。
  • 大人しき人の、喜び、怒り、哀れび、樂しぶも、皆 虚妄なれども、誰か實有の相に著せざる。身を破るよりも、心を痛ましむるは、人を害(そこな)ふ事なほ甚だし。病を受くる事も、多くは心より受く。外より來る病は少なし。藥を飮みて汗を求むるには、驗(しるし)なき事あれども、一旦恥ぢ恐るゝことあれば、必ず汗を流すは、心のしわざなりといふことを知るべ し。凌雲の額を書きて、白頭の人となりし例(ためし) なきにあらず。

129. Yen Hui said that his desire in life was never to cause:

  • Yen Hui said that his desire in life was never to cause other people any trouble. Obviously, it is wrong to make others suffer, to torture living creatures, or to force even the humblest person to do anything against his will. Some take pleasure in deceiving or frightening or humiliating innocent children. The adult may think nothing of this, since he does it in jest, but the child will experience truly intense feelings of heartrending fear, shame, and rejection. Anyone who enjoys bringing distress to a child lacks all feelings of humanity.
  • Joy, anger, grief, or pleasure, as experienced by adults, are all empty delusions, but who does not give himself to them as if they were real? It harms a man far more to wound his spirt than to break his body. Diseases too are caught mainly through the mind. Few diseases originate without. Sometimes it happens that medicine taken to induce perspiration has no effect, but a man invariably seats when he is ashamed or afraid, a sign of what the mind can do. The man who inscribed the plaque on the Ling-yün tower turned white-haired with fright, and there is no dearth of similar examples.

>Top 130. 物に爭はず、己を枉げて人に從ひ:

  • 物に爭はず、己を枉(ま)げて人に從ひ、我が身を後にして、人を先にするには如かず。
  • 萬の遊びにも、勝負を好む人は、勝ちて興あらむ爲なり。己が藝の勝りたる事を喜ぶ。されば、負けて興なく覺ゆべきこと、また知られたり。我負けて人を歡ばしめむと思はば、さらに遊びの興なかるべし。人に本意なく思はせて、わが心を慰めむこと、徳に背けり。
  • むつましき中に戲(たはぶ)るゝも、人をはかり欺きて、おのれが智の勝りたることを興とす。これまた、禮にあらず。されば、はじめ興宴より起りて、長き恨みを結ぶ類多し。これ皆、争ひを好む失なり。
  • 人に勝らむことを思はば、たゞ學問して、その智を人に勝らむと思ふべし。道を學ぶとならば、善に誇らず、ともがらに爭ふべからずといふ事を知るべき故なり。大きなる職をも辭し、利をも捨つるは、たゞ學問の力なり。


130. Avoid contention with others:

  • Avoid contention with others, bend yourself to their views, put yourself and other people first - that is the best course.
  • People enjoy competition in games because they like to win. They rejoice that their skill is greater than anybody else's. Obviously, then, they will find it unpleasant to lose. If you deliberately let yourself be beaten in the hope of pleasing your opponent, you will certainly drive no pleasure from the game yourself. On the other hand, it goes against all decency to enjoy the humiliation of others.
  • Even when amusing themselves with their dearest friends, people enjoy the feeling of superior intelligence that comes from tricking and duping them. This too is contrary to proper behavior. Often what has started as a friendly diversion at a party develops into protracted enmity. Such are the unfortunate consequences of a love of competition.
  • If you wish to be superior to others, you had best devote yourself to your studies and trust that the knowledge you gain will exceed theirs; if you pursue learning you will know better than to take pride in your wisdom or to compete with your friends. Only the strength that comes with learning can enable a man to refuse high office and reject material gain.

>Top 131. 貧しきものは財をもて禮とし:

  • 貧しきものは財をもて禮とし、老いたるものは力をもて禮とす。おのが分を知りて、及ばざる時は速かに止むを智といふべし。許さざらんは、人の誤りなり。分を知らずして強ひて勵むは、おのれが誤りなり。
  • 貧しくして分を知らざれば盜み、力衰へて分を知らざれば病をうく。

131. The poor man supposes that courtesy involves:

  • The poor man supposes that courtesy involves giving presents; the aged man, that courtesy consists in expending one's energy. True wisdom consists in knowing your own capacity and stopping at once when something is too much for you. If the other person refuses to let you stop, that is his fault. If you are ignorant of your own capacity and exert yourself beyond your strength, that is your mistake.
  • A poor man who does not know his own capacity will steal; a man whose strength has failed, but who does not know it, will fall sick.

>Top 132. 鳥羽の作り道は:

  • 鳥羽の作り道は、鳥羽殿 建てられて後の號(な)にはあらず。昔よりの名なり。元良親王、元日の奏賀の聲、はなはだ殊勝にして、大極殿より鳥羽の作り道まで聞こえけるよし、李部王(りほうおう)の記に侍るとかや。

132. The Toba New Road did not acquire its name:

  • The Toba New Road did not acquire its name after the Toba Palace was built. The name is an old one. It is recorded, I understand, in the diary of Prince Riho that when Prince Motoyoshi recited congratulations to the throne on New Year's morning, his voice was so powerful that it could be heard from the imperial council hall all the way to the Toba New Road.

>Top 133. 夜の御殿は東御枕なり:

  • 夜の御殿(おとゞ)は東御枕なり。大かた東を枕として陽氣を受くべき故に、孔子も東首し給へり。寢殿のしつらひ、或は南枕、常のことなり。白河院 は北首に御寢なりけり。「北は忌むことなり。また、伊勢は南なり。太神宮の御方を御跡にせさせ給ふ事いかゞ」と、人申しけり。たゞし、太神宮の遥拜は辰巳 に向はせ給ふ。南にはあらず。

133. The pillow in the emperor's bedchamber:

  • The pillow in the emperor's bedchamber is placed to the east. Sleeping with one's pillow to the east enables one, as a rule, to come under the influence of the yang principle: that is why Confucius also slept with his head to the east. Bed-chambers are usually constructed in such a way that sleeping with a pillow to the south is also common. The Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa slept with his head to the north. The north, however, is to be avoided. Someone also commented, "Ise lies to the south. Do you think it was proper for an emperor to sleep with his feet towards the great shrine?" However, when the emperor worships the great shrine from afar, he faces southeast and not south.

>Top 134. 高倉院の法華堂の三昧僧、何某の律師:

  • 高倉院の法華堂の三昧僧、何某の律師とかやいふ者、ある時、鏡を取りて顔をつくづくと見て、我が貌(かたち)の醜く、あさましき事を餘りに心憂く覺えて、鏡さへうとましき心地しければ、その後長く鏡を恐れて、手にだに取らず、更に人に交はる事なし。御堂の勤め許りにあひて、籠り居たりと聞き傳 へしこそ、あり難く覺えしか。
  • 賢げなる人も人の上をのみ計りて、己をば知らざるなり。我を知らずして、外を知るといふ理あるべからず。されば、己を知るを、物知れる人といふべし。貌醜けれども知らず、心の愚かなるをも知らず、藝の拙きをも知らず、身の數ならぬをも知らず、年の老いぬるをも知らず、病の冒すをも知らず、死の近き事をも知らず、行ふ道の至らざるをも知らず、身の上の非をも知らねば、まして外の譏りを知らず。たゞし、貌は鏡に見ゆ、年は數へて知る。 我が身の事知らぬにはあらねど、すべき方のなければ、知らぬに似たりとぞいはまし。貌を改め、齡を若くせよとにはあらず。拙きを知らば、何ぞやがて退かざる。老いぬと知らば、何ぞ閑にゐて身をやすくせざる。行ひ愚かなりと知らば、何ぞこれを思ふ事これにあらざる。
  • すべて人に愛樂(あいぎょう)せられずして衆に交はるは恥なり。貌みにくく心おくれにして出で仕へ、無智にして大才(たいさい)に交はり、不堪(ふか ん)の藝をもちて堪能の座に連なり、雪の頭(かうべ)を戴きて壯(さか)りなる人にならび、況んや、及ばざることを望み、叶はぬことを憂へ、來らざる事を待ち、人に恐れ、人に媚ぶるは、人の與ふる恥にあらず、貪る心に引かれて、自ら身を恥しむるなり。貪ることのやまざるは、命を終ふる大事、今こゝに來れりと、たしかに知らざればなり。

134. A certain ascetic priest:

  • A certain ascetic priest, a smadhi monk of the Hokke Hall at the tomb of the Cloistered Emperor Takakura, once took a mirror and carefully examined his face. He was so depressed by its ugliness and meanness that he felt a loathing even for the mirror. For a long time afterwards he was too afraid of mirrors even to take one in his hands, and he gave up all intercourse with people. He appeared only for services at the hall, and otherwise remained in seclusion. This story struck me as being most noteworthy.
  • Even people who seem quite intelligent make judgements entirely on the basis of what they observe of other people, and know nothing about themselves. But surely it is illogical to know others and not oneself. A man who knows himself deserves to be called a learned man.
  • A man may not realize it though he is ugly, foolish, inept at his profession, of no consequence in the world, old, ravaged by sickness, close to death, unable to attain the Way of Buddha despite his prayers; ignorant of his own failings, he is still less aware of the criticisms others direct at him. but a man can see his face in the mirror and he can tell his age by counting. It is by no means impossible to know oneself. But, some may argue, unless one can do something about it, it is just the same as not knowing oneself.
  • I am not suggesting that anyone should change his face or become younger. What I am saying is: if you know you are no good at you profession, why not retire at once? If you know you are old, why not live in some quiet retreat, taking good care of yourself? If you know that your devotions are inadequate, why not give yourself to them completely?
  • To mix in company where you are not welcome is shaming. If, though you are ugly and slow-witted, you persist in serving at court; if, though you are badly educated, you associate with great scholars; if, though you have no artistic talent yourself, you mingle with accomplished artists; if, with the snow of age on your head, you take your place beside a man in the pride of his youth; and if , especially, you hope for what you cannot achieve, fret over schemes beyond your capacity, wait for things that will not come, fearing and flattering others, the shame you incur will not have been imposed by others; it is a disgrace you will have brought upon yourself by your own greed. Our greed is unceasing because we are never sure that the great event that ends our life has come and is here now before us.

>Top 135. 資季大納言入道とかや聞えける人:

  • 資季大納言入道とかや聞えける人、具氏(ともうぢ)宰相中將に逢ひて、「わぬしの問はれむ程の事、何事なりとも答へ申さざらむや」とい言はれければ、具氏、「いかゞ侍らむ」と申されけるを、「さらば、あらがひ給へ」といはれて、「はかばかしき事は、片端もまねび知り侍らねば、尋ね申すまでもなし。何となきそゞろごとの中に、覺束なき事をこそ問ひ奉らめ」と申されけり。「まして、こゝもとの淺きことは、何事なりともあきらめ申さん」といはれければ、近習の人々、女房なども、「興あるあらがひなり。同じくは、御前にて爭はるべし。負けたらん人は、供御(ぐご)をまうけらるべし」と定めて、御前にて召し合せら れたりけるに、具氏、「幼くより聞きならひ侍れど、その心知らぬこと侍り。『馬のきつりやう、きつにのをか、なかくぼれいりぐれんどう』と申すことは、いかなる心にかはべらむ。承らむ」と申されけるに、大納言入道、はたとつまりて、「これは、そゞろごとなれば、云ふにも足らず」といはれけるを、「もとより、深き道は知り侍らず。そゞろ言を尋ね奉らむと、定め申しつ」と申されければ、大納言入道負けになりて、所課いかめしくせられたりけるとぞ。
  • き...か+れ→きれか→かれき(枯れ木)

135. The man known as Sukesue, the major counselor and lay priest:

  • The man known as Sukesue, the major counselor and lay priest, said on meeting Tomouji, the middle captain of the chancellor, "Any question you could possibly ask me, I am sure I can answer." "I'm not so sure," said Tomouji. "Well, then," said Sukesue, "test, me." "I've never studied any proper book learning, so I can't ask about that. I'll ask you instead, if I may, about something of no importance that's been puzzling me." "If it7s some trivial thing from daily life, I'm all the more certain I can explain it, whatever it may be," said Sukesue. The courtiers and ladies in waiting cried, "What an amusing dispute! If it's all the same to you, why not have it out before His Majesty? The one who loses will provide a feast." They agreed to follow this suggestion, and were summoned before His Majesty to have their dispute. Tomouji asked, "There is an expression I have heard ever since I was a boy, but I don't know what it means. What do you mean when they say, 'Uma no kitsuryo, kitsuni no oka, naka kubore iri kurendo'? That's my question for you." Sukesue was at loss for an answer. "This is nonsense. It is not worth explaining," he said. Tomouji replied, "I told you from the start that I didn't know anything about deep matters. We agreed that I would ask you something nonsensical." The major counselor and lay priest, beaten in the dispute, was obliged to offer a splendid feast as a penalty, I am told.

>Top 136. 醫師篤成、故法皇の御前に候ひて:

  • 醫師篤成(あつしげ)、故法皇の御前に候ひて、供御の參りけるに、「今參り侍る供御のいろいろを、文字も功能(くのう) も尋ね下されて、そらに申しはべらば、本草に御覽じあはせられ侍れかし。一つも申し誤り侍らじ」と申しける時しも、六條故内府(だいふ)まゐり給ひて、「有房ついでに物習ひ侍らん」とて、「まづ、『しほ』といふ文字は、いづれの偏にか侍らむ」と問はれたりけるに、「土偏(どへん)に候」と申したりければ、「才のほど既に現はれにたり。今はさばかりにて候へ。ゆかしきところなし」と申されけるに、とよみになりて、罷り出でにけ り。
  • 塩盬>盐yán

136. The physician Atsushige was in attendance on the late cloistered emperor:

  • The physician Atsushige was in attendance on the late cloistered emperor when His Majesty's dinner was served. He said, "If Your Majesty will deign to ask me to write the names and properties of each of the dishes which have now been brought before you, I shall answer you from memory. Then I should like Your Majesty to compare what I say with a book of natural science. I am confident that I shall not make a single mistake." Just at this moment Arifusa, the late minister of the interior of Rokujo, entered. "This is a fine opportunity to learn something myself," he said. "First of all, with which radical do you write the character shio, for salt? " "With the earth radical," answered Atsushige. "It's quite apparent already how learned you are. That will be enough for now. I have nothing else to ask. " Everyone laughed heartily and Atsushige withdrew.

>Top 137. 花は盛りに、月は隈なきをのみ見るものかは:

  • 花は盛りに、月は隈なきをのみ見るものかは。雨にむかひて月を戀ひ、たれこめて春のゆくへ知らぬも、なほあはれに情ふかし。咲きぬべきほどの梢、散りしをれたる庭などこそ見どころおほけれ。歌の詞書(ことばがき)にも、「花見に罷りけるに、はやく散り過ぎにければ」とも、「さはることありて罷らで」なども書けるは、「花を見て」といへるに劣れる事かは。花の散り、月の傾くを慕ふ習ひはさる事なれど、殊に頑なる人ぞ、「この枝かの枝散りにけり。今は見所なし」などはいふめる。
  • 萬の事も、始め終りこそをかしけれ。男女の情も、偏に逢ひ見るをばいふものかは。逢はでやみにし憂さを思ひ、あだなる契りをかこち、長き夜をひとり明し、遠き雲居を思ひやり、淺茅が宿に昔を忍ぶこそ、色好むとはいはめ。
  • 望月の隈なきを、千里(ちさと)の外まで眺めたるよりも、曉近くなりて待ちいでたるが、いと心ぶかう、青みたる樣にて、深き山の杉の梢に見えたる木の間 の影、うちしぐれたるむら雲がくれのほど、またなくあはれなり。椎柴・白樫などの濡れたるやうなる葉の上にきらめきたるこそ、身にしみて、心あらむ友もがなと、都こひしう覺ゆれ。
  • すべて、月・花をば、さのみ目にて見るものかは。春は家を立ち去らでも、月の夜は閨のうちながらも思へるこそ、いと頼もしう、をかしけれ。よき人は、偏にすける樣にも見えず、興ずる樣もなほざりなり。片田舎の人こそ、色濃くよろづはもて興ずれ。花のもとには、ねぢより立ちより、あからめもせずまもりて、 酒飮み、連歌して、はては大きなる枝、心なく折り取りぬ。泉には手・足さしひたして、雪にはおりたちて跡つけなど、萬の物、よそながら見る事なし。
  • さやうの人の祭見しさま、いとめづらかなりき。「見ごといとおそし。そのほどは棧敷不用なり」とて、奧なる屋にて酒飮み、物食ひ、圍棊・雙六など遊びて、棧敷には人を置きたれば、「わたり候ふ」といふときに、 おのおの肝つぶるやうに爭ひ走り上がりて、落ちぬべきまで簾張り出でて、押しあひつゝ、一事も見洩らさじとまぼりて、「とあり、かゝり」と物事に 言ひて、渡り過ぎぬれば、「又渡らむまで」と言ひて降りぬ。唯物をのみ見むとするなるべし。都の人のゆゝしげなるは、眠りて、いとも見ず。若く末々なるは、宮仕へに立ち居、人の後にさぶらふは、さまあしくも及びかゝらず、わりなく見むとする人もなし。
  • 何となく葵(あふひ)かけ渡してなまめかしきに、明けはなれぬほど、忍びて寄する車どものゆかしきを、其か、彼かなどおもひよすれば、牛飼下部などの見知れるもあり。をかしくも、きらきらしくも、さまざまに行きかふ、見るもつれづれならず。暮るゝ程には、立て竝べつる車ども、所なく竝みゐつる人も、いづかたへか行きつらん、程なく稀になりて、車どものらうがはしさも濟みぬれば、簾・疊も取り拂ひ、目の前に寂しげになり行くこそ、世のためしも思ひ知られて、哀れなれ。大路見たるこそ、祭見たるにてはあれ。
  • かの棧敷の前をこゝら行きかふ人の、見知れるが數多あるにて知りぬ、世の人數もさのみは多からぬにこそ。この人皆失せなむ後、我が身死ぬべきに定まりたりとも、程なく待ちつけぬべし。大きなる器(うつはもの)に水を入れて、細き孔をあけたらんに、滴る事少しと云ふとも、怠る間なく漏りゆかば、やがて盡きぬべし。都の中に多き人、死なざる日はあるべからず。一日(ひ)に一人二人のみならむや。鳥部野・舟岡、さらぬ野山にも、送る數おほかる日はあれど、送らぬ日はなし。されば、柩を鬻(ひさ)ぐもの、作りてうち置くほどなし。若きにもよらず、強きにもよらず、思ひかけぬは死期なり。今日まで遁れ來にけるは、 ありがたき不思議なり。暫しも世をのどかに思ひなんや。
  • まゝ子立といふものを、雙六の石にてつくりて、立て竝べたる程は、取られむ事いづれの石とも知らねども、數へ當ててひとつを取りぬれば、その外は遁れぬと見れど、またまた数ふれば、かれこれ間(ま)拔き行くほどに、いづれも、遁れざるに似たり。兵の軍に出づるは、死に近きことを知りて、家をも忘れ、身をも忘る。世をそむける草の庵には、しづかに水石(すいせき)をもてあそびて、これを他所(よそ)に聞くと思へるは、いとはかなし。しづかなる山の奧、無常の敵きほひ來らざらんや。その死に臨めること、軍の陣に進めるに同じ。

137. Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom?:

  • Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, the moon only when it is cloudless? To long for the moon while looking on the rain, to lower the blinds and be unaware of the passing of the spring - these are even more deeply moving. Branches about to blossom or gardens strewn with faded flowers are worthier of our admiration. Are poems written on such themes as "Going to view the cherry blossoms only to find they had scattered" or "On being prevented from visiting the blossoms" inferior to those on "Seeing the blossoms"? People commonly regret that the cherry blossoms scatter or that the moon sinks in the sky, and this is natural; but only an exceptionally insensitive man would say, "This branch ad that branch have lost their blossoms. There is nothing worth seeing now."
  • In all thing, it is the beginnings and ends that are interesting. Does the love between men and women refer only to the moments when they are in each other's arms? The man who grieves over a love affair broken off before it was fulfilled, who bewails empty vows, who spends long autumn nights alone, who lets his thoughts wander to distant skies, who yearns for the past in a dilapidated house - such as man truly knows what love means.
  • The moon that appears close to dawn after we have long waited for it moves us more profoundly than the full moon shining cloudless over thousand leagues. And how incomparably lovely is the moon, almost greenish in its light, when seen through the tops of the cedars deep in the mountains, or when it hides for a moment behind clustering clouds during a sudden shower! The sparkle on hickory or white-oak leaves seemingly wet with moonlight strikes one to the heart. One suddenly misses the capital, longing for a friend who could share the moment.
  • And are we to look at the moon and the cherry blossoms with our eyes alone? How much more evocative and pleasing it is to think about the spring without stirring from the house, to dream of the moonlit night though we remains in our room! The man of breeding never appears to abandon himself completely to his pleasures; even his manner of enjoyment is detached. It is the rustic boors who take all their pleasures grossly. They squirm their way through the crowd to get under the trees; they stare at the blossoms with eyes for nothing else; they drink sake and compose linked verse; and finally they heartlessly break off great branches and cart them away. When they see a spring they dip their hands and feet to cool them; if it is the snow, they jump down to leave their footprints. No matter what the sight, they are never content merely with looking at it.
  • Such people have a very peculiar manner of watching the Kamo Festival. "The procession's awfully late," they say. "There's no point waiting in the stands for it to come." They go off then to a shack behind the stands where they drink and eat, play go or backgammon, leaving somebody in the stands to warn them. When he cries, "It's passing now!" each of them dashes out in wild consternation, struggling to be first back into the stands. They all but fall from their perches as they push out the blinds and press against one another for a better look, staring at the scene, determined not to miss a thing. They comment on everything that goes by, with cries of "Look at this! Look at that!" When the procession has passed, they scramble down, saying, "We'll be back for the next one." All they are interest in is what they can see.
  • People from the capital, the better sort, doze during the processions, hardly looking at all. Young underlings are constantly moving about, performing their masters' errands, and persons in attendance, seated behind, never stretch forward in an unseemly manner. No one is intent on seeing the procession at all costs. It is charming on the day of the Festival to see garlands of hollyhock leaves carelessly strewn over everything. The morning of the Festival, before dawn breaks, you wonder who the owners are of the carriages silently drawn up in place, and guess, "That one is his - or his," and have your guesses confirmed when sometimes you recognize a coachman or servant. I never weary of watching the different carriages going back and forth, some delightfully unpretentious, others magnificent. By the times it is growing dark you wonder where the rows of carriages and the dense crowds of spectators have disappeared to . Before you know it, hardly a soul is left, and the congestion of returning carriages is over. Then they start removing the blinds and matting from the stands, and the place, even as you watch, begins to look desolate. You realize with a pang of grief that life is like this. If you have seen the avenues of the city, you have seen the festival.
  • I suddenly realized, from the large number of people I could recognize in the crowds passing to and fro before the stands, that there were not so many people in the world, after all. Even if I were not to die until all of them had gone, I should not have long to wait. If you pierce a tiny aperture in a large vessel filled with water, even though only a small amount drips out, the constant leakage will empty the vessel. In this capital, with all its many people, surely a day never passes without someone dying. And are there merely one or two deaths a day? On some days, certainly, many more than one or two are seen to their graves at Toribeno, Funaoka, and other mountainsides, but never a day passes without a single funeral. That is why coffin makers never have any to spare. It does not matter how young or how strong you may be, the hour of death comes sooner than you expect. It is an extraordinary miracle that you should have escaped to this day; do you suppose you have even the briefest respite in which to relax?
  • When you make a mamagodate with backgammon counters, at first you cannot tell which of the stones arranged before you will betaken away. Your count then falls on a certain stone and you remove it. The others seem to have escaped, but as you renew the count you will thin out the pieces one by one, until none is left. Death is like that. The soldier who goes to war, knowing how close he is to death, forgets his family and even forgets himself; the man who has turned his back on the world and lives in a thatched hut, quietly taking pleasure in the streams and rocks of his garden, may suppose that death in battle has nothing to do with him, but this is a shallow misconception. Does he imagine that, if he hides in the still recesses of the mountains, the enemy called change will fail to attack? When you confront death, no matter where it may be, it is the same as charging into battle.

