Return to Curiosities of Lotus Asia.
| 『東方』製作者・ZUN氏自らがストーリーを執筆し、唖采弦二氏による幻想的な挿絵で贈る第19話。大量発生した蝉の鳴き声のなか、霖之助が語った蝉にまつわる神秘とは…!? | Written by the series creator ZUN himself, and with the fantastical insert pictures of Genji Asai, here is the 19th chapter. Within the vast number of cicada calls, what is the myth Rinnosuke tells about the revered cicada? |
| 奇跡の蝉 | Miraculous Cicada |
|---|---|
| 朝夕の風に涼しさが混じる。冥界から来たご先祖様のお盆観光ツアーも、一頻り顕界を堪能すると満足げに戻って行った。これから昼の暑さも段々と落ち着いていく事だろう。 | The coolness of morning and evening winds mix. The Obon sightseeing tours of the ancestors from the Netherworld have come to the land of the living, enjoyed themselves, and contentedly returned home. From here on, the heat of the afternoon will gradually lessen as time passes. |
| 「何か最近、蝉が五月蠅くないか？ こんなに奇妙な鳴き声の蝉も知らないし」 | "Haven't the cicadas been really loud lately? I've never heard of a cicada with such a weird call." |
| 隣で本を読んでいた魔理沙は、一言そう言うと乱暴に本を閉じ、帽子の鐔で耳を押さえた。確かに、蝉が異常に五月蠅く、しかも余り聞いた事の無い鳴き声だった。だが、僕は苛つく事もなく、彼女に聞こえるように少し大きめの声で言った。 | Marisa, who was reading a book, closed it violently when she heard this, and fastened the brim of her hat around her ears. Indeed, the cicadas were abnormally loud, and indeed it was not a call she had heard much before. However I did not get flustered, and repeated it again, this time in a slightly louder voice. |
| 「ああ、今年は奇跡の蝉の年なんだよ」 | "Yeah, this year is the year of the miraculous cicada, you know." |
| 「へえ、それはどういう意味だ？」 | "Oh, what is the meaning of that phrase?" |
| 僕はこの蝉の鳴き声を知っている。このけたたましさを11年前にも味わった事がある。 | I know the cry of these cicadas. I heard their shrieking 11 years ago. |
| 11年前の夏、いつもの様に不良在庫の整理をしていると、森の方から低いうねり声のような音が聞こえてきたのだ。 | 11 years ago, in summer, as I was adjusting my warehouse stock, I heard a sound like a low cry from the direction of the forest. |
| 11年前は、魔法の森の入り口に香霖堂を構えてからまだ数年目と間も無い頃で、その時の僕は魔法の森に関して詳しくなかったし、その奇妙な音が珍しい蝉の鳴き声だと言うことは判らなかったのである。 | 11 years ago, Kourindou had been facing the entrance to the Forest of Magic for only a few years, so at the time I was not as knowledgeable about the magical forest, and did not know that the weird sound was the call of the cicadas. |
| その11年前の音の正体が判ったのは、僅か二日前だった。 | I only learned the real truth behind the sounds from 11 years ago a mere two days ago. |
| ――二日前。僕はけたたましい蝉の鳴き声で目が覚めた。蝉とは不思議な生き物で、ある日突然鳴き始め、そしてあっという間に居なくなる。それに地中に何年も潜伏して、思い出したかのように地上に出てくるのだ。そういう性質もあって、僕は蝉には寛大なつもりでいた。 | Two days ago, I was awoken by the cicadas' piercing calls. Cicadas are mysterious creatures, suddenly starting their calls and just as suddenly going away. They also dive into the earth, and as if suddenly remembering that, they come from the earth. Because of that personality, I treated the cicadas magnanimously. |
| だが、今年の蝉は異常だった。普段聞き慣れない低い鳴き声も普通の蝉とは異なるし、それに明らかに数が多いのだ。 | However, this year's cicadas were not normal. These cicadas' calls were much lower than the calls of the normal cicada that I was used to, and there were much more of them. |
| 余りの五月蠅さに、仕方が無く暑い中窓を締め切っていた。このままでは窓を閉め切っているので暑いし、商品の保存状態にも悪影響だ。それに夜も満足に眠る事が出来ないし、客も寄りつかない。 | Because of the cacophony, I shut my window even with the heat. However, with the window shut it was very hot, and this had an adverse effect on my storage. I also could not sleep well at night, and it was uncomfortable for customers. |
