『怪夢（工場）』

――　まえがき　――

ＷＥＢ絵本『怪夢（工場）』

絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：夢野久作
概要：夢野久作の掌編小説を絵本にしました．英語に翻訳しております．

A Picture Book
Title: "Nightmare (A foundry)"

Illustrated and translated by: Akanemachi Haruhiko.
Original author: Yumeno Kyusaku

――　０１　――
This is an iron foundry.

The day is breaking gravely.

It's a frost morning.

厳かに明るくなって行く鉄工場の霜朝である．

――　０２　――
A huge melting pot has been heated with cokes for a few days.

The pot has mellowed in the dim part of the foundry like the setting sun.

It's such a time.

２，３日前からコークスを焚き続けた大ルツボが、鋳物工場の薄暗がりの中で、夕日のように熟し切っている時刻である．

――　０３　――
In yellow light, the pressure gauge of the steam boiler is silently continuing a shudder so as to exceed 14MPa.

It's such a minute.

黄色い電燈の下で、ボイラーの圧力計指針が、２００ポンドを突破すべく、無言の戦慄を続けている数分間である．

――　０４　――
The black sooty foundry is entirely covered with silence of 300 meters below ground.

It's such a moment.

... The silent moment is suggesting an unforeseeable ominous feeling ... This foundry might burst ...

真黒く煤けた工場の全体に、地下千尺の静けさが感じられる一刹那である．

・・・そのシンカンとした一刹那が暗示する、測り知れない、ある不吉な予感・・・この工場が破裂してしまいそうな・・・

――　０５　――
I calmly unfolded my arms and folded them again.

私は悠々と腕を組み直した．

――　０６　――
I was sneering at the feeling for such an extraordinary and unimagenable event from the bottom of my heart.

I looked up at the skylight in the high ceiling.

そんな途方もない、想像の及ばない出来事に対する予感を、心の奥底で冷笑しつつ、高い天井のアカリ取り窓を仰いだ．

――　０７　――
I saw the chimney emitting black smoke obliquely toward the azure sky.

そこから斜めに、青空はるかに黒煙を吐き出す煙突を見上げた．

――　０８　――
One side of the oblique chimney was clearly shining in the olive morning sun.

I felt dizzy under an illusion that the chimney would come down on my head.

I shook my head emphatically.

その斜めに傾いた煙突の半面が、朝日のオリーブ色をクッキリと輝かしながら、今にも頭の上に倒れかかって来るような錯覚の目まいを感じつつ、頭を強く左右に振った．

――　０９　――
Because of my father's sudden death, I succeeded to this foundry.

I just graduated from college and had no practical experiences.

私は、私の父親が頓死をしたために、まだ学士になったばかりの無経験のまま、この工場を受け継がせられた．

――　１０　――
... I was just now brought here in order to supervise the daily operations.

This was the first time in my life.

I was predicting insults and abuse against this young new master from the workers ...

・・・そうしてタッタ今、生まれて初めての実地作業を指揮すべく、引っ張り出されたのである．

若い、新米の主人に対する職工たちの侮辱と、冷罵とを予期させられつつ・・・

――　１１　――
But my fighting spirit already hid all of the bad feeling under the bottom of my soul.

The workers were at their place proudly and casually.

Each of them was holding a cigarette sideways in their mouth.

And I looked about their white breath.

しかし私の負けじ魂は、そんな不吉な予感のすべてを、腹の底の底の方へ押し隠してしまった．

誇りかな気軽い態度で、バットを横咥えにしいしい、持ち場持ち場に着いている職工たちの白い呼吸を見まわした．

――　１２　――
Before my eyes, a big flywheel was glitteringly smiling like a black rainbow.

私の目の前には巨大なフライホイールが、黒い虹のようにピカピカと微笑している．

――　１３　――
There still remained darkness of the previous night beyond it.

And a lot of gearwheels and pinions meshed with each other endlessly.

その向こうに消え残っている昨夜からの暗黒の中には、大小の歯車が幾個と無く、無限の歯噛みをし合っている．

――　１４　――
The gray arm of piston rod was sticking out ...

ピストンロッドは灰色の腕をニューと突き出したまま・・・

――　１５　――
The hydraulic reveter was looking up at the darkness in the ceiling ...

水圧打鋲機は天井裏の暗がりを睨み上げたまま・・・

――　１６　――
The steam hammer was rising its leg ...

スチームハンマーは片足を持ち上げたまま・・・

――　１７　――
... All of them were ready and waiting for my command.