>Top 138. 祭過ぎぬれば、後の葵不用なり:

  • 「祭過ぎぬれば、後の葵不用なり」とて、ある人の、御簾なるを皆取らせられ侍りしが、色もなく覚え侍りしを、よき人のし給ふことなれば、さるべきにやと思ひしかど、周防の内侍が、
    • かくれどもかひなき物はもろともに
      みすの葵の枯葉なりけり、
  • と詠めるも、母屋(もや)の御簾に葵のかゝりたる枯葉を詠めるよし、家の集に書けり。古き歌の詞書に、「枯れたる葵にさしてつかはしける」ともはべり。枕草紙にも、「來しかた戀しきもの。かれたる葵」と書けるこそ、いみじくなつかしう思ひよりたれ。鴨長明が四季物語にも、「玉だれに後の葵はとまりけり」とぞ書ける。己と枯るゝだにこそあるを、名殘なくいかゞ取り捨つべき。
  • 御帳にかゝれる藥玉も、九月九日、菊にとりかへらるゝといへば、菖蒲は菊の折までもあるべきにこそ。枇杷の皇太后宮かくれ給ひて後、ふるき御帳の内に、 菖蒲・藥玉などの枯れたるが侍りけるを見て、「折ならぬ音(ね)をなほぞかけつる」と、辨の乳母のいへる返り事に、「あやめの草はありながら」とも、江侍從が詠みしぞかし。

138. Once, after the festival had ended:

  • Once, after the festival had ended, a certain person had all the hollyhock leaves removed from his blinds, with the remark that they were no longer of any use. I felt that this showed a want of taste, but since he was a person of quality, I supposed he must have his reasons. But there is a poem by Lady Duo;
    • Though still they hang,
      They serve no purpose now,
      Those withering leaves
      Of hollyhocks, left on the blinds,
      We cannot see together.
  • This poem, in her Collected Works, refers to the withered hollyhock leaves hung on the bamboo blinds of a palace room. The prose prefaces to old poems sometimes also say, "Sent attached to some withered hollyhocks." The Pillow Book contains the passage, "Things which arouse nostalgia for the past - withered hollyhocks." This seems to me a wonderfully evocative observation. In the Tales of the Four Seasons by Kamo no Chomei, he too says, "The hollyhocks after the Festival still cling to the palace blinds." How could anyone have removed all the leaves when it is sad enough that they should wither of themselves?
  • The medicinal sachets hung round the curtained dais in a noblemen's chamber are replaced on the ninth day of the ninth month with chrysanthemums, evidence that irises should be left until chrysanthemum time. After the Dowager Empress of the Apricot Palace had passed away, Ben no Menoto, discovering withered irises and medicinal sachets inside an old, curtained bedstead, wrote the lines, "I hang up unseasonable roots, lifting my wailing voice." In reply, Gojiju composed the poem, "Though the iris stalks remain, did ever I think I should see her bedchamber so desolate?"

>Top 139. 家にありたき木は、松・櫻:

  • 家にありたき木は、松・櫻。松は五葉もよし。花は一重なるよし。八重櫻は奈良の都にのみありけるを、この頃ぞ世に多くなり侍るなる。吉野の花、左近の櫻、 皆一重にてこそあれ。八重櫻は異樣のものなり。いとこちたくねぢけたり。植ゑずともありなん。遲櫻、またすさまじ。蟲のつきたるもむつかし。梅は白き、うす紅梅。一重なるが疾く咲きたるも、重なりたる紅梅の匂ひめでたきも、みなをかし。おそき梅は、櫻に咲き合ひて、おぼえ劣り、けおされて、枝に萎みつきたる、心憂し。「一重なるがまづ咲きて散りたるは、心疾く、をかし」とて、京極入道中納言は、なほ一重梅をなむ軒近く植ゑられたりける。京極の屋の南むき に、今も二本(もと)はべるめり。柳、またをかし。卯月ばかりの若楓(わかかえで) 、すべて萬の花・紅葉にも優りてめでたきものなり。橘・桂、何れも木は物古(ものふ)り、大きなる、よし。
  • 草は山吹・藤・杜若・撫子。池には蓮(はちす)。秋の草は荻・薄・桔梗(きちこう)・萩・女郎花・藤袴・しをに・吾木香(われもこう)・刈萱(かるか や)・龍膽(りんどう)・菊・黄菊も・蔦(つた)・葛(くず)・朝顔、いづれもいと高からず、さゝやかなる、垣に繁からぬ、よし。この外の、世にまれなるおの、唐めきたる名の聞きにくく、花も見なれぬなど、いとなつかしからず。
  • 大かた、何も珍しくありがたきものは、よからぬ人のもて興ずるものなり。さやうの物、なくてありなん。

139. The trees I should like for my house are pine and cherry:

  • The trees I should like for my house are pine and cherry. Five-needled pines will do. As for cherry blossoms, the single-petaled variety is preferable. The douoble-cherry trees formerly grew only at the capital in Nara, but lately they seem to have become common everywhere. The cherry blossoms of Yoshino and the "left guard" tree of the palace are all single. The double-petaled cherry is an oddity, most exaggerated and perverse. One can do quite nicely without planting it. The late-blooming cherry is also unattractive, and even disagreeable when infested by caterpillars. In plum blossoms I prefer the white and the pink. The early-blossoming single variety and the charmingly scented double crimson are both agreeable. The late plum, flowering in competition with the cherry, suffers by contrast; indeed, it is overwhelmed. It is unpleasant, moreover, to see the withered blossoms clinging to the boughs. The Kyogoku middle counselor and lay priest planted single plum trees near his eaves, saying how impetuous and charming the plum blossoms must be to flower and scatter before any others. Two of these plum trees apparently still survive on the south side of his house in Kyogoku. Willows are also charming. Young maple leaves about the beginning of the fourth month are lovelier than any flowers or autumn leaves. Orange trees and laurels both look best when the trunks are old and big.
  • Among plants the best are kerria roses, wisteria, irises, and pinks. For a pond, water lilies are bet. Among autumn plants I prefer reeds, pampas grass, bellflowers, hagi, ominaeshi, fujibakama, asters, burnet, karukaya, gentians, and chrysanthemums. Yellow chrysanthemums are also good. Ivy, arrowroot vine, and morning glories are all best when they grow on a low fence, not too high nor too profusely. It is hard to feel affection for other plants - those rarely encountered, or which have unpleasant-sounding Chinese names, or which look peculiar. As a rue oddities and rarities are enjoyed by persons of no breeding. It is best to be without them.

>Top 140. 身死して財殘ることは:

  • 身死して財殘ることは、智者のせざるところなり。よからぬもの蓄へおきたるも拙く、よき物は、心をとめけむとはかなし。こちたく多かる、まして口惜し。 「我こそ得め」などいふものどもありて、あとに爭ひたる、樣惡(あ)し。後には誰にと志すものあらば、生けらむ中にぞ讓るべき。朝夕なくて協(かな)はざらむ物こそあらめ、その外は何も持たでぞあらまほしき。

140. The intelligent man, when he dies:

  • The intelligent man, when he dies, leaves no possessions. If he has collected worthless objects, it is embarrassing to have them discovered. If the objects are of good quality, they will depress his heirs at the thought of how attached he must have been to them. It is all the more deplorable if the possessions are ornate and numerous. If a man leaves possessions, there are sure to be people who will quarrel disgracefully over them, crying, "I'm getting that one!" If you wish something to go to someone after you are dead, you should give it to him while you are still alive. Some things are probably indispensable to daily life, but as for the rest, it is best not to own anything at all.

>Top 141. 悲田院の尭蓮上人:

  • 悲田院(ひでんいん)の尭蓮上人(ぎょうれんしょうにん)は、俗姓は三浦のなにがしとかや、雙なき武者なり。故郷の人の來りて物がたりすとて、「吾妻人こそ、言ひつることは頼まるれ。都の人は、言受けのみよくて、實なし」といひしを、聖、「それはさこそ思すらめども、おのれは都に久しく住みて、馴れて見侍るに、人の心劣れりとは思ひ侍らず。なべて心やはらかに情あるゆゑに、人のいふほどの事、けやけく否びがたく、よろづえ言ひはなたず、心弱くことうけしつ。
  • 僞せんとは思はねど、乏しくかなはぬ人のみあれば、おのづから本意通らぬこと多かるべし。吾妻人は、我がかたなれど、げには心の色なく、情おくれ、偏にすくよかなるものなれば、初めより否といひて止みぬ。賑ひ豐かなれば、人には頼まるゝぞかし」と、ことわられ侍りしこそ、この聖、聲うちゆがみあらあらしくて、聖教(しゃうぎょう)のこまやかなる理、いと辨へずもやと思ひしに、この一言の後、心憎くなりて、多かる中に、寺をも住持せらるゝは、かく和ぎたるところありて、その益もあるにこそと覺え侍りし。

141. The holy man Gyoren of the Hiden-in:

  • The holy man Gyoren of the Hiden-in, whose lay name was Miura, was a incomparable soldier. Once a man from his native place came and, in the course of the conversation, remarked, "You can trust what a man from the east says. People from the capital are good at making promises, but they're not to be trusted." The holy man answered, "I can see why you might think so, but having lived in the capital for a long time and become thoroughly acquainted with the people, I don't think they are any worse by nature. They are so gentle and warm-hearted that they cannot bear to refuse outright whatever anyone may ask of them. Because they are incapable of speaking out their thoughts, they consent helplessly to every request.
  • It is not that they intentionally deceive others, but most of them are poor and cannot do as they would like. It often happens then, quite predictably, that they fail to carry out their promises. People from the east, though I am one of them myself, lack such gentleness in their hearts or sympathy for others. They are brusque through and through, and say 'No' from the start so as to discourage requests. Their prosperity makes people trust them." Such was his explanation. This holy man spoke with a provincial accent. His voice was harsh and I doubt that he had much understanding of the fine points of the sacred teachings. But this one utterance attracted me to him, and I felt that his having been chosen from among many priests as abbot of the temple much have been due to this warm side of his nature, and that his quality was sufficient recommendation for the man.

>Top 142. 心なしと見ゆる者も:

  • 心なしと見ゆる者も、よき一言はいふ者なり。ある荒夷の恐ろしげなるが、傍(かたへ)にあひて、「御子はおはすや」と問ひしに、「一人も持ち侍らず」と答へしかば、「さては、物のあはれは知り給はじ。情なき御心にぞものし給ふらむと、いと恐ろし。子故にこそ、萬の哀れは思ひ知らるれ」と言ひたりし、さもありぬべき事なり。恩愛の道ならでは、かゝるものの心に慈悲ありなむや。孝養の心なき者も、子持ちてこそ親の志は思ひ知るなれ。
  • 世をすてたる人のよろづにするすみなるが、なべてほだし多かる人の、よろづに諂(へつら)ひ、望み深きを見て、無下に思ひくたすは、僻事なり。その人の心になりて思へば、まことに、悲しからん親のため、妻子のためには、恥をも忘れ、盜みをもしつべき事なり。されば、盜人を縛(いまし)め、僻事をのみ罪せんよりは、 世の人の飢ゑず、寒からぬやうに、世をば行はまほしきなり。人、恆の産なき時は、恆の心なし。人窮りて盜みす。世治らずして、凍餒(とうだい)の苦しみあらば、科(とが)のもの絶ゆべからず。人を苦しめ、法を犯さしめて、それを罪なはんこと、不便のわざなり。
  • さて、いかゞして人を惠むべきとならば、上の奢り費すところを止め、民を撫で、農を勸めば、下に利あらむこと疑ひあるべからず。衣食世の常なる上に、ひがごとせむ人をぞ、まことの盜人とはいふべき。
  • ほだし, 絆: 足手まとい

142. Even a man who seems devoid of intelligence:

  • Even a man who seems devoid of intelligence occasionally says an apt word. A fierce-looking brute of a soldier once asked a companion, "Have you got any kids?" "No one," replied the other. "Then," said the soldier, "I don't suppose you know what deep feelings are. You probably haven't a drop of human warmth in you. That's a frightening thought! It's having children that makes people understand the beauty of life." He was right. Would any tenderness of feeling exist in such a man's heart if not for the natural affection between parent and child? Even the man with no sene of duty towards his parents learns what parental solicitude mean when he has a child of his won.
  • It is wrong for anyone who has abandoned the world and is without attachments to despise other men burdened with many encumbrances for their deep-seated greed and constant fawning on others. If he could put himself in the place of the men he despise, he would see that, for the sake of their parents, wives, and children, whom they truly love, they forget all sense of shame and will even steal. I believe therefore that it would be better, instead of imprisoning thieves and concerning ourselves only with punishing crimes, to run the country in such a way that no man would ever be hungry or cold. When a man lacks steady employment, his heart is not steady, and in extremity he will steal. As long as the country is not properly governed and people suffer from cold and hunger, there will never be an end to crime. It is pitiful to make people suffer, to force them to break the law, and then to punish them.
  • How then may we help the people? If those at the top would give up their luxury and wastefulness, protect the people, and encourage agriculture, those below would unquestionably benefit greatly. The real criminal is the man who commits a crime even thought he has a normal share of food and clothing.

>Top 143. 人の終焉の有樣のいみじかりし事など:

  • 人の終焉の有樣のいみじかりし事など、人の語るを聞くに、たゞ、「靜かにして亂れず」といはば心にくかるべきを、愚かなる人は、怪しく異なる相を語りつけ、いひし言葉も、擧止(ふるまい)も、おのれが好む方に譽めなすこそ、その人の日ごろの本意にもあらずやと覺ゆれ。
  • この大事は、權化の人も定むべからず。博學の士も計るべからず。おのれ違ふ所なくば、人の見聞くにはよるべからず。
  • ほめなす: embellish

143. When I hear people say that a man's last hours were splendid:

  • When I hear people say that a man's last hours were splendid, I always think how impressive it would be if they meant merely that his end was peaceful and free of agony; but foolish people embellish the story with strange and unusual details, singling out for praise words that he said or things that he did which suit their own preferences, but which hardly accord with the man's usual behavior.
  • This great occasion is not to be evaluated even by an incarnation of the Buddha, nor can learned doctors judge it. As long as a man does nothing unseemly at the hour of his death, nothing people may have seen or heard is of significance.

 

>Top 144. 栂尾の上人道を過ぎたまひけるに:

  • 栂尾の上人道を過ぎたまひけるに、河にて馬洗ふ男、「あしあし」といひければ、上人たちとまりて、「あなたふとや。宿執(しゅくしゅう)開發(かいほつ)の人かな。 『阿字々々』と唱ふるぞや。いかなる人の御馬ぞ。あまりにたふとく覺ゆるは」と尋ね給ひければ、「府生殿の御馬に候」と答へけり。「こはめでたきことかな。阿字本不生(あじほんふしゃう) にこそあなれ。うれしき結縁(けちえん)をもしつるかな」とて、感涙を拭はれけるとぞ。
  • 阿字: 梵語の第一字, 宇宙の一切

144. Once, when the holy man of Toganoo:

  • Once, when the holy man of Toganoo was journeying along a road he encountered a man washing a horse by a river. "Ashi, ashi," said the man. The holy man stopped in his tracks and exclaimed, "How inspiring! Some deed of virtue in a previous existence has brought this man enlightenment! He is reciting the invocation aji, aji!" I wonder whose horse it might be? Such piety overcomes me." When he asked about the owner, the man replied, "The horse belongs to Lord Fusho." "Splendid!" cried the holy man. "his is truly a case of aji hon fusho. What a fortunate link you have established with the Way of the Buddha!" He wiped away the tears of gratitude.

>Top 145.御隨身秦重躬:

  • 御隨身秦重躬(はだのしげみ)、北面の下野入道信願を、「落馬の相ある人なり。よくよく愼み給へ」といひけるを、いとまことしからず思ひけるに、信願馬より長じぬる一言、神の如し」と人おもへり。
  • さて、「いかなる相ぞ」と人の問ひければ、「極めて桃尻にて、沛艾(はいがい)の馬を好みしかば、この相をおほせ侍りき。いつかは申し誤りたる」とぞいひける。

145. The imperial bodyguard Hata no Shigemi:

  • The imperial bodyguard Hata no Shigemi once said of Shingan, the lay prince of Shimotsuke, a member of the retired emperor's guard, "His face has the marks of a man who will fall from his horse. You should urge him to be careful." Nobody took his words seriously, but Shingan one day fell from his horse and died. People were then convinced that the opinions of anyone expert in this art were to be trusted like divide pronouncements.
  • They asked Shigemi what signs enables him to make the prediction. He said, "Shingan sat unsteadily in the saddle and like high-spirited horses. Those were the signs he carried. When have I ever been mistaken in a prediction?"

>Top 146. 明雲座主、相者に逢ひ給ひて:

  • 明雲座主、相者(さうじゃ)に逢ひ給ひて、「己(おのれ)若し兵仗の難やある」と尋ねたまひければ、相人、「實(まこと)にその相おはします」と申す。 「いかなる相ぞ」と尋ね給ひければ、「傷害の恐れおはしますまじき御身にて、假にもかく思しよりて尋ね給ふ。これ既にそのあやぶみの兆なり」と申しけり。
  • はたして矢にあたりて失せ給ひにけり。

146. Myoun, the abbot of the Enryakuji:

  • Myoun, the abbot of the Enryakuji, once asked a physiognomist, "Am I in any danger from weapons?" The man said, "Indeed, the sign is in your face." "What kind of sign is it?" asked Myoun. The man replied, "A person in your position should be in no danger of a violent death, but the very fact that you thought of such a thing and asked me, however lightly, is in itself a portent of danger."
  • As a matter of fact, the abbot was killed by an arrow.

>Top 147. 灸治、あまた所になりぬれば:

  • 灸治、あまた所になりぬれば、神事に穢れありといふこと、近く人のいひ出せるなり。格式等にも見えずとぞ。

147. xxx:

  • Of late people have begun to say that a great many scars from moxa treatment render a man unclean for performing the sacred rites. Nothing to that effect if found in the ancient regulations.

>Top 148. 四十以後の人:

  • 四十(よそぢ)以後の人、身に灸を加へて三里を燒かざれば、上氣のことあり。必ず灸すべし。

148. A man over forty who takes moxa treatment:

  • A man over forty who takes moxa treatment but does not have moxa burnt on his kneecaps may have dizzy spells. He should by all means have it burnt in those places.

>Top 149. 鹿茸を鼻にあてて:

  • 鹿茸(ろくじょう)を鼻にあてて嗅ぐべからず、小さき蟲ありて、鼻より入りて腦をはむといへり。

149. You should never put the new antlers of a deer:

  • You should never put the new antlers of a deer to your nose and smell them. They have little insects that crawl into the nose and devour the brain.

>Top 150. 能をつかんとする人:

  • 能をつかんとする人、「よくせざらむ程は、なまじひに人に知られじ。内々よく習ひ得てさし出でたらむこそ、いと心にくからめ」と常にいふめれど、かくいふ人、一藝もならひ得ることなし。いまだ堅固かたほなるより、上手の中に交(まじ)りて、譏り笑はるゝにも恥ぢず、つれなくて過ぎてたしなむ人、天性その骨なけれども、道になづまず、妄りにせずして年を送れば、堪能の嗜まざるよりは、終に上手の位にいたり、徳たけ人、に許されて、ならびなき名をうることなり。
  • 天下の物の上手といへども、はじめは不堪のきこえもあり、無下の瑕瑾もありき。されども、その人、道の掟正しく、これを重くして放埒せざれば、世の博士にて、萬人の師となること、諸道かはるべからず。

150. A man who is trying to learn some art:

  • A man who is trying to learn some art is apt to say, "I won't rush things and tell people I am practicing while I am still a beginner. I'll study by myself, and only when I have mastered the art will I perform before people. How impressed they'll be then!" People who speak in this fashion will never learn any art. The man who, even while still a novice, mixes with the experts, not ashamed of their harsh comments or ridicule, and who devotedly persists at his practice, unruffled by criticism, will neither become stultified in his art nor careless with it.
  • Though he may lack natural gifts, he will with the passage of the years outstrip the man who coasts on his endowments, and in the end will attain the highest degree of skill, acquire authority in his art and recognition of the public, and win an unequaled reputation.

>Top 151. ある人の曰く、年五十になるまで:

  • ある人の曰く、年五十(いそぢ)になるまで上手に至らざらむ藝をば捨つべきなり。勵み習ふべき行末もなし。老人のことをば、人もえ笑はず、衆に交はりたるも、あひなく、見苦し。
  • 大方、萬のしわざは止めて、暇あるこそ、目安く、あらまほしけれ。世俗の事にたづさはりて、生涯を暮すは下愚(かぐ) の人なり。ゆかしく覺えむことは、學び聞くとも、その趣を知りなば、覺束(おぼつか)なからずして止むべし。もとより望む事なくしてやまんは、第一のことなり。

151. Someone remarked that you should give up any art:

  • Someone remarked that you should give up any art of which you have not become a master by the age of fifty. At that age there is no prospect that you may acquire it by hard work. People cannot laugh at what an old man does. For him to mingle in society is unbecoming and unseemly.
  • It is better and more attractive as a rule if an old man stops all work and lives at leisure. A man would have to be a fool indeed to spend his whole life occupied with worldly matters. If there is something you would like to know, study it if you like, but once you have learned the general principles and your curiosity is assuaged, you should stop. Best of all is to dispense with such desires from the start.