| 僕は暫く蝉の駆除の方法を考えていたが、締め切った店の暑さに耐えきれず、久々に店を出て里へ出掛ける事にした。勿論、その間も蝉の駆除の方法ばかり考えていた。 | I contemplated how to get rid of the cicadas, but, unable to take the heat, I left my store for the first time in a while and left for the village. Of course, during that time I did nothing but consider how to exterminate the cicadas. |
| 店から遠ざかると次第に鳴き声が小さくなっていく事が判った。どうやら魔法の森にしか棲んでいない蝉の様である。僕は少し安心した。最悪、店に居られないくらい五月蠅くても、昔お世話になった人間の家にご厄介になると言う事も出来るからだ。蝉の寿命は短く、数日で静かになるだろう。 | As I got further away from my store, I found that the cicadas' calls decreased in volume. It appears that these cicadas only resided in the Forest of Magic. I was slightly relieved. For, worst comes to worst, if it was so loud I couldn't be in my store, I could go to the place of a human whom I had received hospitality from long time ago and live there. Cicadas' lives are short, so after a few days I was sure it would quiet down. |
| そんな事を考えながら霧雨家を訪れた。霧雨の親父さんとは最後に会ってから、もう十年以上も経とうとしてたのと、お客以外の里の人間に会うのが苦手な事もあって、酷く緊張していた。既に年老いているであろう親父さんは、僕を認識出来るだろうか……。里の人間は歳を重ねると成長し、老けていく。その当たり前の変化が少ない僕は、どうしたって里に長く居る事が出来ない。里の人間に不快感や恐怖を与えてしまうのだ。 | As I was thinking this, I arrived at the Kirisame house. It had been about 10 years since I'd seen the father of the Kirisame house, and I was not good with meeting other people from the village other than as customers, so I was very nervous. I wondered if the father of the household would recognize me, or if age had made him possibly senile? The humans of the village mature, then age as years pass. These normal processes don't happen to me, so I can never stay long at the village. I only bring unease and fear to the humans there. |
| だが、そんな緊張も軽い世間話ですぐに消え失せた。僕は霧雨の親父さんんと霧雨家の商売の話や、今の香霖堂の商品、外の世界の道具について等、そんな話をして緊張も解け、いよいよ話題は本題である五月蠅い蝉の事に移ろうとしているその時だった。 | However, such nervousness quickly vanished after some small talk. I spoke to the father of the Kirisame house of mercantile dealings, and the current merchandise of Kourindou, as well as the tools of the outside world, etc. and with that, my nervousness melted away and I was able to get to the matter at hand: the obnoxious cicadas. |
| 「――霧雨家で森の方から聞こえていた音が、11年前に聞いた低いうねり声の様な音と同じ音だと言う事に気付いたんだ」 | "And then I realized that the sounds that I heard at the house of Kirisame that came from the forest were exactly the same as the low cries I heard 11 years ago." |
| 「随分と気付くのに時間が掛かったんだな」 | "Took you a while to realize that, eh?" |
| 「里に着いた時から何となく記憶の奥底に引っ掛かる物があったんだが、何せ11年前は蝉の鳴き声だとは思わなかったからね。言い訳をすると高い音は遠く離れれば離れる程かき消され、低い籠もった様な音だけが聞こえるもんだ。今年は店のすぐ近くまで蝉が押し寄せているようだが、11年前は遠くで鳴いている音しか聞こえなかったんだ。今とは印象も大分違ったんだよ。だから店を離れて初めて気付いたのさ」 | "I had this memory at the back of my mind when I arrived at the village, but I didn't think at the time that it was the same cicadas' calls as I heard 11 years ago. If I were to give an excuse, the further you go from a loud sound the more it goes away, and all you can hear is a muffled, low sound. This year it appears that the cicada are very close to my store, but 11 years ago they were far away and all I could hear were the normal calls. It's a very different feeling now than then. That's why I only realized after I left my store." |
