春秋のさだめ(1)ー『更級日記』より
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菅原孝標女(すがわらのたかすえのむすめ)が宮仕えの女官をしていた時の話:ーいまも同じか 女心は?ー
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春秋のさだめ Judging Seasons
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忘れもしない、あれは私が35歳(1042年)の秋のことである。10月初めのある夜、内親王さまの御殿の広間で仏事があった。私は親しい女官のひとりと広間に近い戸口にすわりにいった。読経を聞きながら、ふたりでひそひそ話をしていると、廊下をこちらに来るひとがあった。源資通卿(みなもとのすけみちきょう)、時の政府の高官である。
「こちらへいらっしゃるようだわ。どうしましょう」私が相手の女官にささやくと、
「いまさら逃げ出して、受け持ちの女官を呼びにいったりしたら、かえって失礼よ。ここは、このままでいましょうよ」と彼女が答えた。
I’ll never forget it. It happened in the fall when I was 35 years old. One night in early October, a Buddhist service was held in the hall of the Imperial Princess.
That evening, a monk with a very good voice was going to chant sutras, so I went to sit in the doorway near the hall with one of my friendly ladies-in-waiting, just wanting to hear him. As we were talking with whispers listenig to the sutra chanting, we saw someone coming toward us in the fallway. He was Lord Minamoto-no Sukemichi, a high-ranking government official at that time.
"It looks he's coming this way. What should we do?" I whispered to the other lady-in-waiting.
She replied, "It would be rude if we run away now and call for the lady in charge. Let's stay here."
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「そちらの、もうひとりのかたは、どなたですか」と、私のことを聞くのが、少しもいやらしさがない。世間の殿方のように、色っぽい話はせずに、楽しいこと、悲しいことさまざまの話題を、しみじみとていねいに話しかけてこられる。これには私の心もほぐれ、黙ってばかりもいられなくて、ついつい話がはずんだ。
As we expected, Lord Sukemichi came to our side and spoke to us. He is a middle aged man with a calm and quiet demeanor and soft-spoken manner.
"Who is that other person over there? He asked about me. There was not the least bit of lewdness in his voice. He didn't talk in a sexy way like gentlemen in the world, but spoke to us in a thoughtful and polite manner about a variety of topics, both happy and sad. This relaxed my heart, and I could no more stay silent and just started talking. ーつづくー
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現代語訳『土佐日記・更級日記』(森山京著 ポプラ社)より
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