>Top 152. 西大寺靜然上人:

  • 西大寺靜然(じゃうねん)上人、腰かゞまり眉白く、誠に徳たけたる有樣にて、内裏へ參られたりけるを、西園寺内大臣殿、「あな尊との氣色や」とて信仰の氣色ありければ、資朝卿これを見て、「年のよりたるに候」と申されけり。
  • 後日に、尨犬(むくいぬ)の淺ましく老いさらぼひて、毛はげたるをひかせて、「この氣色尊く見えて候」とて内府(だいふ)へ參らせられたりけるとぞ。
  • 徳たり: virtuouis

152. The High Priest Jonen of the Saidaiji:

  • The High Priest Jonen of the Saidaiji was bent of back, and his eyebrows were white; he looked truly virtuous. When he visited the palace, the Great Minister of the Center Saionji exclaimed, with an air of veneration, "What an awe-inspiring figure!" Sukemoto, observing Siaonji's deference, said, "He's old, that's all."
  • Some days later Sukemoto appeared with a servant leading a decrepit and mangy shaggy-haired dog. "What an awe-inspiring figure he makes!" he said, offering the dog to the great minister.

>Top 153. 爲兼大納言入道召し捕られて:

  • 爲兼大納言入道召し捕られて、武士(ものゝふ)ども打ち圍みて、六波羅へ率て行きければ、資朝卿、一條わたりにてこれを見て、「あな羨し。世にあらむ思ひ出、かくこそ有らまほしけれ」とぞいはれける。
  • とく

153. When the Major Counselor and Lay Priest Tamekane:

  • When the Major Counselor and Lay Priest Tamekane had been arrested and led off to Rokuhara surrounded by soldiers, Lord Suketomo saw him near Ichijo. He exclaimed, "How I envy him!" What a marvelous last remembrance to have of this life!

>Top 154. この人、東寺の門に雨宿りせられたりけるに:

  • この人、東寺の門に雨宿りせられたりけるに、かたは者ども集り居たるが、手も足もねぢゆがみ、うち反(かへ)りて、いづくも不具に異樣なるを見て、「とりどりに類なきくせ者なり、最も愛するに足れり」と思ひて、まもり給ひけるほどに、やがてその興つきて、見にくく、いぶせく覺えければ、「たゞすなほに珍しからぬものには如かず」と思ひて、歸りて後、「この間植木を好みて、異樣に曲折あるを求めて目を喜ばしめつるは、かのかたは者を愛するなりけり」と、興なく覺えければ、鉢に栽(う)ゑられける木ども、みなほり棄てられにけり。
  • さもありぬべきことなり。

154. Once when Suketomo was taking shelter from the rain:

  • Once when Suketomo was taking shelter from the rain at the gate of the Toji, a crowd of cripples was assembled there. All were deformed: some had twisted arms or legs, others were bent backwards. Suketomo, noticing their strange appearance, thought, "Each is a unique oddity. They really are worth preserving." He gazed at them for a while, but before long the pleasure of the sight wore off, and he found them ugly and repulsive. He thought, "The best things are the most ordinary and least conspicuous." When he had returned home he realized that his recent fondness for potted plants and the pleasure he had taken especially in finding curiously twisted specimens was of the same order as his interest in the cripples. His pleasure gone, he dug up all the potted plants and threw them away.
  • This was quite understandable.

>Top 155. 世に從はむ人は、まづ機嫌を知るべし:

  • 世に從はむ人は、まづ機嫌を知るべし。ついで惡しき事は、人の耳にも逆ひ、心にも違ひて、その事成らず、さやうの折節を心得べきなり。ただし、病をうけ、 子うみ、死ぬる事のみ、機嫌をはからず。ついであしとて止む事なし。生・住・異・滅の移り變るまことの大事は、たけき河の漲り流るゝが如し。しばしも滯らず、直ちに行ひゆくものなり。されば、眞俗につけて、かならず果し遂げむとおもはむことは、機嫌をいふべからず。とかくの用意なく、足を踏みとゞむまじきなり。
  • 春暮れて後、夏になり、夏果てて、秋の來るにはあらず。春はやがて夏の氣を催し、夏より既に秋は通ひ、秋は則ち寒くなり、十月(かんなづき)は小春の天氣、草も青くなり、梅も莟(つぼ)みぬ。木の葉の落つるも、まづ落ちて芽ぐむにはあらず、下より萌(きざ)しつはるに堪へずして落つるなり。迎ふる氣、下に設けたる故に、待ち取る序(ついで)、甚だ早し。生・老・病・死の移り來る事、又これに過ぎたり。四季はなほ定まれる序あり。死期は序を待たず。死は前よりしも來らず、かねて後に迫れり。人みな死ある事を知りて、待つ事、しかも急ならざるに、覺えずして來る。沖の干潟遥かなれども、磯より潮の滿つるが如し。
  • きげん, 機嫌: 時機, 潮時
  • 異: この世に存在している物が絶えず変化
  • 生住異滅=生老病死

155. A man who wishes to swim with the time:

  • A man who wishes to swim with the time should first find out the prevailing moods. An untimely statement will offend the ears of the listeners and hurt their feelings and in the end will fail to achieve its purpose. One would do well to recognize such occasions when they arise. But falling sick, bearing children or dying - these things alone take no season into account They never cease because the occasion is unfavorable. The truly important things - birth, growth, sickness, and death - are like the surge of a powerful river; they plunge forward on their course, never pausing an instant. That is why you may not speak of "prevailing moods" with respect to matters of real consequence, whether religious or mundane, which you are determined to carry through to completion. You many not hesitate over this or that, merely marking time.
  • It is not that when spring draws to a close it becomes summer, or that when summer ends the autumn comes: spring itself urges the summer to show itself; and even while the summer is still with us, the autumn is already intruding; and the chill of autumn becomes winter cold. In the tenth month there is a spell of springlike weather. The grass turns green, the plum trees bud. With the falling of the laves, too, it is not that first the leaves fall and then young shoots form; the leaves fall because the budding from underneath is too powerful to resist. The impetus for this change being provided from underneath, the process of shifting from one to the next occurs extremely fast.
  • The shifts from birth to old age, from sickness to death, are even faster. the four seasons, after all, have an appointed order. The hour of death waits not its turn. Death does not necessarily comes from the front; it may be stealthily planning an attack from behind. Everyone knows of death, but it comes unexpectedly, when people feel they still have time, the death is not imminent. It is like the dry flats that stretch far out into the sea, only for the time suddenly to flood over them onto the shore.

>Top 156. 大臣の大饗は、さるべき所を申し受けて:

  • 大臣の大饗は、さるべき所を申し受けて行ふ、常のことなり。宇治左大臣殿は、東三條殿にて行はる。内裏にてありけるを、申されけるによりて、他所へ行幸ありけり。させる事のよせなけれども、女院の御所など借り申す、故實なりとぞ。

156. It is normal that the feast a minister gives celebrating:

  • It is normal that the feast a minister gives celebrating his appointment be held at an appropriate place borrowed for the occasion. The party for the minister of the left from Uji was held at the East Sanjo Palace. The palace was then occupied by the emperor, but because the minister had requested it, the emperor moved elsewhere. It is the custom, though for no particular reason, to borrow the palace of the empress dowager.

>Top 157. 筆をとれば物書かれ:

  • 筆をとれば物書かれ、樂器(がくき)をとれば音をたてんと思ふ。杯をとれば酒を思ひ、賽をとれば攤(だ)うたむ事を思ふ。心は必ず事に觸れて來る。仮りにも不善のたはぶれをなすべからず。
  • あからさまに聖教の一句を見れば、何となく前後の文も見ゆ。卒爾にして多年の非を改むる事もあり。假に今この文をひろげざらましかば、この事を知らんや。これすなはち觸るゝ所の益なり。心更に起らずとも、佛前にありて數珠を取り、經を取らば、怠るうちにも、善業おのづから修せられ、散亂の心ながらも繩床(じょうしゃう)に坐せば、おぼえずして禪定なるべし。
  • 事・理もとより二つならず、外相(げさう)若し背かざれば、内證かならず熟す。強ひて不信といふべからず。仰ぎてこれを尊むべし。
  • こと, 事: 行為, 動作, 仕事
  • 事・理: Phenomenon and essence

157. If we pick up a brush, we feel like writing:

  • If we pick up a brush, we feel like writing; if we hold a musical instrument in our hands, we wish to play music. Lifting a wine cup makes us crave sake; taking up dice, we should like to play backgammon. The mind invariably reacts in this way to any stimulus. that is why we should not indulge even casually in improper amusements.
  • Even a perfunctory glance at one vers of some holy writing will somehow make us notice also the text that precedes and follows; it may happen then, quite suddenly, that we mend our errors of many years. Supposing we had not at that moment opened the sacred text, would we have realized our mistakes? This is a case of accidental contact producing a beneficial result. Though our hearts may not be in the least impelled by faith, if we sit before the Buddha, rosary in hand, and take up a sutra, we may (even in our indolence) be accumulating merit through the act itself; though our mind may be inattentive, if we sit in meditation on a rope seat, we may enter a state of calm and concentration, without even being aware of it.
  • Phenomenon and essence are fundamentally one. If the outward form is not at variance with the truth, an inward realization is certain to develop. We should not deny that this is true faith; we should respect and honor a conformity to truth.

>Top 158. 杯の底を捨つることは:

  • 「杯の底を捨つることは、いかゞ心得たる」と、ある人の尋ねさせ給ひしに、「凝當(ぎょうたう)と申し侍れば、底に凝りたるを捨つるにや候らん」と申し侍りしかば、「さにはあらず。魚道なり。流れを殘して、口のつきたる所をすゝぐなり」とぞ仰せられし。

158. A certain gentleman deigned to ask me:

  • A certain gentleman deigned to ask me, "How do youi interpret the practice of emptying the sake at the bottom of the cup before offering it to someone?" I ventured to reply, "I wonder if this practice is called gyodo because it means 'discarding what is congealed' at the bottom?" But he replied, "No, the word gyodo means to leave some sake to rinse the place touched by the mouth."

>Top 159. みなむすびといふは:

  • 「みなむすびといふは、絲をむすびかさねたるが、蜷(みな) といふ貝に似たればいふ」と或やんごとなき人、仰せられき。「にな」といふは誤りなり。

159. A certain nobleman deigned to inform me:

  • A certain nobleman deigned to inform me, "Minamusubi is so called because cords are repeatedly knotted together (musubi) to resemble the shell called mina." It is a mistake to say ninamusubi.

>Top 160. 門に額懸くるを、打つといふは:

  • 門に額懸(か)くるを、「打つ」といふはよからぬにや。勘解由小路(かでのこうぢ)二品禪門は、「額懸くる」とのたまひき。「見物の棧敷うつ」もよからぬにや。 「平張うつ」などは常の事なり。「棧敷構ふる」などいふべし。「護摩焚く」といふも、わろし。「修(しゅう)する」、「護摩する」など云ふなり。「行法も、法の字を清みていふ、わろし。濁りていふ」と清閑寺僧正仰せられき。常にいふ事にかゝることのみ多し。

160. It is wrong to call the practice of hanging a plaque:

  • It is wrong to call the practice of hanging a plaque over a gate "nailing" it? The Kadenokoji priest of the second rank used to say "hang" a plaque. Is it wrong also to speak of "nailing" the stands for viewing a festival? It is normal to say that one "nails" an awning. It is better, however, to speak of "constructing" stands. To speak of "burning the sacred fire" is bad. One says "perform the rite" or "make the sacred fire." The abbot of Seikanji also said, "In speaking to gyobo, it is wrong to pronounce it as gyoho. Gyobo is correct." Such instances are numerous in words we use every day.

>Top 161. 花の盛りは、冬至より百五十日とも:

  • 花の盛りは、冬至より百五十日とも、時正(じしゃう)の後、七日ともいへど、立春より七十五日、おほやう違はず。

161. People commonly say that th full blossoming of the cherry:

  • People commonly say that th full blossoming of the cherry occurs on th 150th day after the winter solstice, or a week after the vernal equinox, but the 75th day after the beginning of spring is negerally correct.

>Top 162. 遍昭寺の承仕法師、池の鳥を:

  • 遍昭寺の承仕法師、池の鳥を日ごろ飼ひつけて、堂の内まで餌をまきて、戸ひとつをあけたれば、數も知らず入りこもりける後、おのれも入りて、立て篭めて捕へつつ殺しけるよそほひ、おどろおどろしく聞えけるを、草刈る童聞きて、人に告げければ、村の男ども、おこりて入りて見るに、大雁どもふためきあへる中に、法師まじりて、打ち伏せ、ねぢ殺しければ、この法師を捕へて、所より使廳へ出したりけり。殺すところの鳥を頚にかけさせて、禁獄せられけり。
  • 基俊大納言別當の時になむ侍りける。

162. The sacristan of the Henjoji was accustomed to feed:

  • The sacristan of the Henjoji was accustomed to feed and tame the birds on the pond. Once he spread a trail of bird feed leading into a temple building, and left one door open; then, when countless birds had flocked inside, he himself entered and, slamming shut the door, went about catching and killing the birds.
  • Some boys cutting grass outside heard the heartrending clamor, and told people about it. Men from the village rushed to the hall and broke inside. They saw the priest surrounded by large wild geese that were noisily flapping about, grabbing them and twisting their necks. The men seized the priest and dragged him from the temple to the police station, where he was confined to a cell, the birds he had killed hung round his neck. this happed when the Major counselor Mototoshi was chief of police.

>Top 163. 太衝の太の字:

  • 太衝(たいしょう)の太の字、點打つ打たずといふこと、陰陽のともがら、相論のことありけり。盛親入道 申し侍りしは、「吉平が自筆の占文(うらぶみ)の裏に書かれたる御記、近衞關白殿にあり。點うちたるを書きたり」と申しき。

163. The practitioners of yin-yang once had an argument:

  • The practitioners of yin-yang once had an argument as to whether or not the character tai in taisho should be written with a dot. The Lay Priest Morichika said, "There is in the palace of the Konoe chancellor an astrological text in Yoshihira's own hand, with a diary by an emperor on the back. In Yoshihira's text tai is written with a dot."

>Top 164. 世の人相逢ふ時:

  • 世の人相(あい)逢ふ時、しばらくも默止することなし。必ず言葉あり。そのことを聞くに、おほくは無益の談なり。世間の浮説、人の是非、自他のために失多く得少し。
  • これを語る時、互の心に無益のことなりといふことを知らず。

164. When people meet they are never silent a moment:

  • When people meet they are never silent a moment. there is always talk about something. If you listen to their conversations, most of what they say is meaningless chatter. Their gossip about society and their criticisms of other people cause much harm and little profit, either for themselves or others. When people are gabbling over these things, they never seem to realize that it does neither party any good.

>Top 165. 東の人の、都の人に交はり:

  • 東(あづま)の人の、都の人に交はり、都の人の、東に行きて身をたて、また、本寺・本山をはなれぬる顯密の僧、すべてわが俗にあらずして人に交(まじわ)れる、見ぐるし。

165. It is unattractive when people mingle in a society:

  • It is unattractive when people mingle in a society which is not their habitual one, whether it is an easterner among people from the capital, a man from the capital who has gone to the east to make his fortune, or a priest of either an exoteric or esoteric sect who has left his original faith.

>Top 166. 人間の營みあへる業を見るに:

  • 人間の營みあへる業を見るに、春の日に雪佛(ゆきぼとけ)を造りて、その爲に金銀珠玉の飾りを營み、堂塔を建てむとするに似たり。その構へを待ちて、よく安置してんや。人の命ありと見る程も、下より消ゆる事、雪の如くなるうちに、いとなみ待つこと甚だ多し。

166. When I see the things people do in their struggle:

  • When I see the things people do in their struggle to get ahead, it reminds me of someone building a snowman on a spring day, making ornaments of precious metals and stones to decorate it, and then erecting a hall. Can they wait until the hall is ready to enshrine their snowman? How often it happens that a man continues to struggle in the hope of some success, even as the life left him (which he supposes to be considerable) is melting away like a snowman, from underneath.

>Top 167. 一道に携はる人、あらぬ道の席に臨みて:

  • 一道に携はる人、あらぬ道の席(むしろ)に臨みて、「あはれ、我が道ならましかば、かくよそに見侍らじものを」と言ひ、心にも思へる事、常のことなれど、 世にわろく覺ゆるなり。知らぬ道の羨ましく覺えば、「あな羨まし、などか習はざりけん」と言ひてありなん。我が智を取り出でて人に爭ふは、角あるものの角をかたぶけ、牙あるものの牙を噛み出す類なり。
  • 人としては、善にほこらず、物と爭はざるを徳とす。他に勝る事のあるは、大きなる失なり。品の高さにても、才藝のすぐれたるにても、先祖の譽にても、人にまされりと思へる人は、たとひ詞に出でてこそいはねども、内心に若干(そこばく)の科(とが)あり。謹みてこれを忘るべし。をこにも見え、人にも言ひ消たれ、禍ひをも招くは、たゞこの慢心なり。
  • 一道にも誠に長じぬる人は、みづから明らかにその非を知る故に、志常に滿たずして、つひに物に誇ることなし。

167. It often happens when a man involved with one art:

  • It often happens when a man involved with one art attends a performance of another art he will say, "Ah, if this were only my own art! I certainly would not sit by this way, a mere observer!" He genuinely seems to believe his words, but I find them most unattractive. If a man is jealous of the experts in an art he does not know, it would be better if he said, "I'm jealous. Why didn't I learn that?" The man who makes a sow of his own knowledge and contends with others is like a horned animal lowering its horns or a fanged animal baring its fangs.
  • It is excellent in a man not to take pride in his good deeds and not to contend with others. An awareness of one's superiority to others is a great failing. The man who considers himself superior, whether because of his high position, his artistic skill, or the glory of his ancestors, is much to blame, even if he does not voice his pride in words but keeps it in his heart. A man must guard against feelings of superiority and forget them. Nothing makes a man appear so stupid, arouses so much criticism by others and invites such a great disasters as pride.
  • A man who is truly accomplished in an art is well aware of his own faults, and his aspirations being always higher than his achievements, he will never boast of himself to others.

>Top 168. 年老いたる人の、一事すぐれたる才能ありて:

  • 年老いたる人の、一事すぐれたる才能ありて、「この人の後には、誰にか問はん」などいはるゝは、老(おい)の方人(かたうど)にて、生けるも徒(いたづ) らならず。さはあれど、それもすたれたる所のなきは、「一生この事にて暮れにけり」と、拙く見ゆ。「今はわすれにけり」といひてありなん。大方は知りたりとも、すゞろにいひ散らすは、さばかりの才にはあらぬにやと聞え、おのづから誤りもありぬべし。「さだかにも辨へ知らず」などいひたるは、なほ實(まこと)に、道の主とも覺えぬべし。まして、知らぬこと、したり顔に、おとなしく、もどきぬべくもあらぬ人のいひ聞かするを、「さもあらず」と思ひながら聞き居たる、いとわびし。

168. xxx:

  • When an old man has acquired surpassing ability in some art and people ask about him, "Once he has gone, who will answer our questions?" it means that he is not living in vain, for he serves as a justification for all old people. However, the very fact that his art has not deteriorated in the least makes him seem rather contemptible, for it means he has spent his whole life doing only one thing. I prefer it when an old man says, "I've forgotten it now." As a rule, even if a man knows his art, people will suspect that he is not really so talented if he keeps chattering on about it. Besides, mistakes will naturally occur. A man is more likely to seem a true master of his art if he says, "I cannot tell for certain."
  • It is worse still to listen to a man of eminence expatiating on some subject he knows nothing about with a look of self-satisfaction on his face; one cannot very well criticize him, but one is thinking all the while, "What nonsense!"

>Top 169. 何事の式といふ事は、後嵯峨の御代迄は:

  • 「何事の式といふ事は、後嵯峨の御代迄はいはざりけるを、近き程よりいふ詞なり」と、人の申し侍りしに、建禮門院の右京大夫、後鳥羽院の御位(みくらい)の後、また内裏住みしたることをいふに、「世の式も變りたる事はなきにも」と書きたり。

169. Someone said, "No one ever spoke of anything":

  • Someone said, "No one ever spoke of anything as being a 'ceremony' until the reign of Go-Saga. the word has come into use in recent times." However, Kenreimon'in no Ukyo no Daibu, when speaking of taking up service in the palace for a second time after the accession of Go-Toba, wrote, "How strange that he ceremonies of the court are unchanged!"

>Top 170. さしたる事なくて人の許行くは:

  • さしたる事なくて人の許(がり)行くは、よからぬ事なり。用ありて行きたりとも、その事果てなば疾く歸るべし。久しく居たる、いとむつかし。
  • 人と對(むか)ひたれば、詞多く、身もくたびれ、心も靜かならず、萬の事さはりて時を移す、互のため益なし。厭はしげにいはむもわろし。心づきなき事あらん折は、なかなかその由をもいひてん。同じ心に向はまほしく思はん人の、つれづれにて、「今しばし、今日は心しづかに」などいはんは、この限りにはあらざるべし。阮籍が青き眼(まなこ)、誰もあるべきことなり。
  • その事となきに、人の來りて、のどかに物語して歸りぬる、いとよし。また文も、「久しく聞えさせねば」などばかり言ひおこせたる、いと嬉し。
  • 阮籍(210-163)が青き眼: 竹林の七賢, 気に入りの人には青眼、俗物には白眼で対した。元の英訳はbrownと訳したがこれはblueとすべき。

170. It is not advisable to go to someone's house without special business:

  • It is not advisable to go to someone's house without special business. If you have gone on business, leave as soon as it is completed. Staying for a long time can be extremely bothersome.
  • What a waste of time it is for both parties when people sit down for a chat! Words multiply; the body becomes fatigued; the mind is agitated; and time is spent to the detriment of everything else. But it it bad also to begrudge words. If a subject should come up which you dislike, it is best to say so plainly. We must make an exception about staying long in a case when you are conversing with someone after your heart and, having nothing else to do, he says, "Please stay a while longer - today, let's have a quiet talk." Everyone must at times show Juan Chi's blue eyes of welcome.
  • It is most agreeable when a visitor comes without business, talks pleasantly for a while, then leaves. I am extremely pleased too when I receive a letter saying merely, "I'm writing because it's been such a long time."

>Top 171. 貝をおほふ人の、わが前なるをばおきて:

  • 貝をおほふ人の、わが前なるをばおきて、よそを見渡して、人の袖の陰、膝の下まで目をくばる間に、前なるをば人に掩はれぬ。よく掩ふ人は、よそまでわりなく取るとは見えずして、近きばかりを掩ふやうなれど、多く掩ふなり。棊盤のすみに石を立てて彈くに、むかひなる石をまもりて彈くは、当たらず。わが手もとをよく見て、こゝなる聖目(ひじりめ)をすぐに彈けば、立てたる石必ず当たる。
  • 萬のこと、外に向きて求むべからず。たゞここもとを正しくすべし。清献公が言葉に、「好事を行じて、前程を問ふことなかれ」といへり。世を保たむ道もかくや侍らん。内を愼まず、輕く、ほしきまゝにしてみだりなれば、遠國必ずそむく時、始めて謀(はかりごと)をもとむ。「風に當り、濕に臥して、病を神靈に訴ふるは、愚かなる人なり」と醫書にいへるが如し。目の前なる人の愁へをやめ、惠みを施し、道を正しくせば、その化遠く流れむことを知らざるなり。禹の行きて三苗を征せしも、師(いくさ)をかへして、徳を布くには如かざりき。

171. It happened once that a man playing at matching shells:

  • It happened once that a man playing at matching shells took no notice of the shells before him, but was so busy looking to the side and darting glances behind people's sleeves and even into their laps that in the meantime the shells before him were covered by another player. The good players do not seem to strain themselves to capture shells from a distance, but though they appear to match only those nearby, they cover a great many.
  • If, when you have placed your counter in your corner of the board, you keep your eyes on your opponent's pieces as you flip your counter you will never score a hit. You should look carefully at your own piece and aim it straight along the line of the board closest to you; you then be sure to hit the other pice.
  • We should not look to distant places for advantage; whatever the case may be, make sure that matters closest to hand are properly dealt with. There is saying of the Duke Ch'ing Hsien, "Do what is good and ask not about what follows." Doubtless this holds true too of governing a country. When a ruler pays no heed to nearby matters and incites disorder by his careless and willful acts, even distant provinces will surely rebel. Only then will he seek counter-measures, in the manner of the dictum found in a medical book; "The foolish man sleeps in a place exposes to the wind and damp, then asks divine help to cure his sickness. Such a ruler does not realize how far afield his influence will spread if he brings surcease to the grief of the people within his ken, practices charity, and acts with justice. Yü went to conquer the three Miao tribes, but this was not as effective as when he withdrew his army and promulgated good works."