| 暑くなってきたので、窓を開けて換気をすることにした。少し開けた途端、蝉の鳴き声の洪水が店内に押し寄せてきたので、指一本分くらい開けた所で手を止めた。 | It had gotten hot, so I decided to open the window and ventilate the place. After I had opened it, the cicadas' calls came like a flood, so after opening it up just a finger's breadth, I stopped. |
| 「何にしても11年前の不思議な音も、蝉の鳴き声だと言う事が判った。僕は親父さんにこの蝉について何か知っていないか質問してみたんだ。あ、そうそう親父さんは元気だったよ？」 | "After I'd figured out that the mysterious sounds of 11 years ago turned out to be the cicada's calls, I asked your father if he knew anything about the cicadas. By the way, he seems to be doing well!" |
| 「蝉が五月蠅すぎて良く聞き取れないぜ」 | "The cicadas are too loud. I can't hear you well." |
| 「結局、親父さんも今聞こえている音が蝉の鳴き声だと言う事は知らなかった。勿論、この蝉の正体も判らないと言う。となると、ますます僕は蝉の正体が気になってね。霧雨家を後にして里のとある人間の家を訪ねたんだ」 | "In the end, he knew nothing about the sound of the cicadas' calls. Of course, he also said he knew nothing of the true meaning of the cicadas. I began to get interested in what the cicadas' true meaning was. So I left the Kirisame house and went to a certain human's place." |
| その人間とは、里の人間で最も多くの資料を持ち、知識も深い稗田家である。千年以上続く由緒正しき人間の家系だ。稗田家が持つ膨大な蔵書には、幻想郷のあらゆる事柄が収められている。その他にも外の世界の資料も少なくない。 | That human is, among the humans in the village, the one with the most resources and knowledge, the house of Hieda. It is a proper, traditional house that has stood for over a thousand years. In the enormous library that the Hieda house has, everything about Gensokyo is stored. There is no small amount of knowledge about the outside world, as well. |
| 稗田家には『御阿礼の子』と呼ばれる子供が百年から百数十年単位で生まれる事がある。この御阿礼の子は、膨大な資料を全て暗記できる程の知能を持つと言われ、今現在、九代目が家に居るそうである。 | To the house of Hieda there is one born every a hundred or so years called the Child of Miare. This Child of Miare is said to have the ability to memorize everything in the Hieda libraries, and currently, the 9th generation child appears to have that power. |
| 稗田家の資料は人間向けに書かれた一部を除いて門外不出であったが、最近はその規制も緩くなり正当な理由があれば一般にも公開するようになった。有難い事に人間以外にも公開しているのである。 | The tomes of the Hieda family are, with some exception, kept hidden from outsiders, but recently those restrictions have been relaxed, and if you have a good reason, they will be released for the general public's use. Thankfully, this applies to non-humans as well. |
| 「ふーん。そんな人間が居るってのは霊夢に聞いた事が有ったが……そんな面白そうな資料を抱え込んでいたとは驚きだな」 | "Hmmm. Reimu told me once that such a person existed, but... I am surprised to hear they have such interesting resources." |
| ちょっとだけ開いた窓は風を取り込む機能を果たしていなく、部屋は暑いままだった。帽子なんて被っていたらいっそう暑いに決まっている。魔理沙は、今度はそこに遊びに行こうか、と言って帽子を取って団扇の様に扇ぎ始めた。 | The slightly-cracked window of the store was not doing its job bringing in the wind, and the room was still hot. Leaving a hat on made it even more hot. After saying that she'd like to go there one of these days, she took her cap off and began fanning herself with it. |
| 魔理沙の言う遊びとは言うまでもなく盗みの事だろう。牽制のつもりで「稗田家の主人と霧雨の親父さんは仲が良いよ」と言うと魔理沙は悔しそうな表情を浮かべて「さっさと蝉の話に戻せ」と言った。 | When Marisa says "go there" I'm sure she means "steal things". When I restrained her by telling her that relations between the head of the Kirisame and Hieda households were good, Marisa looked frustrated and said "Just get back to the story about the cicadas!" |
