柳田国男『飯くわぬ女房』

――　まえがき　――
ＷＥＢ絵本『飯くわぬ女房』

絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：柳田国男
概要：「日本の昔話」の中の１話を絵本にしました ．

A Picture Book
"A woman who never eat"

Illustrated and translated by : Akanemachi Haruhiko
Original author : Yanagida Kunio

――　０１　――
Once upon a time in a village, there also lived a Cooper.

これも昔々ある村に、一人の桶屋が住んでいました．

――　０２　――
At one evening, he got out of his house. Taking a pee, he talked to himself.

"Ah! Ah! I'd like to get married to a woman who never eat!"

或る日の晩方に外へ出て小便をしながら、ああああ飯を食わぬ嬶が一人欲しいもんだなあと独り言を言いました．

――　０３　――
At the night, a strange woman visited him.

そうすると、その晩見たこともない女が尋ねてきて・・・

――　０４　――
She said "You are the Cooper who wants the wife who never eat, aren't you? I never eat. And I work earnestly. Please marry me!"

・・・飯を食わぬ嬶が一人欲しい桶屋さんは此方ですか．私は飯を食わぬ女です．そうして、よく働きますから嬶にして下さいと言って・・・

――　０５　――
He turned her down many times.

But she didn't go back.

Unwillingly, he took her in as housewife.

・・・いくら断っても帰って行きません．

致し方がないから女房にして家に置きました．

――　０６　――
Surely, she worked very hard and never ate.

なるほど善く働いて、少しも食事をしませんが・・・

――　０７　――
Somehow, the stock of rice reduced at a rapid pace without his knowledge.

He thought that there was something strange.

・・・どういうわけか、米が知らぬ間にグングン減りました．それを不審に思って・・・

――　０８　――
In order to see what was happening, he got ready for work and went outside.

Then, he climbed onto the ceiling and hid himself.

And, he was peeping.

・・・一度様子を見るつもりで、仕事に行く支度をして家を出かけ、そっと天井に上って隠れて覗いておりました．

――　０９　――
Soon, the wife put a huge saucepan on the kitchen stove.

Taking a measurement of rice, she took a mass of white rice out of a sack.

And, she washed the rice quickly and began to cook it.

Moreover, she fetched plenty of bean paste from the storeroom.

And, she made bean paste soup in a large pot to the brim.

Furhter, she ladled the soup into a pail.

そうすると女房は、やがてカマドに大きな釜をかけて、俵からドッサリ白米を量り出して、さくさくと洗って飯を炊き始めました．

それから物置から、うんと味噌を持って来て大鍋にいっぱい味噌汁を沸かして、それをヒシャクで桶の中に汲み込みました．

――　１０　――
Furthermore, she took a wooden shutter off and put it on the entrance of the kitchen.

Then, she made big rice balls of cooked rice one and another.

And, she placed the rice balls on the shutter.

その次には戸板を一枚はずして来て台所の上り口に敷き、煮えた米の飯を片端から、大きな握飯にこしらえて、その上へ並べました．

――　１１　――
And then, she undid her hair.

There appeared another big mouth in the center of her head.

そうして置いてから、今度は髪をばらばらに解きますと、頭の真中に別に大きな口がひとつありました．

――　１２　――
She tossed the rice balls one by one into that mouth.

 Using a ladle, she poured bean paste soup into there.

その口の中へ握飯をひとつずつ放り込み、杓で一杯ずつ味噌汁を流し込んで・・・

――　１３　――
While he was watching, she finished up the soup and the rice.

・・・見ているうちに汁も飯も、残らず食べてしまいました．

――　１４　――
After that, she did her hair neatly again.

Then, she returned to the good wife.

そうした後で頭の髪をちゃんと結び直すと、元の通りのよさそうな女房になりました．

――　１５　――
This woman was an Ogress.

He thought that he had married the terrible woman and that he should throw her out of his house as soon as possible.

He daubed soil on his sandals. And, pretending not to notice, he came back at the evening.

この女は山母であった．

こいつは飛んでもない嬶をもらってしまった．なんでも早く追い出さなけりゃならぬと思って、知らぬ顔をして夕方に、草鞋に土を付けて帰ってきました．

――　１６　――
"Even though you never eat, you're not cut out for housewife. I'll give you anything you like. So, please leave me!" he said.

"All right! I'll leave you. So, please make a huge pail for me!" she said.