>Top 172. 若き時は、血氣内にあまり:

  • 若き時は、血氣内(うち)にあまり、心、物に動きて、情欲おほし。身を危(あやぶ)めて碎け易きこと、珠を走らしむるに似たり。美麗を好みて宝を費し、これを捨てて苔の袂にやつれ、勇める心盛りにして、物と爭ひ、心に恥ぢ羨み、好む所日々に定まらず。色に耽り情にめで、行ひを潔くして百年の身を誤り、命を失へたるためし願はしくして、身の全く久しからんことをば思はず。好けるかたに心ひきて、ながき世語りともなる。身を誤つことは、若き時のしわざなり。
  • 老いぬる人は、精神衰へ、淡くおろそかにして、感じ動くところなし。心おのづから靜かなれば、無益のわざをなさず。身を助けて愁へなく、人の煩ひなからむことを思ふ。老いて智の若き時にまされること、若くして、貌(かたち)の老いたるにまされるが如し。

172. When a man is young he has such an overabundance of energy:

  • When a man is young he has such an overabundance of energy that his senses are quickly stirred and he has many desires. It is as easy for him to put himself in danger and court destruction as to roll a ball. He likes beautiful clothes and possessions, and spends his fortune on them, only to abandon everything for the shabby black robes of a priest. Or, his abundance of high spirits may lead him to quarrel, only to feel ashamed in his heart and envious of his antagonist; his uncertain whims shift from day to day. Now giving himself to his lusts, now moved by others' kindness, now performing some generous action, he yearns, when he hears stories of men who ruined or even destroyed lives that might have lasted a hundred years, to do the same, and never gives a thought to leading a safe and long life. He is drawn wherever his fancies lead him, and becomes the subject of gossip that lasts even after his death. Youth is the time when a man ruins himself.
  • An old man's spirit grows feeble; he is indifferent and slow to respond, unmoved by everything. His mind being naturally placid, he engages in no useless activities. He takes good care of himself, is untroubled by worries, and is careful not to be a nuisance to others. The old are as superior to the young in wisdom as the young are superior to the old in looks.

>Top 173. 小野小町がこと、極めて定かならず:

  • 小野小町がこと、極めて定かならず。衰へたるさまは、玉造といふ文に見えたり。この文、清行(きよゆき)が書けりといふ説あれど、高野大師の御作(おんさく)の目録に入れり。大師は承和のはじめにかくれ給へり。小町が盛りなる事、その後のことにや、なほ覚束なし。

173. Information about Ono no Komachi:

  • Information about Ono no Komachi is exceedingly unreliable. A description of her appearance in old age is found in the essay called Tamatsukuri. This essay, according to one theory, was written by Kiyoyuki, but it is included in a catalogue of works by Kobo Daishi. Kobo died at the beginning of the Jowa era. Was not the prime of Komachi's life after that date? Obviously, something is wrong.

>Top 174. 小鷹によき犬、大鷹に使ひぬれば:

  • 小鷹によき犬、大鷹に使ひぬれば、小鷹に惡(わる)くなるといふ。大に就き小を捨つる理、まことにしかなり。人事(じんじ)多かる中に、道を樂しむより氣味深きはなし。これ、實(まこと)の大事なり。一たび道を聞きて、これに志さん人、いづれの業かすたれざらん。何事をか營まん。愚かなる人といふとも、賢き犬の心に劣らんや。

174. If, when hunting with falcons, you use a dog:

  • If, when hunting with falcons, you use a dog that has been trained to hunt with small hawks, he becomes useless for hawking. It is certainly true that once one occupies oneself with the big, one loses interest in the small. Among all the many activities of man, none gives profounder pleasure than delight in the Way. This truly is the matter of greatest importance. If a man once hears about the Way and sets his heart on it, what enterprise will he not forsake? To what other activity will he devote his energies? Is a man, however foolish, likely to be inferior in intellect to the cleverest dog?

>Top 175. 世には心得ぬ事の多きなり:

  • 世には心得ぬ事の多きなり。友あるごとには、まづ酒をすゝめて、強ひ飮ませたるを興とする事、いかなる故とも心得ず。飮む人の顔、いと堪へ難げに眉をひそめ、人目をはかりて捨てんとし、遁げむとするを、捕へて、引き留めて、すゞろに飮ませつれば、うるはしき人も、忽ちに狂人となりてをこがましく、息災なる 人も、目の前に大事の病者となりて、前後も知らず倒(たふ)れふす。祝ふべき日などは、あさましかりぬべし。あくる日まで頭痛く、物食はずによび臥し、生を隔てたるやうにして、昨日のこと覺えず、公・私の大事を缺きて、煩ひとなる。人をしてかゝる目を見すること、慈悲もなく、 禮儀にもそむけり。かく辛き目にあひたらむ人、ねたく、口惜しと思はざらんや。他(ひと)の國にかゝる習ひあなりと、これらになき人事(ひとごと)にて傳へ聞きたらんは、あやしく不思議に覺えぬべし。
  • 人の上にて見たるだに、心憂し。思ひ入りたるさまに、心にくしと見し人も、思ふ所なく笑ひのゝしり、詞多く、烏帽子ゆがみ、紐はづし、脛高くかゝげて、 用意なき気色、日頃の人とも覺えず。女は額髪はれらかに掻きやり、まばゆからず、顔うちさゝげてうち笑ひ、杯持てる手に取りつき、よからぬ人は、肴とりて口にさしあて、みづからも食ひたる、様あし。聲の限り出して、おのおの謠ひ舞ひ、年老いたる法師召し出されて、黑く穢き身を肩ぬぎて、目もあてられずすぢ りたるを、興じ見る人さへ。うとましく憎し。或はまた、我が身いみじき事ども、傍痛くいひ聞かせ、あるは醉ひ泣きし、下ざまの人は、罵(の)り合ひ、諍(いさかい)ひて、淺ましく恐ろし。恥ぢがましく、心憂き事のみありて、はては許さぬ物どもおし取りて、縁より落ち、馬・車より落ちてあやまちしつ。物にも乘らぬ際は、大路をよろぼひ行きて、築地・門の下などに向きて、えもいはぬ事どもし散らし、年老い、袈裟かけたる法師の、小童の肩を押へて、聞えぬ事ども言ひつゝ、よろめきたる、いとかはゆし。
  • かゝる事をしても、この世も後の世も益あるべき業ならば如何はせん。この世にては過ち多く、財を失ひ、病をまうく。百藥の長とはいへど、萬の病は酒よりこそ起れ。憂へを忘るといへど、醉ひたる人ぞ、過ぎにし憂さをも思ひ出でて泣くめる。後の世は、人の智惠を失ひ、善根を燒く事火の如くして、惡を増し、萬の戒を破りて、地獄に墮つべし。「酒をとりて人に飮ませたる人、五百生が間、手なき者に生る」とこそ、佛は説き給ふなれ。
  • かく疎ましと思ふものなれど、おのづから捨て難き折もあるべし。月の夜、雪の朝、花のもとにても、心のどかに物語して、杯いだしたる、萬の興を添ふるわざなり。つれづれなる日、思ひの外に友の入り來て、取り行ひたるも、心慰む。なれなれしからぬあたりの御簾のうちより、御果物、御酒(みき)など、よきやうなるけはひしてさし出されたる、いとよし。冬、せばき所にて、火にて物煎りなどして、隔てなきどちさし向ひて、多く飮みたる、いとをかし。旅の假屋、野山などにて、「御肴(みさかな)何」などいひて、芝の上にて飮みたるもをかし。いたういたむ人の、強ひられて少し飮みたるも、いとよし。よき人の、とりわきて、「今一つ、上すくなし」など、のたまはせたるも嬉し。近づかまほしき人の、上戸にて、ひしひしと馴れぬる、また嬉し。
  • さはいへど、上戸はをかしく罪許さるゝものなり。醉ひくたびれて朝寐(あさい)したる所を、主人の引きあけたるに、惑ひて、ほれたる顔ながら、細き髻(もとゞり)さしいだし、物も着あへず抱き持ち、引きしろひて逃ぐる、かいどり姿のうしろ手、毛おひたる細脛のほど、をかしく、つきづきし。

175.There are many things in the world I cannot understand:

  • There are many things in the world I cannot understand. I cannot imagine why people find it so enjoyable to press liquor on you the first thing, on every occasion, and force you to drink it. The drinker's face grimaces as if with unbearable distress, and he looks for a chance to get rid of the drink and escape unobserved, only to be stopped and senselessly forced to drink more. As a result, even dignified men suddenly turn into lunatics and behave idiotically, and men in the prime of health act like patients afflicted with grave illnesses and collapse unconscious before one's eyes. What a scandalous way to spend a day of celebration! The victim's head aches even the following day, and he lies abed, groaning, unable to eat, unable to recall what happened the day before, as if everything had taken place in a previous incarnation. He neglects important duties, both public and private, and the result is disaster. It is cruel and a breach of courtesy to oblige a man to undergo such experiences. Moreover, will not the man who has been put through this ordeal feel bitter and resentful towards his tormentors? If it were reported that such a custom, unknown among ourselves, existed in some foreign country, we should certainly find it peculiar and even incredible.
  • I find this practice distressing to observe even in strangers. A man whose thoughtful manner had seemed attractive laughs and shouts uncontrollably; he chatters interminably, he court cap askew, the cords of his cloak undone, the skirts of his kimono rolled up to his shins, presenting so disreputable a picture that he is unrecognizable as his usual self. A woman will brush the hair away from her forehead and brazenly lift up her face with a roar of laughter. She clings to a man's hand as he holds a sake cup, and if badly bred she will push appetizers into the mouth of her companion, or her own, a disgracefully sight. Some men shout at the top of their lungs, singing and dancing, each to his own tune. Sometimes an old priest, invited at the behest of a distinguished guest, strips to the waist, revealing grimy, sallow skin, and twists his body in a manner so revolting that even those watching with amusement are nauseated. Some drone on about their achievements, boring their listeners; others weep drunkenly. People of the lower classes swear at one another and quarrel in a shocking and frightening manner; after various shameful and wretched antics they end up by grabbing things they have been refused, or falling from the verandah (or from a horse or a carriage) and injuring themselves. Or, if they are not sufficiently important to ride, they stagger along the main thoroughfares and perform various unmentionable acts before earthen walls or at people's gates. It is most upsetting to see an old priest in his shawl leaning on the shoulder of a boy and staggering along, mumbling something incomprehensible.
  • If such behavior were of benefit either in this world or the next, there might be some excuse. It is, however, the source of numerous calamities in this world, destroying fortunes and inviting sickness. They call liquor the chief of all medicines, but it is, in fact, the origin of all sicknesses. Liquor makes you forget your unhappiness, we are told, but when a man is drunk he may remember even his past griefs and weep over them. As for the future life, liquor deprives a man of his wisdom and consumes his good actions like fire; he therefore increases the burden of sin, violates many commandments and, in the end, drops into hell. Buddha taught that a man who takes liquor and forces another to drink will be reborn five hundred times without hands.
  • Though liquor is as loathsome as I have described it, there naturally are some occasions when it is hard to dispense with. On a moonlit night, a morning after a snowfall, or under the cherry blossoms, it adds to our pleasure if, while chatting at our ease, we bring forth the wine cups. Liquor is cheering on days when we are bored, or when a friend pays an unexpected visit. It is exceedingly agreeable too when you are offered cakes and wine most elegantly from behind a screen of state by a person of quality you do not know especially well. In winter it is delightful to sit opposite an intimate friend in a small room, toasting something to east over the fire, and to drink deeply together. It is peasant also when stopping briefly on a journey, or picnicking in the countryside, to sit drinking on the grass, saying all the while, "I wish we had something to east with this sake." It is amusing when a man who hates liquor has been made to drink a little. How pleasing it is , again, when some distinguished man deigns to say, "Have another. Your cup looks a little empty." I am happy when some man I have wanted to make my friend is fond of liquor, and we are soon on intimate terms.
  • Despite all I have said, a drinker is amusing, and his offense is pardonable. It happens sometimes that a guest who has slept late in the morning is awakened by his host flinging open the sliding doors. The startled guest, his face still dazed by sleep, pokes out his head with its thin topknot and, not stopping to put on his clothes, carries them off in his arms, trailing some behind as he flees. It is an amusing and appropriate finale to the drinking party to catch a glimpse of the skinny, hairy shanks he reveals from behind as he lifts his skirts in flight.

>Top 176. 黑戸は、小松の御門位に即かせ給ひて:

  • 黑戸は、小松の御門位に即かせ給ひて、昔唯人(たゞびと)に坐(おはしま)しし時、まさな事せさせ給ひしを忘れ給はで常に營ませ給ひける間なり。御薪(みかまぎ)に煤けたれば黑戸といふとぞ。

176. The Black Chamber is a room where the emperor from Komatsu:

  • The Black Chamber is a room where the emperor from Komatsu after his accession to the throne always cooked for himself, still remembering how in the past, when he was a private person, he had dabbled in cookery. They say it is called the Back Chamber because it has become sooty from kindling smoke.

>Top 177. 鎌倉の中書王にて御鞠ありけるに:

  • 鎌倉の中書王にて御鞠ありけるに、雨ふりて後、未だ庭の乾かざりければ、いかゞせむと沙汰ありけるに、佐々木隱岐入道、鋸の屑を車に積みて、多く奉りたりければ、一庭に敷かれて、泥土のわづらひ無かりけり。「取りためけむ用意ありがたし」と、人感じあへりけり。
  • この事をある者の語り出でたりしに、吉田中納言の、「乾き砂子の用意やはなかりける」とのたまひたりしかば、恥しかりき。いみじと思ひける鋸の屑、賤しく、異樣のことなり。庭の儀を奉行する人、乾き砂子をまうくるは、故實なりとぞ。

177. Once when there was a football match:

  • Once when there was a football match at the house of Prince Munetaka, the minister of central affairs, in Kamakura the grounds were still wet after a rain. There was a discussion as to what should be done. Sasaki, the lay priest from Oki presented the prince with a cartful of sawdust, which was spread over the entire field. There were no further difficulties on account of the mud. "It's amazing he should have been prepared for such an emergency," people exclaimed in admiration.
  • When a certain person later referred to the incident, the middle counselor from Yoshida said, "It surprises me he hadn't any dry sand ready." I felt ashamed of my earlier admiration The sawdust which had so impressed me was a crude and irregular expedient. I recalled that it was the old custom for groundkeepers charged with football fields to be provided with dry sand.

>Top 178. ある所の侍ども、内侍所の御(み)神樂を見て:

  • ある所の侍ども、内侍所の御(み)神樂を見て、人に語るとて、「寶劒をばその人ぞ持ち給へる」などいふを聞きて、内なる女房の中に、「別殿の行幸には、晝御座(ひのござ)の御劒(ぎょけん)にてこそあれ」と忍びやかに言ひたりし、心憎かりき。その人、ふるき典侍なりけるとかや。

178. The retainers of a certain noble family:

  • The retainers of a certain noble family, having witnessed a performance of kagura in the palace, were describing it to someone. "Such and such a gentleman carried the Sacred Sword," they said. A palace lady in waiting, hearing this remark, whispered, "When His Majesty visits another part of the palace, the sword from his daytime pavilion is carried." I was charmed by her discretion. I gather she had long been in service in the palace.

>Top 179. 入宋の沙門、道眼上人:

  • 入宋の沙門、道眼上人、一切經を持來して、六波羅のあたり、燒野といふ所に安置して、殊に首楞嚴經(しゅりょうごんきょう)を講じて、那蘭陀寺と號す。その聖の申されしは、「那蘭陀寺は大門北向きなりと、江帥(ごうそち)の説とていひ傳へたれど、西域傳・法顯傳などにも見えず、更に所見なし。江帥はいかなる才覺にてか申されけん、覚束なし。唐土の西明寺は北向き勿論なり」と申しき。

179. The High Priest Dogen, a monk who had studied in China:

  • The High Priest Dogen, a monk who had studied in China, brought back with him a set of the Tripitaka which he kept at a place called Yakeno near Rokuhara. He was especially given to lecturing on the Surangama Sutra, and called his temple the Naranda. The holy man said, "There is a tradition that Oe no Masafusa believed the Great Gate of the Nalanda Monastery in India faced north, but I can find absolutely nothing in the Record of the Western Borders or the Travels by Fa-hsien to confirm this. I wonder on what authority Masafusa mad this statement. It is highly dubious. The Hsi-ming Temple in China of course faces north."

>Top 180. さぎちゃう は、正月に打ちたる毬杖を:

  • さぎちゃう は、正月(むつき)に打ちたる毬杖(ぎぢゃう)を、真言院より神泉苑へ出して燒きあぐるなり。「法成就の池にこそ」と囃すは、神泉苑の池をいふなり。

180. By sagicho is meant taking the mallets:

  • By sagicho is meant taking the mallets used at the New Year games from the Shingon-in to the Shinsen garden and burning there. The refrain people sing t the time, "In the pond that prayer provided," refers to the pond in the Shinsen garden.

>Top 181. 降れ降れ粉雪、たんばの粉雪:

  • 「降れ降れ粉雪(こゆき)、たんばの粉雪」といふ事、米搗き篩(ふる)ひたるに似たれば、粉雪といふ。「たまれ粉雪」といふべきを、誤りて「たんばの」とは言ふなり。「垣や木の股に」とうたふべし、とある物知り申しき。昔よりいひけることにや。鳥羽院幼くおはしまして、雪の降るにかく仰せられけるよし、讚岐典侍が日記に書きたり。

181. The meaning of the word koyuki in the song:

  • The meaning of the word koyuki in the song, "Fure, fure, koyuki Tamba no koyuki," is "power-snow," used because the snow falls like rice power after pounding and husking. The second line, which should be tamare koyuki has been corrupted to Tamba no koyuki. One authority has claimed that the line after that should be, "On fences and the crotches of trees." I wonder if this expression dates back to antiquity. The Emperor Toba, as a boy, used koyuki to describe falling snow, as we know from the dirary of Sanuki no Suke.

>Top 182. 四條大納言隆親卿、乾鮭といふものを:

  • 四條大納言隆親卿、乾鮭(からざけ)といふものを、供御(ぐご)に參らせられたりけるを、「かく怪しきもの、參るやうあらじ」と、人の申しけるを聞きて、 大納言、「鮭といふ魚、まゐらぬことにてあらんにこそあれ。鮭の素干(しらぼし)、何条(なじょう)ことかあらん。鮎の素干はまゐらぬかは」と申されけ り。

182. Lord Takachika, the Shijo major counselor offered some dried salmon:

  • Lord Takachika, the Shijo major counselor offered some dried salmon for the imperial table. Someone objected, "Who ever heard of His Majesty eating such a common dish?" The major counselor replied, "You might say that if His Majesty never ate salmon in any form, but since this is not the case, what objection can there be to dried salmon? Surely you don't pretend that His Majesty never eats dried trout."

>Top 183. 人突く牛をば角を切り:

  • 人突く牛をば角を切り、人くふ馬をば耳を切りてそのしるしとす。しるしをつけずして人をやぶらせぬるは、主の科(とが)なり。人くふ犬をば養ひ飼ふべからず。これみな科あり、律の禁(いましめ)なり。

183. People cut off the horns of a bull:

  • People cut off the horns of a bull that charges and clip the ears of a horse that bites, as a warning sign. the owner is committing a crime if he fails to give this warning and allows his bull or horse to harm people. One should not keep a dog that bites people. these are all offenses prohibited by law.

>Top 184. 相模守時頼の母は、松下禪尼:

  • 相模守時頼の母は、松下禪尼とぞ申しける。守を入れ申さるゝことありけるに、煤けたるあかり障子の破ればかりを、禪尼手づから、小刀して切りまはしつゝ張られければ、兄の城介義景、その日の經營(けいめい)して候ひけるが、「給はりて、なにがし男に張らせ候はん。さやうの事に心得たるものに候」と申されければ、「その男、尼が細工によも勝り侍らじ」とてなほ一間づゝ張られけるを、義景、「皆を張りかへ候はんは、遙かにたやすく候べし。斑(まだら)に候も見苦しくや」と、重ねて申されければ、「尼も、後はさわさわと張りかへむと思へども、今日ばかりはわざとかくてあるべきなり。物は破れたる所ばかりを修理 (しゅり)して用ゐることぞと、若き人に見ならはせて、心づけん爲なり」と申されける。いと有り難かりけり。
  • 世を治むる道、儉約を本とす。女性なれども聖人の心に通へり。天下をたもつほどの人を子にて持たれける、誠に、たゞ人にはあらざりけるとぞ。
  • けいめい, 經營: 準備
  • 儉約: thrift

184. The mother of Tokiyori, the governor of Sagami:

  • The mother of Tokiyori, the governor of Sagami, was called the Zen nun of Matsushita. Once, when she had invited the governor to her hermitage, the nun herself took a small knife and cut around the broken places in the paper shoji, repairing them with new paper. Her brother Yoshikage, the vice-governor of Akita Castle, who was there preparing the reception for that day, said, "Let me do it. I'll have a servant of mine repair the shoji. He knows all about such things." She replied, "I'm sure your servant's work wouldn't be any better than mine." She went on papering the shoji, one pane at a time. Yoshikage, pursuing the matter, said, "It would be far easier to repair the whole shoji at one time. Besides, don't you think it look patchy and ugly this way?" "I intend to repaper the whole thing after his visit but I've purposely chosen to do it this way, just for today. I would like to have the young man notice this and realize that it is possible to go on using things by repairing just the broken parts." This was a most impressive gesture.
  • The art of governing a country if founded on thrift. The nun, though a woman, acted in keeping with the spirit of the sages. Truly, she was no ordinary woman, for she had as her son a man who preserved the order of the state.