They had the absolute belief in the great supernatural power and the principles of physics.

And they were just quiet.

・・・すべてが超自然の巨大な馬力と、物理原則が生む確信とを百パーセントに身構えて、私の命令一下を待つべく、飽くまでも静まりかえっている．

――　１８　――
... Pssssssf ...

Such a sound was heard from nowhere.

Probably, it was the sound of steam being relieved from the safety valve ...

Or, it was a ringing in my ears ...

・・・シィーーイイ・・・という音がどこからともなく聞こえるのは、セーフティーバルブの唇を洩るスチームの音であろう・・・

それとも私の耳の底の鳴る音か・・・

――　１９　――
A certain power went through my spine.

My right hand rose up automatically.

The foreman nodded and went away.

私の背筋を或る力が伝わった．右手が自ずから高く上がった．職工長がうなずいて去った．

――　２０　――
... Extremely slowly ... Slowly ...

All of the machines filling the foundry started to work.

Steam began to reach throughout the foundry.

And, gradually faster ...

Finally, the dazzling vision of iron whirled around me suddenly.

・・・極めて徐々に・・・徐々に・・・

工場内に重なり合った一切の機械が目覚め始める．

工場の隅から隅まで、スチームが行き渡り始めたのだ．

そうして、次第次第に早く・・・

遂には目にも止まらぬ鉄の幻覚が私の周囲から一時に渦巻起こる．

――　２１　――
... A human ... A madman ... A superman ... An animal ... A beast ... A monster ... A brute ...

A roar of iron braved all their powers ...

Black and cruel groans, which instantly dragged all great spirits into the illusion of fear and death, were rolling everywhere.

・・・人間・・・狂人・・・超人・・・野獣・・・猛獣・・・怪獣・・・巨獣・・・

それらの一切の力を物ともせぬ鉄の怒号・・・

如何なる偉大なる精神をも一瞬の中に恐怖と死の錯覚の中に誘い込まねばおかぬ真黒な、残忍冷酷な呻吟が、到る所に転がりまわる．

――　２２　――
Echoes were scoffing at the ghosts of many factory girls and child laborers who had been torn, chopped and hurled previously ...

今までに幾人となく引き裂かれ、切り千切られ、たたき付けられた女工や、幼年工の亡霊を嘲る響き・・・

――　２３　――
Voices were insulting an old worker's skull which had been crushed recently ...

このあいだ打ち砕かれた老職工の頭蓋骨を罵倒する声・・・

――　２４　――
Sounds were mocking big man's legs which had been broken formerly ...

ずっと前に、へし折られた大男の両足を愚弄する音・・・

――　２５　――
Infernal noises were making all the creatures crazy about the battle between iron and fire, indifferently and regardlessly ...

すべての生命を冷眼視し、度外視して、鉄と火との激闘に熱中させる地獄の騒音・・・

――　２６　――
Screams of the circular sawing machine chorkingly came far from the woodworker's shop.

The screams ran from my neck to the roots of my ears.

And they shiveringly soaked into my hairs one by one.

はるかの木工場から咽んで来る旋回円鋸機の悲鳴は、首筋から耳の付け根を伝わって、頭髪の一本一本ごとに染み込んで震える．

――　２７　――
Fingers, an arm and the forehead of a young man were cut with those screams.

The blackened gore was still on the surface of a beam.

あの音も数本の指と、腕と、人の若者の前額を斬り割いた．

その血しぶきは今でも梁木の胴腹に黒ずんで残っている．

――　２８　――
People regarded my father as a madman, because he was an ugly, illiterate and aged worker.

Once he began to work, he always kept working night and day with a glare in his cold-blooded and steel-colored eyes.

He was the crucifix and the pride of this foundry.

At the same time, he was always a menace to dozens of iron works.

私の父親は世間から狂人扱いされていた．

それは仕事にかかったが最後、昼夜ぶっ通しに、血も涙もない鋼鉄色の瞳をギラギラさせる、無学な、醜怪な老職工だからであった．

それがこの工場の十字架であり、誇りであると同時に、数十の鉄工所に対する不断の脅威となっていたからであった．

――　２９　――
So, every machine in this foundry had taken parts of human bodies or human lives.

The bloody scream and sneer had soaked into all of the black walls and the ceiling.