いくら飯は食わなくとも、おまえは家の嬶には向かない．なんでも遣るからどうか往ってくれと言いますと、それでは往きますから、どうか大きな桶をひとつ、こしらえて下さいと申しました．

――　１７　――
It was easy for him to make a pail. Immediately, he made it.

桶なら安い事だと早速こしらえて遣りますと・・・

――　１８　――
The Ogress was waiting for a moment of carelessness of the Cooper.

And, she suddenly plunged him into the huge pail.

・・・山母の女房は桶屋の油断を見すまして、出しぬけに男を大桶の中に突き落としました．

――　１９　――
Then, she put the pail on her head and went back forward the mountain quickly.

そうして、その桶を頭の上に載せてサッサと山奥の方へ帰って行きました．

――　２０　――
The Cooper tried to escape from the pail.

But, the pail was extremely large.

So, he couldn't jump out of it.

桶屋は桶の中から逃げ出そうとしますが、桶が大きいので飛び出すことが出来ない．

――　２１　――
After a while, the way turned a mountain path gradually.

There were big trees along a side of the path. Their branches were rattling on the edge of the pail.

そのうちに段々山路になりますと、路の片脇に大木があって、その枝がカラカラと桶の縁にさわりました．

――　２２　――
Soon, the Ogress stopped for a rest in the shade of a big tree for a while.

He thought that he got a good chance.

So, he extended his arms from the bottom of the pail and hung a weeping branch.

He was able to get out of the pail.

山母は、やがて或る一本の大木の蔭に少しの間、立ち止まって小休みをしました．

丁度良い折だと思って桶の底から手を伸ばして、垂れていた枝につかまりますと、体は桶から抜け出しました．

――　２３　――
The Ogress didn't notice that.

She went deep in the mountain with the empty pail.

He thought that it was necessary to get away in this chance and he ran away very hard.

山母はそれを知らずに、空桶をかついで奥の方へ行きました．

この隙に逃げなければならぬと、一生懸命に走って帰りますと・・・

――　２４　――
The Ogress might have sensed something.

She looked back.

・・・山母はそれを心づいたか、振り返って・・・

――　２５　――
She ran after him relentlessly.

・・・ドンドンと追って来ました．

――　２６　――
"She will catch up with me before I get to my village."

He looked around to see if he could find a hiding place somewhere.

里まで行くうちには追いつかれる．

何処か隠れる所はないかと見まわしたところが・・・

――　２７　――
Sweet flags grew thick on this riverside of the mountain stream.

And next to there, wormwood grew thick.

・・・ちょうど谷川の川岸に菖蒲が茂り、又その続きにはヨモギが茂っておりました．

――　２８　――
Then, he hid himself between these two kinds of weeds.

それで、そのふたいろの草の間に潜っておりますと・・・

――　２９　――
The Ogress came running and jumped into there.

・・・山母も追っかけて来て、その中へ飛び込みました．

――　３０　――
But furtunately, a blade of the sweet flags stabbed into the right eye of the Ogress.

And, a stem of the wormwood stabbed into her left eye.

ところが非常に幸いなことは、菖蒲の葉が山母の右目を突き、ヨモギの茎が左の目を突き破って・・・

――　３１　――
In a moment, the Ogress went blind.

And she fell into the mountain stream.

山母は忽ち盲になり、そうして谷川の流れに落ちて・・・

――　３２　――
She died, flowed, and disappeared out of sight.

People say that it was the 5th day of May.

So, this day has become a seasonal festival.

People never fail to cover their roofs with the both of wormwood and sweet flags.

Also, they put sweet flags into their tub and take a bath.

People say that this custom is a precaution to avoid a bad experience like this Cooper.
(Rikuchu province, Isawa county)

・・・死んで流れて見えなくなってしまいました．

その日は五月の五日の日であったそうです．

それから後は、この日を節句と言って、必ずヨモギと菖蒲と二いろの草を屋根に葺き、又その葉を湯に入れて湯浴みすることになったのですが、これは二度と再びこの桶屋のような、ひどい目に逢わぬ用心だということであります．
（陸中胆沢郡）

――　あとがき　――
この本はパブーで公開した電子書籍、英訳昔話「飯くわぬ女房」を加筆修正したものです．
参考文献：日本の昔話（2005年10月25日36刷　柳田国男著　新潮文庫）