| 「そう、確かに稗田家の資料は膨大だった。余りの資料の多さにどこから探して良いのか判らなかったんだけど、九代目御阿礼の子は『全ての資料を暗記している。紙に書いてあるのは他の人に伝える為だ』って言ったんだよ。半信半疑で『この五月蠅い蝉の事の記述はないか』と訊ねたら、すぐに教えてくれた。御阿礼の子の記憶力は半端な物ではないね」 | "The House of Hieda's resources were indeed vast. It was so huge I didn't even know where to start, but the 9th generation Child of Miare told me that she had "memorized the entire library, in order to tell people its contents." Disbelievingly, I asked "Are there any records about these loud cicadas?" and she told me immediately. It appears the rumors about her memory are true." |
| 「ふーん。ま、この五月蠅い蝉の事が判ったんなら、駆除の方法も判ったんだろう？ さっさと何とかしてくれよ。魔法の森の何処に行っても五月蠅くてかなわん。難聴になるぜ」 | "Hmmm. Well, if you understand the deal with these loud cicadas, you should also know how do get rid of them, right? So do something about it, then! No matter where I go in the Forest of Magic, those annoying cicadas are there. I'll become deaf soon!" |
| 「だったら耳栓でもすればいい。この時は、既に僕の中で興味が変化していたんだ。駆除の方法よりも、この蝉は何故11年ぶりに大量発生したのか、を知りたくなっていたんだよ」 | "So plug your ears, then! At that time, my interest had already begun to change. More than how to get rid of them, I wanted to know why they appeared in such numbers 11 years ago." |
| 蝉は狂ったように鳴き続けていた。次第に耳は慣れ、そこまで鬱陶しくなくなって来たが、いつもより大きめな声で話していた為かのどが渇く。僕は二人分お茶を淹れた。 | The cicadas continued their calls as if they were mad. Eventually my ears got used to the sound and it wasn't as annoying, but speaking in a voice louder than normal makes one's throat dry. I began to pour two cups of tea. |
| そもそも、蝉の生態は謎に包まれている。蝉は7年程土の中で成長し、ある日突然地上に現れると7日間だけ忙しなく鳴いて、さらに別の生を受ける為に体を捨てる。蝉とは罪人が地獄で罪の清算が終わった後、その魂が転生されるまでの苟且の姿であると言われている。 | At any rate, these cicadas were shrouded in riddles. Cicadas mature after about 7 years, then all of a sudden go up to the surface, call out for about 7 days, and then leave their bodies to reincarnate. It is said that cicadas are the vehicle by which sinners who have cleansed their sins in hell reincarnate into the cycle, their souls being temporarily housed in this form. |
| さらに、資料によると外の世界にはもっと特殊な蝉が居るらしい。それは、13年蝉と17年蝉と呼ばれる蝉である。名前の通り、13年に一度だけ土の下から出てくる蝉と、同様に17年に一度だけ出てくる蝉だそうだ。 | In addition, there are even more special types of cicadas in the outside world, according to the sources. There are 13-year cicadas and 17-year cicadas. As the names suggest, it appears that they come up once in 13 years or once in 17 years. |
| 幻想郷に現れた蝉は、11年に一度だけ大量発生する不思議な蝉で、一部の人の間では『奇跡の蝉』とも呼ばれるそうである。何故奇跡の蝉と呼ばれるかというと、11年と言う長い年月を土の中で暮らすと言う不思議さもその要因の一つだが、なんと言ってもこの蝉が発生する年は決まって豊作になるかららしい。資料はそこで終わっていた。 | The cicadas that appeared in Gensokyo were mysterious cicadas that appear once in 11 years, and are referred to by some people as "The Miraculous Cicada". When one asks why are they called Miraculous Cicada, one reason is the mystery behind them living 11 long years under the earth, but in addition whenever these cicadas came out it's also always happened to be a bountiful year. The book stopped there. |