>Top 185. 城陸奧守泰盛は、雙なき馬乘りなりけり:

  • 城陸奧守泰盛は、雙なき馬乘りなりけり。馬を引き出でさせけるに、足をそろへて閾(しきみ)をゆらりと超ゆるを見ては、「これは勇める馬なり」とて、鞍を置きかへさせけり。また足を伸べて閾に蹴あてぬれば、「これは鈍くして過ちあるべし」とて乘らざりけり。
  • 道を知らざらん人、かばかり恐れなんや。

185. Yasumori, the vice-governor of Akita Castle:

  • Yasumori, the vice-governor of Akita Castle and governor of Mutsu, was an incomparable horseman. Once, when he had ordered that a certain horse be brought out for him, he noticed how the horse jumped over the doorsill, its legs together. He said, "This horse is high-strung," and had his saddle placed on another horse. The other horse was brought out. This one kept its legs extended when it came to the doorsill and kicked against it. Yasumori said, "This horse is slow-witted. He'll surely be in an accident." He refused to mount either horse.
  • Who but an expert in the art would have been so afraid?

>Top 186. 吉田と申す馬乘りの申し侍りしは:

  • 吉田と申す馬乘りの申し侍りしは、「馬ごとにこはきものなり。人の力爭ふべからずと知るべし。乘るべき馬をば、まづよく見て、強き所、弱き所を知るべし。次に轡(くつわ)・鞍の具に、危きことやあると見て、心にかゝる事あらば、その馬を馳すべからず。この用意を忘れざるを馬乘りとは申すなり、これ秘藏のことなり」と申しき。
  • くつわ, 轡: bit

186. Yoshida, the horseman, once said:

  • Yoshida, the horseman, once said, "Every horse has its quirks. One should recognize that a man is no match in strength for an obstinate horse. Before getting on a horse, you should examine it carefully and find out its strong and weak points. Next, see whether or not there is anything dangerous about the bit or saddle gear. If anything disturbs you, you should not ride the horse. The man who does not forget these cautions deserves to be called a horseman. This is the secret of riding."

>Top 187. 萬の道の人、たとひ不堪なりといへども:

  • 萬の道の人、たとひ不堪なりといへども、堪能の非家(ひけ) の人にならぶ時、必ずまさることは、たゆみなく愼みて輕々しくせぬと、ひとえに自由なるとの等しからぬなり。
  • 藝能・所作のみにあらず。大方の振舞ひ・心づかひも、愚かにして謹めるは得の本なり。巧みにしてほしきまゝなるは、失の本なり。

187. In any art the specialist, even if he is unskillful:

  • In any art the specialist, even if he is unskillful, is always superior to the most talented amateur. this is the difference between the man who is habitually cautious and never rash, and the man who does whatever suits his pleasure.
  • This is true not only the arts and crafts; the source of success in the actions and calculations of daily life is to be dull and cautious. To be clever and willful is the source of failure.

>Top 188. ある者、子を法師になして:

  • ある者、子を法師になして、「學問して因果の理をも知り、説經などして世渡るたづきともせよ」といひければ、教のまゝに、説經師にならん爲に、まづ馬に乘 り習ひけり。輿・車もたぬ身の、導師に請ぜられん時、馬など迎へにおこせたらんに、桃尻にて落ちなんは、心憂かるべしと思ひけり。次に、佛事の後、酒など 勸むることあらんに、法師のむげに能なきは、檀那すさまじく思ふべしとて、早歌(さうか)といふ事をならひけり。二つのわざ、やうやう境(さかひ)に入りければ、いよいよよくしたく覺えて嗜みける程に、説經習ふべき暇なくて、年よりにけり。
  • この法師のみにもあらず、世間の人、なべてこの事あり。若きほどは、諸事につけて、身をたて、大きなる道をも成し、能をもつき、學問をもせんと、行末久しくあらます事ども、心にはかけながら、世をのどかに思ひてうち怠りつゝ、まづさしあたりたる目の前の事にのみまぎれて月日を送れば、事毎になすことなくして、身は老いぬ。つひに、ものの上手にもならず、思ひしやうに身をも持たず、悔ゆれどもとり返さるゝ齡ならねば、走りて坂をくだる輪の如くに衰へゆく。
  • されば一生のうち、むねとあらまほしからむことの中に、いづれか勝ると、よく思ひくらべて、第一の事を案じ定めて、その外は思ひすてて、一事を勵むべ し。一日の中、一時の中にも、數多のことの來らむなかに、少しも益のまさらむことを營みて、その外をばうち捨てて、大事をいそぐべきなり。いづ かたをも捨てじと心にとりもちては、一事も成るべからず。
  • たとへば碁を打つ人、一手もいたづらにせず、人に先だちて、小を捨て大につくが如し。それにとりて、三つの石をすてて、十の石につくことは易し。十を捨 てて、十一につくことは、かたし。一つなりとも勝らむかたへこそつくべきを、十までなりぬれば、惜しく覺えて、多くまさらぬ石には換へにくし。これをも捨てず、かれをも取らむと思ふこゝろに、かれをも得ず、これをも失ふべき道なり。
  • 京に住む人、急ぎて東山に用ありて、既に行きつきたりとも、西山に行きてその益まさるべきを思ひえたらば、門よりかへりて西山へゆくべきなり。 こゝまで來つきぬれば、この事をばまづ言ひてん。日をささぬことなれば、西山の事は、帰りてまたこそ思ひたためと思ふ故に、一時の懈怠、すなはち一生の懈怠となる。これを恐るべし。
  • 一事を必ず成さむと思はば、他の事の破るゝをも痛むべからず。人のあざけりをも恥づべからず。萬事にかへずしては、一の大事成るべからず。人のあまたあ りける中にて、あるもの、「ますほの薄(すすき)、まそほの薄などいふことあり。渡邊の聖、この事を傳へ知りたり」と語りけるを、登蓮法師、その座に侍りけるが、聞きて、雨の降りけるに、「蓑・笠やある、貸したまへ。かの薄のこと習ひに、渡邊の聖のがり尋ねまからん」といひけるを、「あまりに物さわがし。 雨やみてこそ」と人のいひければ、「無下の事をも仰せらるゝものかな。人の命は、雨の晴間を待つものかは、我も死に、聖もうせなば、尋ね聞きてむや」とて、走り出でて行きつゝ、習ひ侍りにけりと申し傳へたるこそ、ゆゝしくありがたう覺ゆれ。「敏(と)きときは則ち功あり」とぞ、論語といふ文にも侍るな る。この薄をいぶかしく思ひけるやうに、一大事の因縁をぞ思ふべかりける。
  • 因縁: enlightmenment

188. A certain man, deciding to make his son a priest:

  • A certain man, deciding to make his son a priest, said, "You still study and learn the principle of Cause and Effect, and you will then preach sermons to earn a livelihood." The son, doing as instructed, learned how to ride a horse as a first step towards becoming a preacher. He thought that when people wanted him to conduct a service they would probably send a horse for him, since he owned neither a palanquin nor a carriage, and it would be embarrassing if, because of his awkwardness in the saddle, he fell from the horse. Next, thinking that if, after the service, he were offered some sake and had no social graces to display the donor would be disappointed, he learned to sing popular songs. When he was at last able to pass muster in these two arts, he felt anxious to attain real proficiency. He devoted himself so diligently to his practice that he had no time to learn preaching, and in the meantime he had grown old.
  • This priest was not the only one; the story is typical of people in general. When they are young they are concerned about the projects they foresee lying ahead of them in the distant future - establishing themselves in different professions and carrying out some great undertaking, mastering an art, acquiring learning - but they think of their lives as stretching out indefinitely, and idly allow themselves to be constantly distracted by things directly before their eyes. They pass months and days in this manner, succeeding in none of their plans, and so they grow old. In the end, they neither become proficient in their profession, nor do they gain the eminence they anticipated. However they regret it, they cannot roll back the years, but decline more and more rapidly like a wheel rolling downhill.
  • In view of the above, we must carefully compare in our minds all the different things in life we might hope to make our principal work, and decide which is of the greatest value; the decided, we should renounce our other interests and devote ourselves to that one thing only. Many project present themselves in the course of a day or even an hour; we must perform those that offer even slightly greater advantages, renouncing the others and giving ourselves entirely to whatever is most important. If we remain attached to them all, and are reluctant to give up any, we will not accomplish a single thing.
  • It is like a go player who, not wasting a move, gets the jump on his opponent by sacrificing a small advantage to achieve a great one. It is easy, of course, t sacrifice three stone in order to gain ten. the hard thing is to sacrifice ten stones in order to gain eleven. A man should be ready to choose the course which is superior even by one stone, but when it comes to sacrificing then, he feels reluctant, and it is hard to make an exchange which will not yield many additional stones. If we hesitate to give up what we have, and at the same time are eager to grab what the other man holds, we shall certainly fail to get his pieces and lose our own.
  • A man living in the capital has urgent business in the Eastern Hills, and has already reached the house of his destination when it occurs to him that if he goes to the Western Hills he may reap greater advantage; in that case, he should turn back at the gate and proceed to the Western Hills. If, however, he thinks, "I've come all this way. I might as well take care of my business here first. There was no special day set for my business in the Western Hills. I'll go there some other time, after I have returned," the sloth of a moment will turn in this manner into the sloth of an entire lifetime. This is to be dreaded.
  • If you are determined to carry out one particular thing, you must not be upset that other things fall through. nor should you be embarrassed by other people's laughter. A great enterprise is unlikely to be achieved except at the sacrifice of everything else.
  • Once, at a large gathering, a certain man said, "Some people say masuho no susuki, other say masoho no susuki. The hold man of Watanabe knows the secret tradition of this pronunciation." The priest Toren, who was present at the gathering and heard this remark, said (it being raining at the time), "Has anyone a raincoat and umbrella he can lend me? I intend to call on this holy man of Watanabe and find out about the susuki." People said, "You shouldn't get so exited. Wait till the rain stops." The priest replied, "What a foolish thing to say! Do you suppose that a man's life will wait for the rain to clear? If I should die or he pries passes away in the meantime, could I inquire about it then?" So saying, he hurried out and went to study the tradition. this struck me as a most unusual and valid story.
  • It is written in the Analects that "in speed there is success." Just as Toren was impatient to learn about the susuki, we should be impatient to discover the sources of enlightenment.

>Top 189. 今日はその事をなさむと思へど:

  • 今日はその事をなさむと思へど、あらぬ急ぎまづ出で來て紛れ暮し、待つ人は障りありて、頼めぬ人はきたり、頼みたる方のことはたがひて、思ひよらぬ道ばかりはかなひぬ。煩(わづら)はしかりつる事はことなくて、安かるべき事はいと心苦し。日々に過ぎゆくさま、かねて思ひつるに似ず。一年のこともかくの如し。 一生の間もまたしかなり。
  • かねてのあらまし、皆違ひゆくかと思ふに、おのづから違はぬ事もあれば、いよいよものは定めがたし。不定と心得ぬるのみ、誠にて違はず。

189. You may intend to do something today:

  • You may intend to do something today, only for pressing business to come up unexpectedly and take up all of your attention the rest of the day. Or a person you have been expecting is prevented from coming, or someone you hadn't expected comes calling. The thing you have counted on goes amiss, and the thing you had no hopes for is the only one to succeed. A matter which promised to be a nuisance passes off smoothly and a matter which should have been easy proves a great hardship. Our daily experiences bear no resemblance to what we had anticipated. This is true throughout the year, and equally true for our entire lives.
  • But if we decide that everything is bound to go contrary to our anticipations, we discover that naturally there are also some things which do not contradict expectations. This makes it all the harder to be definite about anything. The one thing you can be certain of is the truth that all is uncertainty.

>Top 190. 妻といふものこそ、男の持つまじきものなれ:

  • 妻といふものこそ、男の持つまじきものなれ。「いつも獨り住みにて」など聞くこそ、心憎けれ。「たれがしが婿になりぬ」とも、又、「いかなる女をとりすゑて、相住む」など聞きつれば、無下に心劣りせらるゝわざなり。異なることなき女を、よしと思ひ定めてこそ、添ひ居たらめと、賤しくもおし測られ、よき女ならば、そらうたくして、あが佛と守りゐたらめ。たとへば、さばかりにこそと覺えぬべし。
  • まして、家の内を行ひをさめたる女、いと口惜し。子など出できて、 かしづき愛したる、心憂し。男なくなりて後、尼になりて年よりたる有樣、亡きあとまで淺まし。
  • いかなる女なりとも、明暮そひ見むには、いと心づきなく憎かりなむ。女のためも、半空(なかぞら)にこそならめ。よそながら時々通ひ住まむこそ、年月へても絶えぬなからひともならめ。あからさまに來て、泊り居(ゐ)などせむは、めづらしかりぬべし。
  • なかぞら, 半空: feel insecure

190. A man should never marry:

  • A man should never marry. I am charmed when I hear a man say, "I am still living alone." When I hear someone say, "He has married into so and so's family" or "He has taken such and such a wife and they are living together," I feel nothing but contempt for the man. He will be ridiculed by others too, who will say, "No doubt he thought that commonplace woman was quite a catch, and that's why he took her off with him." Or, if the woman happens to be beautiful, they are sure to feel, "He dotes on her so much that he worships her as his private Buddha. Yes, that's no doubt the case."
  • The woman who cleverly manges a household is the least agreeable to her husband. It is exasperating to see the pains and affection she lavishes on her children when they are born; and after her husband has died she will become a nun and look so decrepit that it will be positively shocking.
  • Living day in and day out with a woman, no mater what she may be like, is bound to be frustrating and the source of irritation. The woman too is likely to feel insecure. The relationship, however, can last unbroken for many years if the couple lives apart, and the man only occasionally visits or stays with the woman. If he man casually visits the woman and remains with her just temporarily, a freshness will cling to their romance.

>Top 191. 夜に入りて物のはえ無しといふ人:

  • 「夜に入りて物のはえ無し」といふ人、いと口惜し。萬の物の綺羅・飾り・色ふしも、夜のみこそめでたけれ。晝は、事そぎ、およすげたる姿にてもありなむ。 夜は、きらゝかに花やかなる裝束、いとよし。人のけしきも、夜の火影ぞ、よきはよく、物いひたる聲も、暗くて聞きたる、用意ある、心憎し。匂ひも、物の音も、たゞ夜ぞ、ひときはめでたき。
  • さして異なる事なき夜、うち更けて參れる人の、清げなる樣したる、いとよし。若きどち、心とどめて見る人は、時をも分かぬものなれば、殊にうちとけぬべき折節ぞ、褻・晴れなく引きつくろはまほしき。よき男の、日くれてゆするし、女も、夜更くる程にすべりつゝ、鏡とりて顔などつくろひ出づるこそをかしけ れ。
  • すべる, 滑る: 静かに席をはずす, slips from an audience chamber

191. I feel sorry for the man who says that night dims the beauty of things:

  • I feel sorry for the man who says that night dims the beauty of things. At night colors, ornaments, and richness of materials show to their best advantage. By day you should wear simple, conservative clothes, but at night showy, flashy costumes are most attractive.This holds true of people's appearance too: lamplight makes a beautiful face seem even more beautiful, and a voice heard in the dark - a voice that betrays a fear of being overheard - is endearing. Perfumes and the sound of music too are best at night.
  • It is charming if, on a night which is not any special occasion, a visitor arriving at he palace after it has grown quite late appears in splendid attire. Young people, being observant of one another irrespective of the time of day, should always be dressed in their best with no distinction of formal and informal attire, above all when they are most at their ease. How pleasant it is when a handsome man grooms his hair after dark, or a woman, late at night, slips from an audience chamber and, mirror in hand, touches up her make-up before she appears again.

>Top 192. 神佛にも、人の詣でぬ日:

  • 神佛にも、人の詣でぬ日、夜まゐりたる、よし。

192. xxx:

>Top 193. くらき人の、人をはかりて:

  • くらき人の、人をはかりて、その智を知れりと思はむ、更に當るべからず。
  • 拙(つたな)き人の、碁うつことばかりに敏(さと)く、たくみなるは、賢き人の、この藝におろかなるを見て、おのれが智に及ばずと定めて、萬の道のたくみ、わが道を人の知らざるを見て、おのれ勝れたりと思はむこと、大きなるあやまりなるべし。文字の法師、暗證(あんじょう)の禪師、互にはかり て、おのれに如かずと思へる、共にあたらず。
  • 己が境界にあらざるものをば、爭ふべからず、是非すべからず。

193. When an ignorant man sizes somebody:

  • When an ignorant man sizes somebody and thinks he has discovered how much the other man knows, he is unlikely ever to be correct. It is a grave misconception for a stupid man who has one skill, playing go, when he meets an intelligent man with no talent for this game, to decide that the man is no match for himself in learning; or for an expert in one of the many different arts, seeing that others are ignorant of his particular specialty, to conclude that he is more accomplished than they. If one priest devotes himself exclusively to scriptural study and another practices Zen meditation, each, judging the other, would conclude that he was inferior, and both would be wrong.
  • One must not dispute the merits or criticize anything outside one's own field.

>Top 194. 達人の人を見る眼は:

  • 達人の人を見る眼(まなこ)は、少しも誤る處あるべからず。たとへば、ある人の、世に虚言を構へ出して、人をはかることあらんに、素直に眞と思ひて、いふ儘にはからるゝ人あり。あまりに深く信をおこして、なほ煩はしく虚言を心得添ふる人あり。また何としも思はで、心をつけぬ人あり。又いさゝか覚束なく覚えて、頼むにもあらず、頼まずもあらで、案じ居たる人あり。 又まことしくは覺えねども、人のいふことなれば、さもあらんとて止みぬる人もあり。又さまざまに推し心得たるよしして、賢げに打ちうなづき、ほゝゑみて居 たれど、つやつや知らぬ人あり。
  • また推し出して、「あはれ、さるめり」と思ひながら、なほ誤りもこそあれと怪しむ人あり。また、異なるやうも無かりけりと、手を打ちて笑ふ人あり。また、心得たれども、知れりともいはず、覚束なかなからぬは、とかくの事なく、知らぬ人と同じやうにて過ぐる人あり。また、この虚言の本意を、初めより心得て、すこしも欺かず、構へ出だしたる人とおなじ心になりて、力をあはする人あり。
  • 愚者の中の戯(たわぶれ)だに、知りたる人の前にては、このさまざまの得たる所、詞にても顔にても、かくれなく知られぬべし。まして、あきらかならん人の、惑へるわれらを見んこと、掌(たなごゝろ)の上のものを見んがごとし。たゞし、かやうのおしはかりにて、佛法までをなずらへ言ふべきにはあらず。

194. The powers of observation of an intelligent man:

  • The powers of observation of an intelligent man are unlikely to be at all mistaken. If, for example, a certain man invents falsehoods and spreads them with the intent of deceit, some people will innocently suppose that he speaks the truth and be hoodwinked by his words; other will be so deeply convinced that they will think up a annoying variety of lies to add to the original one. Still others, unimpressed by the lie, will pay it no attention. Yet others will be rather suspicious and ponder over the story, neither believing nor disbelieving. Others, though they find the lie improbable, will nevertheless decide it may be true, if only because people are spreading it, and let the matter go at that. there will be people too who make all sorts of guesses and pretend they have caught onto the truth, nodding and smiling knowingly, but who in fact understand nothing. Others will deduce the truth, and think, "I'm sure that's what happened," but hesitate, for fear they may be mistaken. Some will clap their hands and laugh, saying there is nothing new in this lie.
  • Some too, though aware of the truth, will not reveal they have caught on, nor make comments one way or the other on what they realize is the truth, acing as if they were ignorant of the facts. Finally, there are those who, knowing from the start the purpose of the lie, do not ridicule it in any way, but on the contrary sympathize with the man who invented it, and join forces with him.
  • The man who can detect truth from falsehood even in the pleasantries of fools should have no difficulty in ascertaining from their words and their facial expressions their different reactions to a lie. How much easier is it, then, for he truly enlightened man to see through us deluded creatures; it is like looking at something in the palm of his hand. But we should refrain from using the same principles of deduction to make pronouncements of the Buddhist parables.

>Top 195. ある人、久我畷を通りけるに:

  • ある人、久我畷(こがなわて)を通りけるに、小袖に大口きたる人、木造(きづくり)の地藏を田の中の水におしひたして、ねんごろに洗ひけり。心得がたく見るほどに、狩衣の男二人三人出で來て、「こゝにおはしましけり」とて、この人を具して去(い)にけり。久我内大臣殿にてぞおはしける。
  • 尋常(よのつね)におはしましける時は、神妙にやんごとなき人にておはしけり。

195. A certain man was traveling along the Koga High Road:

  • A certain man was traveling along the Koga High Road when he saw a person wearing a kosode and oguchi dipping a wooden carving of Jizo in the water of a rice paddy and carefully washing it. As he watched, baffled, two or three men in kariginu appeared and said, "Here hie is!" They took the man off with them. He was the great minister of the center from Koga, a truly impressive man when in his right mind.

>Top 196. 東大寺の神輿、東寺の若宮より歸座のとき:

  • 東大寺の神輿(しんよ)、東寺の若宮より歸座のとき、源氏の公卿參られけるに、この殿、大將にて、先を追はれけるを、土御門相國、「社頭にて警蹕(けいひつ)いかゞはべるべからん」と申されければ、「隨身のふるまひは、兵仗の家が知る事に候。」とばかり答へ給ひけり。
  • さて、後に仰せられけるは、「この相國、『北山抄』を見て、西宮(せいきう)の説をこそ知られざりけれ。眷属の惡鬼・惡神を恐るゝゆゑに、神社にて、殊に先を追ふべき理あり」とぞ仰せられける。

196. xxx:

  • When the sacred car of the todaiji was retrune to it eat from the Wakamiya Shrine at the Eatern Temple, the nobles of the Minamoto clan accompanied it. the Koga great minister then a general, led the van, claearing the way. The prime m minister from Tsuchimikado asked, "Do you think it is suitable to clear the way before a shrine?" The great minister replied merely, "It is my business as a military official to know how guards are supposed to behave."
  • Later Koga remarked, ""The prime minister has read Hokuzansho but is unacquainted ith the opinions in the Seikyu. It is particularly fitting fro us to clear the way before a

>Top 197. 諸寺の僧のみにもあらず:

  • 諸寺の僧のみにもあらず、定額(ぢゃうがく)の女嬬といふこと、『延喜式』に見えたり。すべて、數さだまりたる公人(くにん)の通號にこそ。

197. The words "fixed complement" are used:

  • The words "fixed complement" are used not only about priests at the various temples but in the Engishiki for female officials of lower rank. the words must have been a common designation for all officials whose numbers were fixed.

>Top 198. 揚名介に限らず:

  • 揚名介(ようめいのすけ)に限らず、揚名目(ようめいのさかん)といふものあり。『政事要畧』にあり。

198. There are honorary officals:

  • There are honorary officals not only of the second rank but also of the foruth rank. It is so recorded in Essentials of Statesmanship.

>Top 199. 横川の行宣法印が申しはべりしは:

  • 横川(よがは)の行宣法印が申しはべりしは、「唐土は呂の國なり、律の音(こえ)なし。和國は單律の國にて呂の音なし。」と申しき。

199. The Abbot Gyosen of Yokawa said:

  • The Abbot Gyosen of Yokawa said, "China is the land of ryo mode. they do not employ the ritsu mode. In Japan we have only the ritsu and not the ryo."