だから人体の一部分、もしくは生命そのものを奪った経験を持たぬ機械は、この工場にひとつもなかった．

真黒い壁や、天井の隅々までも血の絶叫と、冷笑が染み込んでいた．

――　３０　――
Like that, the workers of this foundry worked hard.

Like that, the machines of this foundry worked well.

それほど左様に、この工場の職工たちは熱心であった．

それほど左様に、この工場の機械等は真剣であった．

――　３１　――
I had to control all of them.

And I had to scorn all of iron, blood, flesh and soul.

And I had to make them battle and curse each other like chips ...

Further, I had to newly create great and cynical cast iron ...

That was my father's desire.

 ... At the same time, I had to smile at that with satisfaction, probably ...

"Well! I can do! That's a kind of children's play ..."

しかも、それ等の一切を支配して、鉄も、血も、肉も、霊魂も、残らず蔑視して、木ッ葉の如く相闘わせ、相呪わせる・・・

そうして更に新しく、偉大な鉄の冷笑を創造させる・・・

それが私の父の遺志であった．

・・・と同時に私が微笑すべき満足ではなかったか・・・

「ナアニ．やって見せる．児戯に類する仕事だ・・・」

――　３２　――
I started walking with my arms folded leisurely.

I was wondering how many lives would fall victim to iron ...

I was training my ears for the shouts and roars of the whole foundry with ridiculous solemnity ...

I was walking and smiling at my extremely cruel imagination with my glory ...

私は腕を組んだまま悠々と歩き出した．

まだまだ、これから、どれ位の生霊を、鉄の餌食に投げ出すか知れないと思いつつ・・・

馬鹿馬鹿しいくらい荘厳な全工場の叫喚、大叫喚を耳に慣れさせつつ・・・

残虐を極めた空想を微笑させつつ運んで行く、私の得意の最高潮・・・

――　３３　――
"Wow! Mas ... Mas ...  Master!"

A shout near to a cry was given behind me.

"... Someone has been killed again, or ..."

On the instant, I concentrated.

「ウワッ．タタ大将オッ」
という悲鳴に近い絶叫が私の背後に起った．

「・・・また誰か、やられたか・・・」
と私は瞬間に神経を冴えかえらせた．

――　３４　――
I turned around slowly.

The melting pot in solar-color was swinging and coming near my nose.

The crane was lifting the pot emitting brilliant white sparks over the surrounding area.

It would burn everything that it touched ...

そうしておもむろに振り返った私の鼻の先へ、クレーンに吊られた太陽色の大坩堝が、白い火花を一面に散りばめながらキラキラと揺らめき迫っていた．

触れるもののすべてを燃やすべく・・・

――　３５　――
I was dazzled.

I trampled a mold of pump and jumped away.

私は目が眩んだ．

ポンプの鋳型を踏み砕いて飛び退いた．

――　３６　――
I collided with a door of the woodworker's shop and stopped.

I felt that my heart was gathering the blood of my whole body.

全身の血を心臓に集中さしたまま木工場の扉に衝突して立ち止まった．

――　３７　――
Several molders came running to me.

They were bowing repeatedly and excused themselves for their mistake.

私の前に五、六人の鋳物工が駆け寄って来た．

ピョコピョコと頭を下げつつ不注意を詫びた．

――　３８　――
I was looking about their faces with my mouth wide open.

その顔を見廻しながら私はポカンと口を開いていた．

――　３９　――
... The slight burns on my forehead, cheek and nose were smarting from a cold air ...

I could heard everyone jeering at me as the sound of the whole foundry ...

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!"
"Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah!"
"Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!"
"Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha!"
"Haw-haw! Haw-haw!"
"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!"
"... It serves you right! ..."

・・・額と、頬と、鼻の頭に受けた軽い火傷に、冷たい空気がヒリヒリと沁みるのを感じていた・・・

そうして工場全体の物音が一つ一つに嘲笑しているのを聴いていた・・・

「エヘヘヘヘヘヘヘヘ」
「オホホホホホホホホ」
「イヒヒヒヒヒヒヒヒ」
「ハハハハハハハハハ」
「フフフフフフフフフ」
「ゲラゲラゲラゲラゲラ」
「ガラガラガラガラガラ」
「ゴロゴロゴロゴロゴロ」
「・・・ザマア見やがれ・・・」

（了）

――　あとがき　――
この本はパブーで公開した電子書籍、夢野絵本「怪夢（工場）」を加筆修正したものです．
参考文献：夢野久作全集3　（1992年8月24日第1刷発行　夢野久作著　ちくま文庫）