| 「ふーん。で、何で11年なんだ？ 外の世界の13年も17年も、そもそも何で普通の蝉だって7年も眠っているのか不思議だが」 | "Hmmm... why 11 years? The outside world has 13-year and 17-year ones, so it is odd to me that 7-year cicadas are considered normal in the first place." |
| 稗田家の資料には、魔理沙が抱くような当然の疑問に対する答えはなく、ただ客観的な事実だけが書かれていた。それは資料としては正しいが、読む側としては何か物足りない。 | The resources of the House of Hieda had no answer to Marisa's obvious question, but only gave a spectator's view on events. This is proper for a reference material, but is lacking in something for those who read it. |
| 当然僕も、魔理沙と同じ疑問を抱いた。しかし、僕と魔理沙が徹底的に違うところは、僕の場合は自分で考えるしかないが、魔理沙の場合は周りに答えを知っている人物が居ると言う事だ。答えを知っている人物とは、勿論僕の事である。 | Of course, I had the same question as Marisa. However, the main difference between her and I was that all I could do was think about it on my own, but Marisa has people around her that might know the answer. Of course, that person is often me. |
| 「少しは自分で考えようとしないのかね、君は」 | "Why don't you ever even think about figuring it out yourself?" |
| 魔理沙にとっては、僕に説教される事なんて何とも思って居ないようだった。帽子で扇ぎながら僕の話の続きを待っている。蝉の鳴き声は苛つきを助長させるのか、僕も少し苛つき易くなっているのかもしれない。 | Marisa didn't even seem to notice that I was scolding her. She continued fanning herself with her cap, waiting for the continuation of the story. Perhaps the calls of the cicadas increased my annoyance, or perhaps I've just gotten easier to annoy lately. |
| 「まあいい、今回は少し複雑な話だしね。まず、11年周期の蝉が幻想郷で最初に確認出来たのは、今から百年前程前だと言われている。つまり、百年前頃に外の世界で絶滅して幻想郷にやってきた可能性があると言う事だ」 | "Oh well, this particular story is complex anyways. First, it has been said the first confirmed appearance of the 11-year cycling cicada came around 100 years ago. In other words, there is a chance that 100 years ago they were made extinct in the outside world and thus came to Gensokyo." |
| 「元々は、外の世界に11年周期の蝉が居たって言うのか？」 | "So you're saying that the 11-year cicadas existed in the outside world?" |
| 「そう考えれば、外の世界には7年だけじゃなく、13年周期の蝉も17年周期の蝉も居るって言うんだから、至極自然だね」 | "If you think about it, it is only natural to presume this, since there are 7-, 13- and 17-year cicadas in the outside world as well." |
| 「うーん。余り自然とは思えないな。7年と13年と17年が居るんだったら、残りがあるとすれば10年と15年だろう？ 11年なんて中途半端だしな」 | "Hmm. That doesn't seem right. If there are 7-, 13- and 17-year cicada, wouldn't you think it would be 10- and 15-year cicadas left? 11 years seems so half-assed." |
| なるほど、魔理沙は数字同士の中間を埋める事で自然になると考えているようだ。7と13の中間は10、13と17の中間は15だ。恐らく、論理的な物は何もなく直感のみであろう。誰しも、間が等間隔になると言うのは気持ちの良い物である。ここから判る魔理沙の性格は、部屋の中が本以外は滅茶苦茶に散らかっていようと、本は系統別に纏め、巻数も順番通りに並べるタイプである言う事だ。僕は、その通りだなと思い、少しおかしかった。 | I see, it appears that Marisa thinks that by putting in the intervals between the years it would be more natural. 10 in between 7 and 13, and 15 is between 13 and 17. It is probably more her instincts than anything theoretical. It probably feels good when holes between intervals are filled in their natural place. Marisa's personality seems to be the type that if everything but the books in this room were scattered all over the place, the books themselves would be gathered by type and put in chronological order. I thought this too, and it was kind of funny. |
| しかし、勘の鋭い霊夢だったら、この場は何と答えていただろうか。 | However, I wonder what the instinctively sharp Reimu would have answered. |