>Top 200. 呉竹は葉ほそく:

  • 呉竹は葉ほそく、河竹は葉ひろし。御溝(みかわ)にちかきは河竹、仁壽殿(じじゅうでん)の方に寄りて植ゑられたるは呉竹なり。

200. Kure bamboo has narrow leaves:

  • Kure bamboo has narrow leaves, river bamboo has broad leaves. In the palace you will find river bamboo near the moat; kure bamboo has been planted by the Jiju Hall.

>Top 201. 退凡・下乘の卒塔婆:

  • 退凡・下乘の卒塔婆、外なるは下乘、内なるは退凡なり。

201. There were two stupas:

  • There were two stupas: the one at the bottom of the mountain was called Gejo, the one near the top, Taibon.

>Top 202. 十月を神無月と云ひて:

  • 十月を神無月と云ひて、神事に憚るべき由は、記したるものなし。本文も見えず。たゞし、當月、諸社の祭なきゆゑに、この名あるか。
  • この月、萬の神たち、太神宮へ集り給ふなどいふ説あれども、その本説なし。さる事ならば、伊勢には殊に祭月とすべきに、その例もなし。十月、諸社の行幸、その例も多し。但し多くは不吉の例なり。

202. There is no documentary evidence to support:

  • There is no documentary evidence to support the popular belief that the tenth month being the "godless" month, we should abstain from religious ceremonies at that time. Nor are references ever cited. I wonder if the name came into being because no festivals were held at the various shrines during that month?
  • Some hold that in the "godless" month the gods all gather at the Great Shrine of Ise, but I can find no authority fro this. If this were true, the month should be one of special festivities at Ise, but again, there is no record to that effect. there are many instances of imperial visits to shrines during the "godless" month, but most were inauspicious.

>Top 203. 勅勘の所に靫かくる作法:

  • 勅勘(ちょくかん)の所に靫(ゆき)かくる作法、今は絶えて知れる人なし。主上の御惱、大かた世の中のさわがしき時は、五條の天神に靫をかけらる。鞍馬に 靫の明神といふも、靫かけられたりける神なり。看督長(かどのおさ)の負ひたる靫を、その家にかけられぬれば、人出で入らず。この事絶えて後、今の世には、封をつくることになりにけり。

203. Nobody is left who knows the proper manner:

  • Nobody is left who knows the proper manner of hanging a quiver before the house of a man in disgrace with His Majesty. Formerly, it was the custom to hang a quiver at the Tenjin Shrine on Gojo when the emperor was ill or when a general epidemic was rampant. The deity of the Yugi Shrine at Kurama is another god before whom quivers were hung. If a quiver carried by a police officer was hung before a man's house, no one could enter or leave. Ever since this practice died out it has been customary to place a seal on a house.

>Top 204. 犯人を笞にて打つ時は:

  • 犯人を笞(しもと)にて打つ時は、拷器によせて結(ゆ)ひつくるなり。拷器の様も、よする作法も、今はわきまへ知れる人なしとぞ。

204. A criminal being flogged with rods:

  • A criminal being flogged with rods is placed on a torture rack and tied to it. Today no one knows the shape of the rack nor the manner of attaching the criminal.

>Top 205. 比叡山に、大師勸請の起請文といふ事は:

  • 比叡山に、大師勸請の起請文といふ事は、慈惠(じえ)僧正 書きはじめ給ひけるなり。起請文といふ事、法曹にはその沙汰なし。古の聖代、すべて起請文につきて行はるゝ政はなきを、近代、このこと流布したるなり。
  • また法令には、水火に穢れをたてず、入物にはけがれあるべし。

205. The practice on Mount Hiei of making written oaths:

  • The practice on Mount Hiei of making written oaths in the name of the Great Teacher began with the Abbot Jie. Written oaths are of no concern to the legal experts. During the holy reigns of the past no governmental functions were carried out with reference to written oaths, but in recent times the practice has become prevalent.
  • Again, the laws do not recognize pollution of water or fire. The pollution must be in the containing vessels.

>Top 206. 徳大寺右大臣殿、檢非違使の別當のとき:

  • 徳大寺右大臣殿、檢非違使の別當のとき、中門にて使廳の評定行はれけるほどに、官人章兼が牛はなれて、廳のうちへ入りて、大理の座の濱床の上にのぼりて、にれうち噛みて臥したりけり。重き怪異なりとて、牛を陰陽師のもとへ遣すべきよし、おのおの申しけるを、父の相國聞きたまひて、「牛に分別なし、足あらば、いづくへかのぼらざらん。わう弱(おうじゃく)の官人、たまたま出仕の微牛をとらるべきやうなし」とて、牛をば主にかへして、臥したりける疊をばかへられにけり。あへて凶事なかりけるとなん。
  • 「怪しみを見て怪しまざる時は、怪しみかへりて破る」といへり。

206. Once, when the Tokudaiji minister of the right was chief:

  • Once, when the Tokudaiji minister of the right was chief of the imperial police, he was holding a meeting of his staff at the middle gate when an ox belonging to an official named Akikane got loose and wandered into the ministry building. It climbed up on the dais where the chief was seated and lay there, chewing its cud. Everyone was sure that this was some grave portent, and urged that the ox be sent to a yin-yang diviner. However, the prime minister, the father of the minister of the right, said, "An ox has no discrimination. It has legs - there is nowhere it won't go. It does not make sense to deprive an underpaid official of the wretched ox he needs in order to attend count." He returned the ox to its owner and changed the matting on which it had lain. No untoward event of any kind occurred afterwards.
  • They say that if you see a prodigy and do not treat it as such, its character as a prodigy is destroyed.

>Top 207. 龜山殿建てられむとて:

  • 龜山殿建てられむとて、地を引かれけるに、大きなる蛇(くちなわ)、數もしらず凝り集りたる塚ありけり。この所の神なりといひて、事の由申しければ、「いかゞあるべき」と敕問ありけるに、「ふるくよりこの地を占めたる物ならば、さうなく掘り捨てられがたし」とみな人申されけるに、この大臣一人、「王土に居 らん蟲、皇居を建てられんに、何の祟りをかなすべき。鬼神は邪(よこしま)なし。咎むべからず。唯皆掘りすつべし」と申されたりければ、塚をくづして、蛇をば大井川に流してけり。更にたゝりなかりけり。

207. When they were leveling the ground to build:

  • When they were leveling the ground to build the Kameyama palace, they came on a mound where a huge number of large snakes were coiled together. They decided that these snakes were the gods of the place and reported this to His Majesty. He asked, "What should be done about it?" People all said, "There snakes have occupied the place since ancient times. It would be wrong to root them up recklessly." But the prime minister said "What curse would creatures dwelling on imperial property place on the site of a new palace? Supernatural beings are without malice; they surely will not wreak any punishment. We should get rid of all the snakes." The workmen destroyed the mound and released the snakes into the Oi River. No curse whatsoever resulted.

>Top 208. 經文などの紐を結ふに:

  • 經文などの紐を結(ゆ)ふに、上下より襷(たすき)にちがへて、二すぢの中(なか)より、わなの頭(かしら)を横ざまにひき出すことは、常のことなり。さやうにしたるをば、華嚴院の弘舜僧正解きて直させけり。「これは、この頃やうのことなり。いと見にくし。うるはしくは、たゞくるくると捲きて、上より下へ、わなの先を挿(さしはさ)むべし」 と申されけり。
  • ふるき人にて、かやうのこと知れる人になん侍りける。

208. When tying the string round a sutra scroll:

  • When tying the string round a sutra scroll, it is usual to cross the string from top to bottom, to form a kind of tasuki, to loop the end, then pass the end of the loop sideways under the crossed parts. The Abbot Koshun of the Kegon-in once unfastened a string tied in this manner, and tied it over again. He explained, "This style is a recent corruption and most unattractive. The proper way is simply to pass the string round and round the scroll from to bottom, and to insert the loop at the end through the string." He was an old man and well-versed in such matters.

>Top 209. 人の田を論ずるもの:

  • 人の田を論ずるもの、訴へにまけて、嫉(ねた)さに、「その田を刈りて取れ」とて、人をつかはしけるに、まづ、道すがらの田をさへ刈りもて行く を、「これは論じ給ふ所にあらず。いかにかくは」といひければ、刈るものども、「その所とても、刈るべき理なけれども、僻事せむとてまかるものなれば、いづくをか刈らざらん」とぞいひける。
  • 理(ことわ)り、いとをかしかりけり。

209. A man went to court over ownership of another man's rice field:

  • A man went to court over ownership of another man's rice field. He lost his suit and was so disappointed that he sent some laborers to harvest the crop in the field and bring it to him. The men first of all went about harvesting some other fields on the way. Somebody objected, "This isn't the disputed field. What are you doing here?" The reapers answered, "There is no reason to harvest the crop on that field either. As long as we have come to do a senseless thing, what difference does it make which field we reap?" Their logic was most peculiar.

>Top 210. 喚子鳥は春のものなり:

  • 「喚子鳥(よぶこどり)は春のものなり」と許(ばか)りいひて、いかなる鳥ともさだかに記せる物なし。ある眞言書の中に、喚子鳥なくとき招魂の法をば行ふ次第あり。これは鵺(ぬえ)なり。萬葉集の長歌に、「霞たつ永き春日の」など續けたり。鵺鳥も喚子鳥の事樣に通ひて聞ゆ。

210. All we know about the yobukodori is:

  • All we know about the yobukodori is that it is a bird associated with spring, but nothing in writing plainly indicates to what species it belongs. In a certain Shingon text there is a section describing the rites for summoning the soul that are observed when a yobukodori has sung. This refers to a nue, a night bird. In a choka of the Manyoshu the nue is mentioned after a verse saying, "A long spring day when the m mists rise." The would suggest that the nue resembled the yobukodori in its season too.

>Top 211. 萬の事は頼むべからず:

  • 萬(よろず)の事は頼むべからず。愚かなる人は、深くものを頼むゆゑに、うらみ怒ることあり。
  • 勢(いきお)ひありとて頼むべからず。こはき者まづ滅ぶ。財多しとて頼むべからず。時の間に失ひやすし。才ありとて頼むべからず。孔子も時に遇はず。徳ありとて頼むべからず。顔囘も不幸なりき。君の寵をも頼むべからず。誅をうくる事速かなり。奴したがへりとて頼むべからず。そむき走ることあり。人の志を も頼むべからず。必ず變ず。約をも頼むべからず。信(まこと)あることすくなし。
  • 身をも人をも頼まざれば、是(ぜ)なる時はよろこび、非なる時はうらみず。左右廣ければさはらず。前後遠ければふさがらず。せばき時はひしげくだく。心を用ゐること少しきにしてきびしき時は、物に逆(さか)ひ、爭ひてやぶる。寛(ゆる) くして柔かなるときは、一毛も損ぜず。
  • 人は天地の靈なり。天地はかぎるところなし。人の性何ぞ異ならん。寛大にして窮らざるときは、喜怒これにさはらずして、物のためにわづらはず。

211. We cannot trust in anything:

  • We cannot trust in anything. The foolish man places great trust in things, and this sometimes leads to bitterness and anger.
  • If you have power, do not trust in it; powerful men are the first to fall. You may have many possessions, but they are not to be depended on; they are easily lost in a moment. Nor should you trust in your learning if you have any; even Confucius was not favored by his times. You may have virtue, but you must not rely on it; even Yen Hui was unlucky. Do not trust in the favor of your lord; his punishment may strike before you know it. You cannot depend on your servant either; they will disobey you and run away. Nor should you trust in another person's kind feelings; they will certainly change. Do not rely on promises; it is rare for people to be sincere.
  • If you trust neither in yourself nor in others, you will rejoice when things go well, but bear no resentment when they go badly. You will then have room on either side to expand, and not be constrained. With nothing too close before or behind you, you will not be blocked. When a man is cramped for space, he is broken and crushed. When the activity of the mind is constricted and rigid, a man will come into collision with things at every turn and be harmed by disputes. If you have space for maneuvering and are flexible, not one hair will be harmed.
  • Man is the most miraculous of creatures within heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are boundless. Why should man's nature be dissimilar? When it is generous and unconstrained, joy and anger cannot hamper it, and it remains unaffected by externals.

>Top 212. 秋の月は、限りなくめでたきものなり:

  • 秋の月は、限りなくめでたきものなり。いつとても月はかくこそあれとて、思ひ分かざらん人は、無下に心うかるべきことなり。
  • めでたし: 魅力的, beautiful
  • うかる, 浮かる: 放浪する, 平静でない

212. The automn moon is incomparably beautiful:

  • The automn moon is incomparably beautiful. Any man who supposes the moon is always the same, regardless of the season, and is therefore unable to detect the difference in autumn, mus be exceeingluy insensitive.

>Top 213. 御前の火爐に火おく時は:

  • 御前の火爐(かろ)に火おく時は、火箸して挾む事なし。土器(かはらけ)より、直ちにうつすべし。されば、轉び落ちぬやうに、心得て炭を積むべきなり。
  • 八幡(やはた)の御幸に供奉の人、淨衣(じょうえ)を著て、手にて炭をさされければ、ある有職の人、「白き物を著たる日は、火箸を用ゐる、苦しからず」と申されけり。

213. Fire tongs are never used when placing lighted charcoal:

  • Fire tongs are never used when placing lighted charcoal in a hibachi in the presence of the emperor or empress. It must be transferred directly from an earthenware vessel, The charcoal must therefore be properly stacked, taking care that none drop from the vessel.
  • On the occasion of an imperial visit to Yawata an attendant, dressed in spotless white, used his hands to put charcoal on the fire. A certain expert in court ceremonial remarked, "There is no objection to using fire tongs when one is wearing white."

>Top 214. 想夫戀といふ樂は:

  • 想夫戀(さうふれん)といふ樂は、女、男を戀ふる故の名にはあらず。もとは相府蓮(そうふれん)、文字のかよへるなり。晉の王儉、大臣(おとゞ)として、家に蓮(はちす)を植ゑて愛せしときの樂なり。これより大臣を蓮府(れんぷ)といふ。
  • 廻忽(かいこつ)も廻鶻(くゎいこつ)なり。廻鶻國(＝外蒙古にあった)とて夷(えびす)の強(こわ)き國あり。その夷、漢に伏して後にきたりて、己が國の樂を奏せしなり。

214. The music called Sofuren (Love for a husband) :

  • The music called Sofuren (Love for a husband) is not so named because of a woman's love for a man. Originally the title was written with characters meaning "The Lotus by the Premier's Office." The similarity in sound gave rise to the confusion. The music dates from the days when Wang Chien of Chin became a counselor and planted lotuses for his delectation. From that time on the office of the minister was known as the "Lotus Hall."
  • The music known as Kaikotsu (Turn abruptly) should be Kaikotsu, the name of the land of the Uigurs, a powerful barbarian state. These barbarians came to china after their surrender to the Han people, and played the music of their country.

>Top 215. 平宣時朝臣、老いの後:

  • 平宣時(たいらののぶとき)朝臣、老いの後、昔語(むかしがたり)に、「最明寺入道、ある宵の間に呼ばるゝ事ありしに、『やがて』と申しながら、直垂のなくて、とかくせし程に、また使きたりて、『直垂などのさふらはぬにや。夜なれば異樣なりとも疾く』とありしかば、なえたる直垂、うちうちの儘にて罷りたりしに、銚子にかはらけ取りそへて持て出でて、『この酒をひとりたうべんがさうざうしければ、申しつるなり。肴こそなけれ。人は静まりぬらむ。さりぬべき物や あると、いづくまでも求め給へ』とありしかば、紙燭(しそく)さしてくまぐまを求めしほどに、臺所の棚に、小土器に味噌の少しつきたるを見出でて、『これぞ求め得て候』と申ししかば、『事足りなん』とて、心よく數獻(すこん)に及びて、興に入られ侍りき。その世にはかくこそ侍りしか」と申されき。

215. Taira no Nobutoki Ason in his old age:

  • Taira no Nobutoki Ason in his old age used to tell this story about former days. "I was summoned one evening by the Saimyoji lay priest. I said I would go to him immediately, but having no fresh ceremonial costume to wear, I was dawdling over one thing and another when he sent a second message asking, 'Is it that you have no hitatare to wear?' It doesn't matter how peculiar a costume you wear at this hour - it's night, after all. Hurry.' I accordingly went to court in the rumpled hitatare I usually wore at home. When I arrived the lay priest brought out a wine jar and some earthenware cups, explaining, 'It would have been lonely drinking this sake by myself, so I sent for you. I'm afraid, though, I haven't a thing to eat with it. Everybody must be in bed by now. Would you look around and see if you can find something suitable to eat?' I lit a taper and searched in every corner until I finally discovered on a shelf in the kitchen an unglazed jar with a little bean paste sticking to the bottom. I offered this to His Excellency, saying, 'This is all I could find.' 'That will do quite nicely,' he said, and good-naturedly drank a number of cups of wine, which made him quite mellow. That's how things were in the old days," Nobutuoki said.

>Top 216. 最明寺入道、鶴岡の社參の序に:

  • 最明寺入道、鶴岡の社參の序(ついで)に、足利左馬入道の許へ、まづ使を遣して、立ちいられたりけるに、あるじまうけられたりける様、一獻に打鮑(うちあわび)、二獻にえび、三獻にかい餅(もちひ)にて止みぬ。その座には、亭主夫婦、隆辨僧正、あるじ方の人にて坐せられけり。さて、「年ごとに賜はる足利の染物、心もとなく候」と申されければ、「用意し候」とて、いろいろの染物三十、前にて女房どもに小袖に調ぜさせて、後につかはされけり。
  • その時見たる人の、ちかくまで侍りしが、語り侍りしなり。
  • こころもとなし, 心許なし: 待ち遠しくてじれったい

216. The lay priest of Saimyoji on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Tsurugaoka:

  • The lay priest of Saimyoji on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Tsurugaoka, took the opportunity to visit the Lay Priest Ashikaga Yoshiuji, first sending a messenger ahead to announce his arrival. This is how he was entertained. With the first round of drinks he was served dried abalone; with the second, prawns; with the third, rice crackers. That was all. Present on this occasion with the host were his wife and the Abbot Ryuben. After the entertainment, the lay priest of Saimyoji said, "I've been waiting impatiently for that Ashikaga dyed cloth you send me every year." Yoshiuji answered, "I have some ready for you." He brought out thirty lengths of dyed cloth of different colors, and in Saimyoji's presence, had the cloth made up into short-sleeved kimonos by his waiting women. He sent them on afterwards.
  • This story was told by a man who witnessed the events and was still alive until recently.

>Top 217. ある大福長者の曰く:

  • ある大福長者の曰く、「人は萬をさしおきて、一向(ひたぶる)に徳をつくべきなり。貧しくては生けるかひなし。富めるのみを人とす。徳をつかむと思はば、 すべからくまづその心づかひを修行すべし。その心といふは、他の事にあらず。人間常住の思ひに住して、假にも無常を觀ずる事なかれ。これ第一の用心なり。
  • 次に、萬事の用をかなふべからず。人の世にある、自他につけて所願無量なり。欲に從ひて志を遂げむと思はば、百萬の錢ありといふとも、しばらくも住すべ からず。所願は止むときなし。財は盡くる期(ご)あり。かぎりある財をもちて、かぎりなき願ひに從ふこと、得べからず。所願心に兆すことあらば、われを亡すべき惡念きたれりと、かたく愼みおそれて、小用をもなすべからず。
  • 次に、錢を奴の如くしてつかひ用ゐるものと知らば、長く貧苦を免るべからず。君の如く神のごとくおそれ尊みて、從へ用ゐることなかれ。
  • 次に、恥にのぞむといふとも、怒り怨むる事なかれ。
  • 次に、正直にして、約をかたくすべし。この義を守りて利をもとめむ人は、富の來ること、火の乾けるに就き、水の下れるに從ふが如くなるべし。錢つもりて盡きざるときは、宴飮聲色を事とせず、居所をかざらず、所願を成ぜざれども、心とこしなへに安く樂し」と申しき。
  • そもそも人は、所願を成ぜむがために財をもとむ。錢を財とする事は、願ひをかなふるが故なり。所願あれどもかなへず、錢あれども用ゐざらんは、全く貧者とおなじ。何をか樂しびとせん。このおきては、たゞ人間の望みを絶ちて、貧を憂ふべからずと聞えたり。
  • 欲をなして樂しびとせんよりは、しかじ、財なからむには。癰・疽(よう・そ)を病む者、水に洗ひて樂しびとせむよりは、病まざらむには如かじ。こゝに至りては、貧富分くところなし。究竟(くきゃう)は理即にひとし。大欲は無欲に似たり。
  • 住す: 留まる, 安定する

217. A certain exceedingly rich man once said:

  • A certain exceedingly rich man once said, "A man's first obligation is to devote himself with all his energies to making a fortune. It isn't worth living if you are poor. Only the rich man merits the name of 'man.' If you would like to make a fortune, the first thing you must do is to cultivate an appropriate frame of mind - a conviction that human life is eternal. You must never, even for a moment, consider it may be impermanent. This is the first caution.
  • Next, you must remember never to satisfy your desires in anything. In this world, man has innumerable desires, both for himself and others. If he attempts to satisfy these desires, indulging his appetites, his money will not last long even if he started with a million zeni." Desires never cease, but there comes a time when your fortune is exhausted. It is quite impossible to satisfy unlimited desires with limited means. If desires germinate in your heart, you should dread them as an evil passion come to destroy you, and curb them severely. Do not gratify even small wants.
  • "Next, if you suppose that money may be used like a servant, you will never escape poverty. Money should be feared and dreaded like a master or god, not used as one pleases.
  • "Next, you must never be angry or resentful when faced by humiliation.
  • "Next, you must be honest and abide firmly by your promises.
  • "Riches will come to any man who obeys these rules as he seeks after profit, as surely as fire spreading to dry woods or water flowing downstream. When he has accumulated wealth so great it cannot be exhausted, his heart will be eternally at peace and happy, though he gives no thought to carousing and fleshly pleasures, though he refrains from decorating his house and though he never fulfills his desires."
  • One might suppose that the reason for seeking wealth is so we may fulfill our desires, and the reason why money is precious is that it makes it possible to obtain what one wants. But if a man has desires and does not satisfy them, has money and does not use it, he is exactly the same as a poor man. What pleasure can he derive from it? The millionaire's prescriptions seem to urge men to forego their worldly desires and not grieve over poverty.
  • But it is better not to have money than to hope for pleasure in satisfying a desire for wealth. For the man suffering from boils, the pleasure obtained by washing them is not as great as that of being freed from them altogether. At this point poverty and wealth lose all distinction, In the final stage, those at the highest level of enlightenment are the same as those at the lowest. The man of powerful desires resembles one without desires.

