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理由ある反抗
宮沢賢治没後70年。その人気の裏にあるのは…。
Rebel with a cause
Sept. 21 marks the anniversary of the death of Japan's greatest modern poet. Kenji Miyazawa died in his native town of Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, 70 years ago on that day.
Now, Japan is a country where most writers receive ample, often considerably more than ample, recognition in their own time. This was certainly not the case with Miyazawa. He was a wide-ranging eccentric, a recalcitrant and dogmatic Buddhist of the Nichiren sect, and a man pitifully out of step with both his time and his place. It is no wonder that it took decades for his reputation to grow to the monumental proportions that it enjoys today.
Miyazawa may be Japan's most misunderstood author. His lamentations of self-sacrifice and his prayerful concern for others have combined to create an aura about him: St. Miyazawa, the holy man of Iwate.
Many are drawn to him for his "selflessness" and his "goodness." But like more than a few deeply religious people, of whatever faith, Miyazawa was as fearful of his own fate as he was unsettled over that of others. To my mind his driving force was his ego, a force made all the more immediate to him for his fear of death. He desired fervently to be accepted in his community as its chief moralist, as spiritual mentor to the miserable farmers of his region.
Miyazawa's father was the town pawn broker, an autocrat typical of a Meiji family. Rebelling against him, Miyazawa styled himself the didactic do-gooder, countering the old man's hard-nose practicality with a mysticism taken from Tohoku myths and ancient spiritual beliefs.
Let's look first at Miyazawa the Moralist. Virtually all of his stories and many of his poems were written as parables. He defined the straight and narrow in terms of his own religious beliefs, then strove to convince his readers to follow him. In his exquisite short story, "Snow Crossing," he urges people not to tell lies or to be envious of others. In "The Bears of Mt. Nametoko" and what is still perhaps his most popular short story, "The Restaurant of Many Orders," he describes the awful fate hunters suffer at the hands of the hunted. (Miyazawa was a vegetarian and a fierce opponent of violence against animals.)
And what about Miyazawa the Mystic? The two stories "Matasaburo of the Wind" and "The Story of the Zashiki Bokko," both introduce a mysterious and, at times, unseen spirit that, like nature itself, can bring both havoc and good fortune in its wake.
These lyrical visions are wrapped tightly in scientific packets. Miyazawa was a professional agronomist and amateur geologist, who tried to reconcile myth with hard scientific fact. Historically, Christian thought has been obsessed with the perception of a conflict between faith and fact. In many senses it still is, particularly in this era of violent and fanatical faith. But Japanese thought glides far over this conflict. If you want to see the best and most convincing evidence of this, delve into the writing of Kenji Miyazawa. Seventy years after his death he is more vitally relevant to us than he ever was.
Shukan ST: Sept. 26, 2003
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- Rebel with a cause
- "Rebel with a cause"(映画「理由なき反抗」)のもじり
- receive ample, often considerably more than ample, recognition in their own time
- 生前から十分に、しばしば十分以上に認められる
- wide-ranging eccentric
- さまざまな意味での変人
- recalcitrant and dogmatic Buddhist of the Nichiren sect
- 頑迷で独断的な日蓮宗信者
- man pitifully out of step with both his time and his place
- 自分の時代・居場所から哀しいほどずれた人間
- grow to the monumental proportions
- 途方もなく高まる
- lamentation
- 嘆くこと
- prayerful concern for 〜
- 祈りに満ちた〜への気遣い
- of whatever faith
- 信仰が何であれ
- as fearful of 〜
- 〜の運命を心配すると同様、自らの運命について恐れていた
- driving force
- 原動力
- ego
- 自負心
- 〜 made all the more immediate to him for 〜
- 〜のためさらに切迫した〜
- fervently
- 切実に
- mentor
- 導き手
- pawn broker
- 質屋
- autocrat
- 独裁者
- styled himself the didactic do-gooder
- 先生ぶった空想的社会改良家となった
- countering the old man's hard-nose practicality with 〜
- 父の頑迷な実際主義に〜で対抗して
- mysticism
- 神秘主義
- parables
- 寓話
- defined the straight and narrow in terms of 〜
- 正しい生き方を〜の見地から定義した
- strove to convince his readers to follow him
- 自分に従うよう読者を納得させるべく努めた
- exquisite
- 素晴らしい
- be envious of 〜
- 〜をうらやむ
- at the hands of the hunted
- 狩られる者の手にかかって
- fierce opponent of 〜
- 強硬な〜の反対者
- unseen spirit
- 目に見えぬ精
- havoc
- 大混乱
- in its wake
- 通り過ぎたあとに
- lyrical
- 叙事詩のような
- are wrapped tightly in scientific packets
- 科学的説明という枠できっちり包まれている
- agronomist
- 農学者
- geologist
- 地質学者
- reconcile 〜 with 〜
- 〜を〜と融和させる
- has been obsessed with the perception of a conflict between faith and fact
- 教義と事実が食い違っているという認識にとらわれてきた
- In many senses it still is
- いろいろな意味で今もそうである
- fanatical
- 狂信的な
- glides far over 〜
- 〜のはるか上をすうっと通り過ぎていく
- delve into 〜
- 〜を読み込む
- is more vitally relevant to us than he ever was
- 前にもまして私たちと密接な関連がある