| 「いや、11年で良いんだ。むしろ外の世界の蝉に、11年だけが欠けている事に気付かないといけない」 | "No, 11 years is correct. On the contrary, the cicadas of the outside world must realize that the 11 years are gone." |
| 「7年、11年、13年、17年……何だか気持ち悪い数字の並びだな」 | "7, 11, 13, 17... that set of numbers of years just doesn't feel right" |
| 「判るかい？ これらの数字は、1と自分以外で割り切る事が出来ない数字、素数だと言う事に」 | "Do you understand? Those numbers can't be divided by anything but themselves and 1. They are prime numbers" |
| 7にしろ、13にしろ、17にしろ、素数である。7以上で同様に素数は、11、13、17、19、23……と続いていく。 | Whether it be 7, 11, 13 or 17, they are all prime numbers. The prime numbers greater than 7 proceed as 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, etc. |
| 僕は、外の世界の蝉に7、13、17とあって、何故か11だけが欠けている事に気付いたのだ。そして、幻想郷には11年周期で発生する蝉が居る……。 | I realized that the outside world had 7-, 13- and 17-year cicadas but was missing the 11-year cicadas. And that Gensokyo had cicadas that came once every 11 years. |
| 「だから、僕は11年の蝉は元々外の世界の蝉で、何らかの理由で地上では絶滅したと予想した」 | "Therefore, I prognosed that the 11-year cicadas were of the outside world, and that for some reason they had become extinct there." |
| 「うーん。ま、また説教されるかも知れないけど、一応訊いておくぜ。何で蝉は素数の年数だけ土の中で眠るんだ？」 | "Hmmm. I might be chastised again but, I'll ask anyways. Why are cicadas limited to appearing in cycles of prime number years?" |
| 「それは当然の疑問だね。だが残念だが、この疑問に関しての明確な答えは無い」 | "That's a normal question to have. But unfortunately, I can't answer it." |
| 「えー……って疑問のまま香霖が納得する訳が無いだろう？」 | "Eeh... but Kourin wouldn't go without his questions being answered!" |
| 「その通りだ。よく分かっているな」 | "Right you are. You understand me well." |
| 「ほれ、解説を続けても良いぜ」 | "Then you can keep explaining!" |
| 何か上手く利用されている気がするが、まあいい。 | It feels like I'm being used, but whatever. |
| 「……素数、つまり割り切れない周期でしか発生しないと言う事は、それぞれの蝉が同時に大量発生する機会が非常に少ないと言う事だ。13年の蝉と、17年の蝉が同時に大量発生する周期は……221年に一度だけしかない。そうする事で、同時に大量発生してお互いが不利益になる年を極力減らしているのだろう。魔理沙が言っていた様な10年や15年では、30年に一度は当たってしまう」 | "It's very unlikely that cicadas which all come out in different prime numbers of years would all happen to come out at once. The cycle for 13-year and 17-year cicadas both coming out at once is... only once every 221 years. Thus, it's probably to minimize the undesirable years when multiple kinds of cicadas are all out at once. If it was 10 and 15 years as you suggested, they'd run into each other every 30 years." |
| 「なるほど、何となく判ったぜ。蝉って頭が良いな」 | "Huh, I think I get it. Cicadas are smart, huh." |
| 「蝉の頭が良い訳ではない。先も言ったように、蝉は地獄から送られてくる魂の容れ物だと言われている。つまり、地獄の閻魔様が作ったシステムだろう。頭が良いのは当然だ」 | "This doesn't mean that cicadas are smart. As I said before, it's said that cicadas are vessels for souls as they depart from hell. In other words, it's a system invented by the Enma. It's only natural that it would be clever." |
| 「でも、何で11年の蝉だけ絶滅して幻想郷に発生したんだ？」 | "But why is it only the 11-year cicadas that are going extinct and showing up in Gensokyo?" |
| 「推測でしかないが、11年の蝉と13年の蝉、17年の蝉が同時に大量発生し、一番若い11年の蝉が犠牲になったのでは、と僕は想像する。それらの三種の蝉が全て同時に大量発生するのは、なんと2431年に一度しか無い。百年ほど前についにその運命の年が来て、11年の蝉が幻想に追いやられたんじゃないかな」 | "I can only venture a guess, but I'd imagine that between the 11-year, 13-year, and 17-year cicadas, the younger 11-year group became the victims. Those three would only ever all come out at once every 2431 years. After centuries and centuries, that year finally came, and the 11-year cicadas were driven off to Gensokyo." |