>Top 218. 狐は人に食ひつく者なり:

  • 狐は人に食ひつく者なり。堀河殿にて、舍人が寢たる足を狐にくはる。仁和寺にて、夜、本寺の前を通る下法師に、狐三つ飛びかゝりて食ひつきければ、刀を拔きてこれを拒(ふせ) ぐ間、狐二疋を突く。一つはつき殺しぬ。二は遁げぬ。法師はあまた所くはれながら、事故(ことゆえ)なかりけり。
  • ことゆゑ, 事故: 深刻な事故

218. Foxes bite people:

  • Foxes bite people. An equerry sleeping in the Horikawa palace had his leg bitten by a fox. Three foxes leapt on a junior priest one night as he was passing before the main building as the Ninaji and bit him. He took out this knife to defend himself, and in the process ran two of the foxes through. One was stabbed to death, the other two escaped. The priest was bitten in may places, but nothing serious occurred.

>Top 219. 四條黄門命ぜられて曰く:

  • 四條黄門命ぜられて曰く、「龍秋は道にとりてはやんごとなき者なり。先日來りて曰く、『短慮の至り、極めて荒涼の事なれども、横笛の五の穴は、聊か訝(いぶ)かしき所の侍るかと、ひそかにこれを存ず。そのゆゑは、干(かん)の穴は平調、五の穴は下無調なり。その間に勝絶調をへだてたり。上(じゃう)の穴雙調、次に鳧鐘調をおきて、夕(さく)の穴、黄鐘調なり。その次に鸞鏡調をおきて、中の穴盤渉調、中と六との間に神仙調あり。
  • かやうに間々にみな一律をぬすめるに、五の穴のみ、上の間に調子をもたずして、しかも間をくばる事ひとしきゆゑに、その聲不快なり。さればこの穴を吹くときは、かならずのく。のけあへぬときは、物にあはず。吹き得る人難し』と申しき。料簡のいたり、まことに興あり。先達後生を恐るといふ事、この事なり」 と侍りき。
  • 他日に景茂が申し侍りしは、「笙は調べおほせてもちたれば、たゞ吹くばかりなり。笛は、吹きながら、息のうちにて、かつ調べもてゆく物なれば、穴ごとに、口傳の上に性骨を加へて心を入るゝ事、五の穴のみにかぎらず。偏にのくとばかりも定むべからず。あしく吹けば、いづれの穴も快からず。上手はいづれをも吹きあはす。呂律のものにかなはざるは、人の咎なり。器(うつわもの)の失にあらず」と申しき。

219. The Shijo middle counselor declared:

  • The Shijo middle counselor declared, "Tatsuaki is a truly distinguished scholar of our art. The other day he came to me and said, 'I know it's a superficial thought, and extremely presumptuous of me to mention it, but I have wondered to myself if there were not something slightly peculiar about the fifth hole of the transverse flute. I mean, the kan hole is of the hyo tone, and the fifth hole is of the shimomu tone. Between them is the shozetsu tone. The jo hole is of the so tone, and next, the saku hole is of the oshiki tone, with the fusho tone in between. Next, in the middle hole, is the banshiki tone, with the rankeri tone in between. The shinsen tone is between the middle and sixth holes.
  • In this manner, one semitone is omitted between each two holes, except for the fifth hole, which has no tone separating it from the jo hole. The space between the two holes is, however, the same as for the others, and this causes the fifth hole to have an unpleasant sound. that is why the flutist always removes his mouth from the hole before blowing. Unless he does so, the sound will not harmonize with that of the other instruments. It is rare to find a man who blows this hole well.' His observation was most perceptive, and truly interesting. The was a case of 'pioneers fearing the late-comers.' "
  • Some time later Kagemochi commented, "The sho is the tuned instrument, and you need only blow it. But with a flute, you must while blowing control the pitch with your breath. That is why a secret tradition exists relating to each hole. In addition, you must give each sound your own personality and spirit, and not only the fifth hole. It isn't enough to make it a rule not to blow directly into the fifth hole. If you play badly, the sound coming from any hole will be unpleasant. The skillful flutist will harmonize with the other instruments no matter which hold he blows. Any failure in harmonization of the melody is the fault of the player, and not a defect in the instrument."

>Top 220. 「何事も邊土は、卑しく頑なれども:

  • 「何事も邊土は、卑しく頑(かたくな)なれども、天王寺の舞樂のみ、都に恥ぢず」といふ。天王寺の伶人の申し侍りしは、「當寺の樂は、よく圖をしらべ合せて、物の音のめでたく整ほり侍ること、外よりも勝れたり。ゆゑは太子の御時の圖、今にはべる博士とす。いはゆる六時堂の前の鐘なり。そのこゑ、黄鐘調の最中(もなか)なり。寒暑に從ひて上り・下りあるべきゆゑに、二月涅槃會(ねはんゑ)より聖靈會(しゃうりゃうゑ)までの中間を指南とす。秘藏のことなり。この一調子をもちて、いづれの聲をもとゝのへ侍るなり」と申しき。
  • およそ鐘のこゑは黄鐘調なるべし。これ無常の調子、祇園精舍の無常院の聲なり。西園寺の鐘、黄鐘調に鑄らるべしとて、あまたたび鑄替へられけれども、かなはざりけるを、遠國(をんごく)よりたづね出されけり。法金剛院の鐘の聲、また黄鐘調なり。

220. I once ventured the opinion:

  • I once ventured the opinion, "Everything in the provinces is coarse ad ugly, except for bugaku at Ten'oji, which ranks with that in the capital." A musician from Ten'oji replied, "The music at this temple is superior in that the instruments are tuned to standard pitch and the sounds blend better than elsewhere. This is because the standard pitches going back to the time of Prince Shotoku are still preserved in the temple and used to guide us. I refer to the bell before what is popularly known at the Six Hours Hall. The sound of this bell is precisely the tone of oshiki. The pitch naturally raises or falls according to the temperature. We therefore take as our standard pitch the sound during the period in the second month between the anniversary of the death of Buddha and that of the death of Prince Shotoku. This is a secret tradition of our people. We use this sound to determine the value of all the others."
  • As a rule, the pitch of a bell should be the tone of oshiki. This tone evokes an atmosphere of transience. It was the tone of the bells at the Monastery of Mutability at the Gion Shoja. The bell for the Saionji was cast and recast again and again because they wished it to be in the oshiki tone, but in vain. A bell was eventually found in a distant province. The sound of the bells of the Jokongo-in is also in the oshiki tone.

>Top 221. 建治・弘安のころは、祭の日の放免:

  • 建治・弘安のころは、祭の日の放免(ほうべん)のつけものに、異樣なる紺の布四五反にて、馬をつくりて、尾髪には燈心をして、蜘蛛の糸(い)かきたる水干に附けて、歌の心などいひて渡りしこと、常に見及び侍りしなども、興ありてしたる心地にてこそ侍りしか」と、老いたる道志どもの、今日もかたりはべるな り。
  • この頃は、つけもの、年をおくりて過差ことの外になりて、萬の重きものを多くつけて、左右の袖を人にもたせて、みづからは鋒(ほこ)をだに持たず、息づき苦しむ有樣、いと見ぐるし。

221. Old officers of the imperial police still tell today how:

  • Old officers of the imperial police still tell today how "along about the Kenji and Koan eras, they used to make a funny-looking horse out of four or five lengths of dark-blue cloth as a decoration for the costume of the freed man on the day of the Festival, using lampwicks for the tail and mane. They attached this horse to the man's jacket, which was painted with a spider-web design, and he went along singing the poem on the subject. We always used to see him, and we thought he made a delightful sight."
  • In recent times the decorations have become more and more eleborate each year. So many kinds of heavy things are attached to the man's costume that his sleeves have to be held up by others, and the man himself, who does not even carry a pear, trudges along, breathing heavily, a most unappealing sight.

>Top 222. 竹谷の乘願房、東二條院へ參られたりけるに:

  • 竹谷の乘願房、東二條院へ參られたりけるに、「亡者の追善には、何事か勝利多き」と尋ねさせ給ひければ、「光明眞言、寶篋印陀羅尼」と申されたりけるを、 弟子ども、「いかにかくは申し給ひけるぞ。念佛に勝ること候まじとは、など申し給はぬぞ」と申しければ、「わが宗なれば、さこそ申さまほしかりつれども、 まさしく、稱名を追福に修して巨益(こやく)あるべしと説ける經文を見及ばねば、何に見えたるぞと、重ねて問はせ給はば、いかゞ申さむと思ひて、本經のたしかなるにつきて、この眞言・陀羅尼をば申しつるなり」とぞ申されける。

222. When Jogambo of Takedani visited the Eastern Nijo palace:

  • When Jogambo of Takedani visited the Eastern Nijo palace, the former empress asked him, "Which ceremony for the dead is the most efficacious?" He replied, "The komyo shingon and the hokyoin darani." later, a disciple asked him, "Why did you say that? Why could you not say that nothing is superior to the nembutsu?" He replied, "I should gladly have said so, considering our sect, but I have never seen any sacred text which clearly states that saying the Nembutsu at a memorial service is especially effective. I realized that I should be hard pressed for tan answer if Her Majesty pursued the matter and asked what authority I had for recommending the nembutsu. I decided therefore to mention the shingon and darani for which unimpeachable authority exists."

>Top 223. 田鶴の大臣殿は、童名たづ君なり:

  • 田鶴の大臣殿は、童名たづ君なり。「鶴を飼ひ給ひける故に」と申すは僻事なり。

223. Tazu no Oidono had for his boyhood name:

  • Tazu no Oidono had for his boyhood name Tazukimi. It is mistaken to suppose that he was given this name because he raised cranes.

>Top 224. 陰陽師有宗入道、鎌倉より上りて:

  • 陰陽師有宗入道、鎌倉より上りて、尋ねまうできたりしが、まづさし入りて、「この庭の徒らに廣き事、淺ましく、あるべからぬことなり。道を知るものは、植うる事をつとむ。細道ひとつ殘して、みな畠に作りたまへ」と諫め侍りき。
  • 誠に、すこしの地をも徒らに置かむことは、益(やく)なきことなり。食ふ物・藥種などうゑおくべし。

224. The Lay Priest Arimune, the yin-yang diviner:

  • The Lay Priest Arimune, the yin-yang diviner, came up to the capital from Kamakura and paid me a visit. As soon as he entered the house he reprimanded me. "Your garden is preposterously big. It's shocking, and quite unforgivable. An adept of the Way should exert himself to plant useful crops. You should leave only a single narrow path to your gate and cultivate the rest."
  • Truly, it is a wicked thing to allow the smallest parcel of land to lie idle. One should plant vegetables, medicinal herbs, and so on.

>Top 225. 多久資が申しけるは:

  • 多久資(おおのひさすけ)が申しけるは、通憲入道、舞の手のうちに興ある事どもを選びて、磯の禪師といひける女に教へて、舞はせけり。白き水干に、鞘卷をささせ、烏帽子をひき入れたりければ、男舞とぞいひける。禪師がむすめ靜といひける、この藝をつげり。これ白拍子の根源なり。佛神の本縁をうたふ。その後、源光行、多くの事をつくれり。後鳥羽院の御作もあり。龜菊に教へさせ給ひけるとぞ。
  • さやまき, 鞘巻: dagger

225. O no Hisasuke relate that the Lay Priest Michinori:

  • O no Hisasuke relate that the Lay Priest Michinori selected the most interesting dance steps and taught a woman called Io no Zenji to perform them. She appeared in a white cloak with a dagger at her side and a man's hat on her head; that is why her dances were known as "men's dances." The daughter of this Zenji, a woman named Shizuka followed her in this profession. The is the origin of the shirabyoshi, women performers who sang stories about the Buddhas and the gods. In later times Minamoto no Mitsuyuki composed many pieces for them. there are also pieces written by the Emperor Go-Tgoba. It is said he taught them to Kamegiku.

>Top 226. 後鳥羽院の御時、信濃前司行長稽古:

  • 後鳥羽院の御時、信濃前司行長稽古の譽ありけるが、樂府の御論議の番に召されて、七徳の舞を二つ忘れたりければ、五徳の冠者と異名をつきにけるを、心憂き事にして、學問をすてて遁世したりけるを、慈鎭和尚、一藝ある者をば下部までも召しおきて、不便(ふびん)にせさせ給ひければ、この信濃入道を扶持し給ひけり。
  • この行長入道、平家物語を作りて、生佛(しょうぶつ)といひける盲目に教へて語らせけり。さて、山門のことを、殊にゆゝしく書けり。九郎判官の事は委しく知りて書き載せたり。蒲冠者の事は、能く知らざりけるにや、多くの事どもを記しもらせり。武士の事・弓馬のわざは、生佛、東國のものにて、武士に問ひ聞きて書かせけり。かの生佛がうまれつきの聲を、今の琵琶法師は學びたるなり。
  • ふびんにす, 不便にす: 面倒を見る,
  • 蒲冠者: 源範頼

226. During the reign of the Emperor Go-Toba:

  • During the reign of the Emperor Go-Toba, a former official from Shinano named Yukinaga enjoyed a reputation for learning. Once, when he was chosen to participate in a discussion on the Yëh-fu, he forgot two of the military virtues described in the poem Dance of the Seven Virtues. He accordingly acquired the nickname of Young Man of the Five Virtues. This nickname so distressed him that he abandoned scholarship and became a priest. The priest Jichin, who made a practice of hiring men with artistic talent even as menials and treating them kindly employed this lay priest of Shinano.
  • Yukinaga wrote the Heike Monogatari and taught a blind man named Shobutsu to recite it. That is why the temple on the mountain is described with special dignity. He wrote about Yoshitsune with a detailed knowledge, but omitted many facts about Noriyori, perhaps because he did not know much about him. Shobutsu, a native of the Eastern Provinces, questioned the soldiers from his part of the country about military matters and feats of arms, then got Yukinaga to write them down. Biwa entertainers today imitate what was Shobutsu's natural voice.

>Top 227. 六時禮讃は、法然上人の弟子:

  • 六時禮讃は、法然上人の弟子、安樂といひける僧、經文を集めて作りて勤めにしけり。その後太秦の善觀房といふ僧、節博士(ふしはかせ)を定めて、聲明になせり。「一念の念佛」の最初なり。後嵯峨院の御代より始まれり。法事讚も、同じく善觀房はじめたるなり。

227. The Six Daily Hours of Worship:

  • The Six Daily Hours of Worship was compiled from various sacred books by a priest named Anraku, a disciple of the High Priest Honen, for use in services. Later, a priest named Zenkambo from Uzumasa set it to music and put it in the form of a Buddhist hymn. This marked the beginning of the Single Nembutsu. It began during the reign of the Emperor Go-Saga. The Hymns on the Law were also created by the same Zenkambo.

>Top 228. 千本の釋迦念佛は:

  • 千本の釋迦念佛は、文永のころ、如輪上人、これを始められけり。

228. The nembutsu ceremony at the Shaka Hall:

  • The nembutsu ceremony at the Shaka Hall on Sembon Avenue was begun about the Bun'en era by the High Priest Nyorin.

>Top 229. よき細工は、少し鈍き刀を:

  • よき細工は、少し鈍き刀をつかふといふ。妙觀が刀はいたく立たず。

229. They say that a good carver uses a slightly dull knife:

  • They say that a good carver uses a slightly dull knife. Myokan's knife cut very poorly.

>Top 230. 五條の内裏には妖物ありけり:

  • 五條の内裏には妖物ありけり。藤大納言殿 語られ侍りしは、殿上人ども、黑戸にて碁を打ちけるに、御簾をかゝげて見る者あり。「誰(た)そ」と見向きたれば、狐、人のやうについゐて、さしのぞきたるを、「あれ狐よ」ととよまれて、まどひ逃げにけり。未練の狐、化け損じけるにこそ。
  • た, 誰: who

230. They say there used to be a ghost in the Gojo Palace:

  • They say there used to be a ghost in the Gojo Palace. The Fujiwara major counselor related that once, when the courtiers were playing go in the Black Chamber, someone lifted the bamboo blinds and peeped in. "Who is it?" they cried and turned to look at it. A fox was squatting there, just like a man, watching them. At the shout of "It's a fox!" the creature became rattled and ran away. It must have been an inexperienced fox, a failure at working spells.

>Top 231. 園の別當入道は、雙なき庖丁者なり:

  • 園の別當入道は、雙(さう)なき庖丁者なり。ある人の許にて、いみじき鯉を出したりければ、みな人、別當入道の庖丁を見ばやと思へども、たやすくうち出でむも如何とためらひけるを、別當入道さる人にて、「この程百日の鯉を切り侍るを、今日缺き侍るべきにあらず、まげて申しうけん」とて切られける、いみじくつきづきしく、興ありて人ども思へりける。』と、ある人北山太政入道殿に語り申されたりければ、「かやうの事、おのれは世にうるさく覺ゆるなり。『切りぬ べき人なくば、給(た)べ。切らん』と言ひたらんは、猶よかりなん。南条(なじょう)、百日の鯉を切らんぞ」と宣ひたりし、をかしくおぼえしと、人のかたり給ひける、いとをかし。
  • 大かた、ふるまひて興あるよりも、興なくて安らかなるが、まさりたることなり。賓客の饗應なども、ついでをかしき樣にとりなしたるも、誠によけれども、唯その事となくてとり出でたる、いとよし。人に物を取らせたるも、ついでなくて、「これを奉らん」と云ひたる、まことの志なり。惜しむ由して乞はれむと思ひ、勝負の負けわざにことつけなどしたる、むつかし。
  • いみじ: magnificent

231. The Sono chief of the imperial police and lay priest:

  • The Sono chief of the imperial police and lay priest was an incomparable cook. Once, when a magnificent carp had been offered to a certain household, everybody thought this would be a fine opportunity to see Sono display his skill at carving, but they hesitated, uncertain whether or not they dared propose this to him. But the chief, being the kind of man he was, said, "I have been carving a carp every day for the last one hundred days, I mustn't miss today. By all means let me have it." He proceeded to slice the carp. Everybody was amused, finding his response most appropriate to the occasion. But when a certain person told the Kitayama prime minister what had happened, he said, "I find the story most contrived. How much better it would have been if he had said, 'If you have no one else to carve it, le me have the carp. I'll carve it.' Why should anyone have been slicing carp fro a hundred days?" The man who told me the story said it had struck him as amusing, which it certainly was.
  • As a rule, it is preferable to act in a natural, unaffected manner, rather than achieve an amusing but contrived effect. It is excellent, when entertaining an unexpected guest for dinner, to act as if he had arrived most opportunely, but equally good to produce the dinner without making any special fuss. It shows true friendship to offer gifts even when there is no occasion, saying simply, "This if for you." It gives an unpleasant feeling if you act as if you are reluctant to part with the gift, in the hope that the recipient will appreciate it more, or if you pretend to be giving it as a forfeit for a bet you have lost.

>Top 232. すべて人は、無智無能なるべきものなり:

  • すべて人は、無智無能なるべきものなり。ある人の子の、見ざまなど惡しからぬが、父の前にて、人と物いふとて、史書の文をひきたりし、賢(さか)しくは聞えしかども、尊者の前にては、然(さ)らずともと覺えしなり。
  • またある人の許にて、琵琶法師の物語をきかんとて、琵琶を召しよせたるに、柱(ぢう)のひとつ落ちたりしかば、「作りてつけよ」といふに、ある男の中に、あしからずと見ゆるが、「ふるき柄杓(ひさく)の柄(え)ありや」などいふを見れば、爪をおふしたり。琵琶など彈くにこそ。めくら法師の琵琶、その沙汰にもおよばぬことなり。道に心えたる由にやと、かたはらいたかりき。「ひさくの柄は、ひもの木とかやいひて、よからぬものに」とぞ、或人仰せられし。
  • 若き人は、少しの事も、よく見え、わろく見ゆるなり。

232. Men should be ignorant and without talent:

  • Men should be ignorant and without talent. A certain man had a son who was quite presentable in appearance, but when he engaged in conversation with people in his father's presence, he would quote passages from the Book of History. He sounded very learned, but he might better have refrained from such erudition before his seniors.
  • Again, a biwa had been brought to a certain man's house so that the assembled persons might hear a minstrel recite. It was noticed when that a fret was missing. The host commanded, "Somebody make another one and fix it to the instrument." One of the men present - decent-looking person - said, "Have you an old ladle here? I'd like to use the handle." I notice then that he had long fingernails; obviously he played the biwa. But the biwa, when played by a blind minstrel, does not need anything so complicated. The man must have suggested the ladle to show off his knowledge of the art; it was embarrassing even as an outsider to listen to him. The handle of a ladle, as somebody pointed out, is not suitable as a fret for the biwa because it is made of inferior cypress wood.
  • The impression a young man creates - whether good or bad - is determined by even such trivial instances.

>Top 233. 萬の科あらじと思はば:

  • 萬の科(とが)あらじと思はば、何事にも誠ありて、人を分かず恭(うやうや)しく、言葉すくなからんには如かじ。男女・老少、みなさる人こそよけれども、ことに若くかたちよき人の、言うるはしきは、忘れがたく、思ひつかるゝものなり。
  • よろづのとがは、馴れたるさまに上手めき、所得(ところえ) たるけしきして、人をないがしろにするにあり。
  • とが, 咎･科: mistake

233. If you wish to avoid mistakes of any kind:

  • If you wish to avoid mistakes of any kind, there is no better way than to be sincere in whatever you do, respectful to every man without distinction, and scant of words. Anybody - whether a man or woman, old or young - does well to maintain a purity of speech, but his quality in a young, handsome person produces an especially unforgettable, even seductive, appeal.
  • All mistakes originate with people's acting like experts thoroughly familiar with a subject, and looking down with an air of superiority on others.

>Top 234. 人の物を問ひたるに:

  • 人の物を問ひたるに、知らずしもあらじ、有りのまゝにいはむはをこがましとにや、心まどはすやうに返り事したる、よからぬ事なり。知りたる事も、猶さだかにと思ひてや問ふらん。また、まことに知らぬ人もなどか無からん。うらゝかに言ひ聞かせたらんは、おとなしく聞えなまし。
  • 人はいまだ聞き及ばぬことを、わが知りたる儘に、「さてもその人の事の淺ましき」などばかり言ひやりたれば、「いかなる事のあるにか」と推し返し問ひにやるこそ、こゝろづきなけれ。世に古りぬる事をも、おのづから聞きもらす事もあれば、覺束なからぬやうに告げやりたらん、惡しかるべきことかは。
  • かやうの事は、ものなれぬ人のあることなり。
  • ものなれぬ: uncouth

234. If someone asks you a question:

  • If someone asks you a question you should never put him off with evasions, telling yourself, "I can't believe he doesn't know. I'd be a fool to give him a straightforward answer." Perhaps the man does know, but is asking in he hope of more precise information. Besides, can you be sure that not one person is really ignorant? It will sound sweeter-tempered if you answer him plainly.
  • How annoying it is for the other person if you write about something you know but he has not yet heard about, telling, "What on earth has happened?" Even if the matter to which you allude has become common knowledge, some people naturally will have missed hearing it. You can hardly go wrong if you inform your correspondent what has happened in quite unambiguous terms.
  • Such lapses are typical of uncouth persons.