| 「うーむ。そうかもな。そう言う話を聞くと、この五月蠅い蝉も珍しくて貴重な気がするぜ。何せ11年に一度の奇跡の蝉だしな」 | "Hrm, maybe. When I hear you talk about this stuff, it makes these noisy cicadas actually seem valuable. The miraculous once-in-11-years cicadas." |
| 「そうだ、だから駆除するなんて事はしたくない」 | "Exactly, that's why I don't want to exterminate them." |
| 僕は思い切って窓を開けた。11年の蝉が、長かった罪の清算から解放された喜びを表すかのように、けたたましく鳴いていた。 | I bravely opened the window. The 11-year cicadas cried piercingly with the joy of being released from their long-standing sins. |
| 相変わらず、魔理沙は耳を押さえ、苦い顔をしている。にもかかわらず、自分の家に帰ろうとしないのは、店より自分の家の方が五月蠅いからだろう。 | As expected, Marisa clutched her ears, making a sour face. Nevertheless, it was still probably louder at her own home than at my shop. |
| 客でもないのに店に居座られては迷惑なので、僕は魔理沙を追い出した。渋々出ていったが、きっと自分の家には帰らず、神社かどっかにお世話になるつもりだろう。人間の里には自分の親が住んでいるのだから、そこへ帰れば良いのに……。 | Because a shop full of people who weren't customers was a pain, I drove Marisa out. She reluctantly left, but no doubt didn't return home, instead taking advantage of the hospitality of the shrine or somewhere similar. Although, since her parents live in the human village, she should just go back there instead... |
| この蝉は後何日ほど鳴き続けるのだろうか。そんな事を考えていたら、蝉と地獄の閻魔様に纏わる奇妙な符合に気付いてしまった。 | How long had these cicadas been chirping? When I thought about it, I noticed a strange coincidence linking the Enma to the cicadas. |
| 閻魔様は初七日から満中陰、7日起きに審理を行う事で有名である。この7は素数であり、通常の蝉の地中に潜む年数や地上で鳴いている日数と一致する。さらに審判が終わった後に転生の為に地中に潜伏すると考えると、不思議な事に11年、13年、17年の蝉が同時に大量発生する周期の年数と、通常の7年の蝉が潜伏する日数はほぼ同じになるのである。 | The Enma is famous for the seven trials following the memorial service held seven days after a person's death. This seven is a prime number, the number of days matching the number of years between times when the cicadas come to the surface. Furthermore, after judgement is passed, if you think about remaining underground to await reincarnation, the number of days a 7-year cicada would have to wait is roughly the same as the number of years that would pass before 11-year, 13-year, and 17-year cicadas all came out at once. |
| 蝉は不思議な生き物だ。地獄の閻魔様が作ったシステムの上で生きていると言う事は、もっと緻密で不思議な性質を持っていて、その性質一つ一つに呪術的な意味がある可能性がある。 | Cicadas are mysterious creatures. While they were created in accordance with the Enma's system, they seem to have a more subtle nature, and the possibility exists that their nature gradually gains magical more significance. |
| 何故、地獄に堕ちた魂と同じ様に長い間地中で過ごすのか。何故、地上に出てから短い期間で居なくなるのか。人間は、輪廻転生のうち現世に居る期間が一番短いと言う事なのか。 | Why do they stay underground for the same amount of time as the souls damned to hell? Why do they disappear after only a short time on the surface? Do humans have the shortest period in the cycle of reincarnation? |
| だとすると、妖怪は死ぬとどうなるのだろうか。妖怪と人間のハーフである僕はどうなるのだろうか。店の窓を再び閉め、一人考え込んだ。 | If you say so, I wonder what happens to youkai when they die? What will happen to me, a half-youkai? I closed the window once more, lost in thought. |
Curiosities of lotus asia 19 01
Curiosities of lotus asia 19 02