>Top 235. 主ある家には、すゞろなる人:

  • 主ある家には、すゞろなる人、心の儘に入り來る事なし。主なき所には、道行人みだりに立ち入り、狐・梟やうの者も、人氣(げ)にせかれねば、所得顔に入り住み、木精(こだま)など云ふ、けしからぬ形もあらはるゝものなり。
  • また、鏡には色・形なき故に、よろづの影きたりてうつる。鏡に色・形あらましかば、うつらざらまし。
  • 虚空よくものを容る。われらが心に、念々のほしきまゝに来たり浮ぶも、心といふものの無きにやあらん。心にぬしあらましかば、胸のうちに若干(そこばく)のことは入りきたらざらまし。
  • すずろ: むやみやたら, 何の関係もない

235. A man with no business will never intrude into:

  • A man with no business will never intrude into an occupied house simply because he so pleases. If the house is vacant, on the other hand, travelers journeying along the road will enter with impunity, and even creatures like foxes and owls, undisturbed by any human presence, will take up their abodes, acting as if the place belonged to hem. Tree spirits and other apparitions will also manifest themselves.
  • It is the same with mirrors: being without color or shape of their own, they reflect all manner of forms. If mirrors had color and shape of their own, they would probably not reflect other things.
  • Emptiness accommodates everything. I wonder if thoughts of all kinds intrude themselves at will on our minds because what we call our minds are vacant? If our minds were occupied, surely so many things would not enter them.

>Top 236. 丹波に出雲といふ所あり:

  • 丹波に出雲といふ所あり。大社を遷して、めでたく造れり。志太の某(なにがし)とかやしる所なれば、秋の頃、聖海上人、その外も人數多(あまた)誘ひて、「いざ給へ、出雲拜みに。かいもちひ召させん」とて、具しもていきたるに、おのおの拜みて、ゆゝしく信起したり。
  • 御前なる獅子・狛犬、そむきて後ざまに立ちたりければ、上人いみじく感じて、「あなめでたや。この獅子の立ちやういと珍し。深き故あらむ」と涙ぐみて、 「いかに殿ばら、殊勝の事は御覽じとがめずや。無下なり」といへば、おのおのあやしみて、「まことに他に異なりけり。都のつとにかたらん」などいふに、上人なほゆかしがりて、おとなしく物知りぬべき顔したる神官を呼びて、「この御社の獅子の立てられやう、定めてならひあることにはべらむ。ちと承らばや」といはれければ、「そのことに候。さがなき童どもの仕りける、奇怪に候ことなり」とて、さし寄りてすゑ直して往にければ、上人の感涙いたづらになりにけり。

236. In Tamba there is a place called Izumo:

  • In Tamba there is a place called Izumo where they have built a splendid shrine in imitation of the Great Shrine. This domain is ruled over by a certain Shida. One autumn he invited the holy man Shokai and many other people to see him. "Come," he said, "let us worship at the Izumo Shrine. We'll have a feast of rice cakes too." He led them to the shrine, where they all worshiped and felt stirred by religious feeling.
  • The stone line and dog before the shrine were set up back to back, facing away. This much impressed the holy man. "Ah, this is splendid!" he said in tears. "These lions are placed most unusually. There must be a profound reason." He turned to the others. "Gentlemen, are you not filled with amazement by this extraordinary sight? How insensitive of you!" Each of them accordingly expressed his astonishment: "There is nothing like it elsewhere. We'll be sure to tell people when we return to the capital." The holy man, all the more fascinated, called to an elderly Shinto priest who looked knowledgeable and asked, "I am sure some tradition must account for the placing of the stone lions at this shrine. Would you kindly tell me a bit about it?" The priest answered, "The fact of the matter is, they were put that way by some mischievous boys. It's a disgrace." He went up to the lions, restore them to their normal position, and went away. The holy man's tears of emotion had been for nothing.

>Top 237. 柳筥に据うるものは:

  • 柳筥(やないばこ)に据(す)うるものは、縦ざま、横ざま、物によるべきにや。「卷物などは縦ざまにおきて、木の間より紙捻(ひね)りを通して結ひつく。硯も縦ざまにおきたる、筆ころばず、よし」と、三條右大臣殿仰せられき。
  • 勘解由小路(かでのこうぢ)の家の能書の人々は、假にも縦ざまにおかるゝことなし、必ず横ざまにすゑられ侍りき。

237. I wonder if the placing of objects on a willow-work stand :

  • I wonder if the placing of objects on a willow-work stand - whether lengthwise or sideways - depends on the object? Scrolls are placed lengthwise, parallel to the strips of willow, and are tied to the stand by passing a string of twisted paper through the spaces between the slats. Sanjo, the minister of the left, said, "It is good to place inkstones lengthwise too, because it keeps the brushes from rolling off."
  • The calligraphers of the Kadenokoji school, however, never place their inkstones lengthwise, even casually. They always place the inkstone sideways on the stand.

>Top 238. 御隨身近友が自讚とて、七箇條:

  • 御隨身近友が自讚とて、七箇條かきとゞめたる事あり。みな馬藝(ばげい)、させることなき事どもなり。その例をおもひて、自讚のこと七つあり。
  • 一、人あまた連れて花見ありきしに、最勝光院の邊にて、男の馬を走らしむるを見て、「今一度馬を馳するものならば、馬倒れて、落つべし、しばし見給へ」とて、立ちどまりたるに、また馬を馳す。とゞむる所にて、馬を引きたふして、乘れる人泥土の中にころび入る。その詞のあやまらざることを、人みな感ず。
  • 一、當代いまだ坊におはしまししころ、萬里小路殿(までのこうぢどの)御所なりしに、堀河大納言殿伺候し給ひし御(み)曹司へ、用ありて參りたりしに、論語の四・五・六の卷をくりひろげ給ひて、「たゞ今御所にて、紫の朱(あけ)うばふ事を惡むといふ文を、御覽ぜられたき事ありて、御本を御覽ずれども、御覽じ出されぬなり。『なほよくひき見よと』仰せ事にて、求むるなり」と仰せらるゝに、「九の卷のそこそこの程に侍る」と申したりしかば、「あなうれ し」とて、もてまゐらせ給ひき。かほどの事は、兒どもも常のことなれど、昔の人は、いさゝかの事をもいみじく自讚したるなり。後鳥羽院の御歌に、「袖と袂と一首の中にあしかりなんや」と、定家卿に尋ね仰せられたるに、
    • 秋の野の草のたもとか花すゝきほに出でて招く袖と見ゆらむ
  • と侍れば、何事かさふらふべきと申されたることも、「時にあたりて本歌を覺悟す。道の冥加なり。高運なり」など、ことごとしく記しおかれ侍るなり。九條相國伊通公の款状にも、ことなる事なき題目をも書きのせて、自讚せられたり。
  • 一、常在光院の撞鐘(つきがね)の銘は、在兼卿の草なり。行房朝臣清書して、鑄型にうつさせんとせしに、奉行の入道、かの草をとり出でて見せ侍りしに、「花の外に夕をおくれば、聲百里に聞ゆ」といふ句あり。「陽唐の韻と見ゆるに、百里あやまりか」と申したりしを、「よくぞ見せ奉りける。おのれが高名なり」とて、筆者の許へいひやりたるに、「あやまり侍りけり。數行となほさるべし」と返り事はべりき。數行もいかなるべきにか、もし數歩(すほ)の意(こゝろ)か、覚束なし。
  • 一、人あまた伴ひて、三塔巡禮の事侍りしに、横川の常行堂のうち、龍華院と書ける古き額あり。「佐理・行成の間うたがひありて、いまだ決せずと申し 傳へたり」と、堂僧ことごとしく申し侍りしを、「行成ならば裏書あるべし。佐理ならば裏書あるべからず」といひたりしに、裏は塵つもり、蟲の巣にていぶせげなるを、よく掃き拭ひて、おのおの見侍りしに、行成位署・名字・年號、さだかに見え侍りしかば、人みな興に入る。
  • 一、那蘭陀寺にて、道眼ひじり談義せしに、八災といふ事を忘れて、「誰かおぼえ給ふ」と言ひしを、所化みな覺えざりしに、局のうちより、「これこれにや」といひ出したれば、いみじく感じ侍りき。
  • 一、賢助僧正に伴ひて、加持香水を見はべりしに、いまだ果てぬほどに、僧正かへりて侍りしに、陣の外まで僧都見えず。法師どもをかへして求めさするに、「同じさまなる大衆多くて、え求めあはず」といひて、いと久しくて出でたりしを、「あなわびし。それ、もとめておはせよ」といはれしに、かへり入りて、やがて具していでぬ。
  • 一、二月(きさらぎ)十五日、月明き夜、うち更けて千本の寺にまうでて、後より入りて、一人顔深くかくして聽聞し侍りしに、優なる女の、姿・匂ひ、人よりことなるが、わけ入りて膝にゐかかれば、にほひなどもうつるばかりなれば、敏あしと思ひて、すり退きたるに、なほ居寄りて、おなじさまなれば、立ちぬ。その後、ある御所ざまのふるき女房の、そゞろごと言はれし序(ついで) に、「無下に色なき人におはしけりと、見おとし奉ることなんありし。情なしと恨み奉る人なんある」と宣ひ出したるに、 「更にこそ心得はべらね。」と申して止みぬ。
  • この事、後に聞き侍りしは、かの聽聞の夜、御局のうちより、人の御覽じ知りて、さぶらふ女房を、つくり立てて出し給ひて、「便よくば、言葉などかけんものぞ。そのありさま參りて申せ。興あらん」とて、はかり給ひけるとぞ。

238. Chikatomo, the bodyguard of the retired emperor:

  • Chikatomo, the bodyguard of the retired emperor, wrote a document in seven articles which he called "Self-Praise." It is taken up entirely with trivial matters relating to horsemanship. Following this precedent, I have written my own seven articles of "self-praise."
    1. Once when I wen waling with a crowd of people, admiring the cherry blossoms I saw near the Saishoko-in a man galloping on a horse. I said, "f he gallops that horse once more the horse will collapse and he will fall off. Just keep watching for a while." The man raced the horse again as we stood there. When he stopped he pulled back the reins, only to overturn the horse and himself roll off into the mud. Everyone was impressed by the accuracy of my prediction.
    2. When the present emperor was still crown prince, he had his residence at the Madenokoji palace. Having business there, I visited the room where the Horikawa major counselor was waiting in attendance. He had the fourth, fifth, and sixth scrolls of the Analects opened before him, and explained, "Just now His Highness wished to consult the passage where it says, 'I hate to see purple steal the glory from vermilion.' He examined the text, but not findings the passage, commanded me to continue searching until I found it. I am still looking." said, "You will find it at such and such a place in the ninth scroll." "That's wonderful," he said, and tool the scroll to His Highness.
      Such a display of knowledge would not be extraordinary even for a child, but people in the past used to praise themselves for he most trivial accomplishments. When the Emperor Go-Toba asked Lord Teika, "Is it bad to have two words for sleeve, sode and tamoto in one poem?" Teika replied, "There is a poem, 'A the flowering catkins the tamoto of the grasses in the autumn fields? When they come into ear they look like sode beckoning.' In view of this precedent, what objection could there be?" Teika described the event pompously, "It was a province bestowed by the Way of Poetry that I should have remembered the relevant poem in time. truly I enjoyed great good fortune." The memorial on his achievements presented to the throne by His Excellency the Kujo Prime Minister Koremichi, lists as matters for self-praise various unimpressive items.
    3. The inscription on the bell at the Jozaiko-in was drafted by Lord Arikane. Yukifusa no Ason wrote the fair copy, and when they were at last about to cast the bell, the lay priest in charge took out the rough draft and showed it to me. It contained the line, "Far beyond the blossoms, the voice of the bell, announcing evening, is heard one hundred ri." I said, "I wonder if 'one hundred ri' is a mistake? The poem seems to be the rhyme scheme of yang0t'ang." The priest said, "I am glad I showed it to you. This will redound to my credit." When he enquired of the author, the reply came from Arikane, "I made a mistake. You should change 'one hundred ri' to several hang.' " I wonder what "several hang" would mean. Several paces, perhaps? It is not clear.
    4. Once, when I went on a pilgrimage to the Three Pagodas in the company of a large party, I discovered inside the Jogyo Hall at Yokawa an old plaque bearing the words Ryuge-in. A prist at the temple explained officiously, "Scholars have long attempted unsuccessfully to determine whether the plaque was written by Sari or Kozei." I said, "If it is by Kozei, it should be signed on the back. If it is by Sari, it will not be signed." The back was covered with dust and filthy with cobwebs, but when it was carefully cleaned and wiped, we could all see Kozei's title, name, and the date, clearly inscribed. Everybody was impressed.
    5. When the holy man Dogen preached at the Naranda Temple, he forgot what the Eight Disasters were. He asked, "Dos anyone remember?", but his pupils had all forgotten. At this point I spoke up form the congregation and asked, "I wonder if they might be such and such?" at which everyone marveled.
    6. Once, in the company of the Abbot Kenjo, I witnessed the incarnation over the perfumed water. the abbot left before the ceremony was over, but could not find his attendant priest when he got outside the entrance. He sent some other priests back into the hall to look for him, but after a long wait they reappeared only to say, "There were so many people all dressed alike that we couldn't find him." Thereupon the abbot said to me, "How provoking! You go and look for him." I went back inside and came out with the man immediately.
    7. On the fifteenth day of the second month, a night of bright moonlight, I wen late to worship at the temple in Sembon, and was listening to the ceremony, having entered by the back door alone and heavily shading my face, when a beautiful woman of unusually distinguished appearance made her way into the assemblage and sat down leaning against my knee, so close that I thought her perfume would be transferred to my robe. This would have been embarrassing, so I slipped unobtrusively to the side, only for her to edge up against me again as before. I finally got up. Later, an old gentlewoman, in service with a certain noble family, said to me in the course of her gossip about various unimportant matters, "Something happed that made me look down on you for being a terrible stick. there's someone who is still annoyed with you for your coldness." I said, "I haven't the least idea what you are talking about," and let the matter drop.
  • I subsequntly learned that on the night of the ceremony a certain person sitting in the special section of the temple reserved for he nobility noticed me in the congregation and, dressing up a waiting woman suitably, sent her to me with the directions, "Speak to him if things seem to be going well, and when you get back tell us what he does in return. This ought to be amusing." A trick had been played on me.

>Top 239. 八月十五日、九月十三日は:

  • 八月(はづき)十五日、九月(ながつき)十三日は婁宿(ろうしゅく)なり。この宿、清明なる故に、月をもてあそぶに良夜とす。

239. The fifteenth day of the eighth month:

  • The fifteenth day of the eighth month and the thirteenth day of the ninth month are governed by the constellation Lou. This constellation being a particularly bright one, these are good nights for enjoying the moon.

>Top 240. しのぶの浦の蜑のみるめも所狹く:

  • しのぶの浦の蜑(あま)のみるめも所狹く、くらぶの山も守る人しげからんに、わりなく通はむ心の色こそ、淺からずあはれと思ふふしぶしの、忘れがたき事も多からめ。親・はらからゆるして、ひたぶるに迎へすゑたらむ、いとまばゆかりぬべし。
  • 世にあり侘(わ)ぶる女の、似げなき老法師、怪しの東人なりとも、賑ははしきにつきて、「誘ふ水あらば」など云ふを、仲人、いづかたも心にくきさまに言ひなしcて、知られず、知らぬ人を迎へもて來らむあいなさよ。何事をかうち出づる言の葉にせむ。年月のつらさをも、「分けこし葉山の」などもあひかたらはむこそ、 つきせぬ言の葉にてもあらめ。
  • すべて、よその人のとりまかなひたらん、うたて、心づきなき事多かるべし。よき女ならんにつけても、品くだり、みにくく、年も長けなむ男は、「かく怪しき身のために、あたら身をいたづらになさんやは」と、人も心劣りせられ、わが身はむかひ居たらんも、影はづかしくおぼえなん。いとこそ、あいなからめ。
  • 梅の花かうばしき夜の朧月にたゝずみ、御垣(みかき)が原の露分け出でむありあけの空も、わが身ざまに忍ばるべくもなからむ人は、たゞ色好まざらむにはしかじ。

240. Deep indeed is the love of a man :

  • Deep indeed is the love of a man who valiantly persists in his courtship though "the observant eyes of the fisherwomen on the strand of Shinobu are bothersome," and "even in the darkness of Kurabu Mountain the watchers are many." Such an affair will surely leave the girl with many unforgettable memories. But if her parents and brothers permit the courtship and are only too glad to welcome the young man into the family, it is most disappointing. If a woman, hard pressed financially, announces her intention of marrying any man with money who will have her, even an old priest twice her age, or a crude easterner, a go-between will soon be describing the match to both parties in most attractive terms, and some man will eventually marry a woman who is no less a stranger to him than he is to her. What a sad state of affairs! What can they possibly have to talk about? There would be an inexhaustible fund of stories to draw on if they could recollect the years and months of hardship before they came together or the difficulties encountered in the path of love.
  • As a rule, marriages arranged by another person are likely to involve many disagreeable things. Even if a woman is beautiful and her husband of low birth, ugly, and old, he may well look down on her, thinking, "Would any woman be likely to throw her life away on a wretch like me?" He himself, when confronted by his new wife, will feel embarrassed about this appearance, making things all the worse.
  • The man who has never hesitated under a cloudy moon on a night fragrant with plum blossom, or has no memories of the dawn moon in the sky as he started to walk through the dewy gardens inside the palace gate, had better have nothing to do with love.

>Top 241. 望月の圓なる事は:

  • 望月の圓(まどか)なる事は、暫くも住(じょう)せず、やがて虧けぬ。心とゞめぬ人は、一夜の中(うち)に、さまで變る樣も見えぬにやあらん。病のおもるも、住する隙なくして、死期(しご)すでに近し。されども、いまだ病急ならず、死に赴かざる程は、常住平生の念に習ひて、生の中(うち)に多くの事を成じて後、しづかに道を修せむと思ふ程に、病をうけて死門に臨む時、所願一事も成ぜず。いふかひなくて、年月の懈怠(けだい)を悔いて、この度もしたち直りて命を全くせば、夜を日につぎて、この事かの事、怠らず成じてんと、願ひをおこすらめど、やがて、重(おも)りぬれば、われにもあらず、とり亂して果てぬ。 この類のみこそあらめ。この事まづ人々急ぎ心におくべし。
  • 所願を成じてのち、いとまありて道にむかはむとせば、所願盡くべからず。如幻の生の中に、何事をかなさん。すべて所願皆妄想なり。所願心にきたらば、妄心迷亂すと知りて、一事をもなすべからず。直ちに萬事を放下して道に向ふとき、さはりなく、所作なくて、心身ながくしづかなり。

241. The full moon does not keep its roundness even a little while:

  • The full moon does not keep its roundness even a little while; it at once begins to wane. The man indifferent to such things may not see much change in the course of a single night. The worsening of an illness too does not pause in its headlong course, until the hour of death approaches. However, as long as a man's illness is not so critical that he is actually confronted by death, he grows accustomed to the idea that life will go on much the same forever, and only after he has accomplished many things in this life will he turn to quiet practice of the Way. But when a man is suddenly taken ill and faced by death, he realizes he has accomplished not one of this plans. He helplessly regrets the years and months of laziness, and resolves that if he should recover this time and live out his full life, he will unflaggingly strive days and nights on end to accomplish this or that. The sickness in the meanwhile grows steadily worse, until he lose consciousness and, in a state of violent agitation, breathes his last. This is true of the vast majority of people. Everyone should waste no time in taking this to heart.
  • If you imagine that once you have accomplished your ambitions you will have time to turn to the Way, you will discover that your ambitions never come to an end. In our dreamlike existence, what is there for us to accomplish? All ambitions are vain delusions. You should realize that, if desires form in your heart, false delusions are leading you astray; you should do nothing to fulfill them. Only when you abandon everything without hesitation and turn to the Way will your mind and body, unhindered and unagitated, enjoy lasting peace.

>Top 242. とこしなへに、違順につかはるゝ事は、偏に:

  • とこしなへに、違順につかはるゝ事は、偏(ひとえ)に苦樂の爲なり。樂といふは好み愛する事なり。これを求むる事止(や)む時無し。樂欲(ごうよく)するところ、一つには名なり。名に二種あり。行跡と才藝との誉(ほまれ)なり。二つには色欲、三つには味(あじわい)なり。萬の願ひ、この三つには如かず。これ顛倒の相より起りて、若干(そこばく)の煩ひあり。求めざらむには如かじ。

242. Man is eternally swayed by the pleasing:

  • Man is eternally swayed by the pleasing or displeasing circumstances around him, thanks to his constant preoccupation with pleasure and pain. Pleasure is liking and loving. We never cease our pursuit of this happiness. The pleasure we desire first of all is that of fame. there are two kinds of fame; glory derived from one's conduct, or from one's talents. The next pleasure desired is that of lust, the third of appetite. None of man's the desires can equal these three. They arise from a perverted view of life, and cause innumerable griefs. It is best not to seek them.

>Top 243. 八つになりし年、父に問ひて云はく:

  • 八つになりし年、父に問ひて云はく、「佛はいかなるものにか候らん」といふ。父が云はく、「佛には人のなりたるなり」と。また問ふ、「人は何として 佛にはなり候やらん」と。父また、「佛のをしへによりてなるなり」とこたふ。また問ふ、「教へ候ひける佛をば、何がをしへ候ひける」と。また答ふ、「それもまた、さきの佛のをしへによりてなり給ふなり」と。又問ふ、「その教へはじめ候ひける第一の佛は、いかなる佛にか候ひける」といふとき、父、「空よりや 降りけん、土よりやわきけん」といひて、笑ふ。
  • 「問ひつめられて、え答へずなり侍りつ」と諸人(しょにん) にかたりて興じき。
  • 諸人=庶人、もろびと

243. When I turned eight years old:

  • When I turned eight years old I asked my father, "What sort of thing is a Buddha?" My father said, "A Buddha is what a man becomes." I asked then, "How does a man become a Buddha?" My father replied, "By following the teachings of Buddha." "Then, who taught the Buddha to teach?" He again replied, "He followed the teachings of the Buddha before him." I asked again "What kind of Buddha was the first Buddha who began to teach?" At this my father laughed and answered, "I suppose he fell from the sky or else he sprang up out of the earth."
  • My father told other people, "He drove me into a corner, and I was stuck for an answer." But his was amused.
Comment
  • Tsurezure-gusa (Essays in Idleness) written by Kenko Yoshida, 13-14C Buddhist is one of the most popular classic essay. It is surprising that the work can get through or resonated to the sentiment of modern Japanese.
  • The traslator, Donald Keene born in NY, American-Japanese, has been a superior sympathizer of Japanse culture and literature; unfortuantely he died on 24 Feb., 2019.
  • 12-13Cに吉田兼好によって書かれた徒然草は、もっとも人気のある古典の一つである。その随筆は現代の日本人の心に響く作品であるとは驚きである。
  • 訳者のDonal Keeneは、NY生まれで日本に帰化した日本文化と日本文学の卓越した理解者である。残念ながら2019/2/24に死去された。

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