IZUNO

ずっと昔、伊豆の婆娑羅山（ばさらやま）の麓の村では、度々恐ろしいことが起こっていました。
Once upon a time, in a village at the foot of Mt. Basara on the Izu Peninsula, horrible things often occurred.

夜になると、血を浴びたかの如く真っ赤な月が二つ昇り、それを見た者は、闇の中から現れる化け物に巻きつかれて、たちまち喰われてしまうというのでした。すでに十人ほどが犠牲になっており、村人たちは恐怖と悲しみに打ちひしがれ、怯えながら暮らしていました。
Two moons rose at night. The moons were red as if stained with blood. When people saw the moons, they were attacked by a monster that emerged from the dark, and immediately eaten by the monster. Nearly ten people had already been killed. The people in the village were terrified, suffering from sadness and living in fear.

かつて一度、その禍々しい噂を聞きつけた甲州（今の山梨）の弓の名手が、化け物狩りを名乗り出たこともありました。が、その弓の名手の男も、二つの真っ赤な月を目にした途端、あっけなく化け物に囚われて、ずるずると暗黒に引きずり込まれてしまったのでした。
One day, an archery expert in Koshu, which is present Yamanashi Prefecture, heard of the horrifying events. He went to the village and volunteered to fight the monster. The archery expert, however, was easily strangled by the monster as soon as he saw the two red moons, and dragged into the dark.

わしらには、もう手立てはない……。村人たちが絶望し、暗澹（あんたん）としていたそんな頃。
People in the village lost hope and were profoundly depressed.

また甲州から、弓を背負い化け物狩りを名乗り出る者がおりました。それは村人たちが唖然とするほど若く、色の白い、二人の姉妹でした。姉の名が小松、妹は小杉といいました。
Years later, two people came again from Koshu, carrying bows and arrows, and volunteered to fight the monster. The village people were stunned and became speechless, because they were very young and pale sisters. The older sister was called Komatsu and the younger sister Kosugi.

化け物狩りを名乗り出た姉妹を、村人たちは驚いて引き止めました。

「やめなされ。気持ちはありがたいが、あんたがたでは歯が立たぬ。そんな細い体では到底無理だ」

「そもそも化け物に立ち向かうための武器は、いかほどあるというのだ？」
Being surprised by the two sisters volunteering to fight the monster, the village people tried to stop them. One villager said: “You must stop. We appreciate your offering to help, but the monster is too strong for you. With your delicate physique, fighting the monster off is utterly impossible.” Another villager asked, “For fighting off the monster, how many weapons do you have?”

 

すると、姉の小松が答えました。

「私たちそれぞれの弓と、矢が一矢ずつです」

小松と小杉の姉妹は、互いに矢筒の中には一矢ずつしか入れてきておらず、これから、二つの真っ赤な月がちょうど真上に昇る、忌まわしい岩場へ向かうというのです。

Komatsu, the older sister, replied, “We each have one bow and one arrow.” In their quivers, Komatsu and Kosugi had only one arrow each. Yet, they insisted that they were going to the terrifying rocky place, where the two moons would rise immediately above.

「一矢、だけ？！　愚かな！　命を粗末にするでない！！」
村人たちが声を荒げて制止する中、小松は構わず背を向け、その後を追うように妹の小杉が付き従いました。
“Only one arrow? Foolish! You must not spend your life recklessly!” said another villager. Despite the village people raising their voices and trying to stop the sisters, Komatsu turned around and headed toward the rocky place. Kosugi, the younger sister, followed her.

姉妹が向かった先は――。村を一望出来る岩場で、鬼の頭のような巨岩が二つ、ぽっかりと突き出ていました。小松と小杉は、それぞれ岩陰に身を潜めると、一矢ずつの矢の先端に、瓶に入れて持参した毒を塗りながら、日が暮れるのを待ちました。
Komatsu and Kosugi came to the rocky place, where they could command a panoramic view of the village. Two massive rocks were standing out and looked like demon’s heads. Komatsu and Kosugi hid themselves behind each of the massive rocks. They applied poison, which they were carrying in a bottle, to the tips of their arrows, and waited for sunset.

小杉は、宵の刻を待つ姉の横顔を見つめながら、これまでのことを考えていました。幼い頃、父から弓の扱いを姉と一緒に習ったこと。そんな頼もしい父が、岩科（今の伊豆松崎町）で鹿狩りをしていた際、この、忌まわしい化け物のいる村に辿り着いたという便り。それが、父からの最後の手紙となってしまったこと。
Looking at her sister’s profile waiting for evening, Kosugi recalled her memories. When the sisters were little, their father used to teach them how to handle the bow. Their father wrote them that he was hunting for deer in Iwashina, which is the present Matsuzaki Town in Izu, and came to this village to kill a terrifying monster. This was the last letter from their father.

そう、姉妹の父は、以前、この村で化け物狩りを名乗り出たという、甲州の弓の名手だったのです。
The father of Komatsu and Kosugi was the archery expert from Koshu, who volunteered to fight the monster in this village.

姉妹は、父の仇討ちの為、弓の特訓を行い、未だ姿形も判然としない化け物への復讐を胸に、村にやってきたのでした。
The sisters came to the village for revenge for their father, after intensive archery training and swearing they would have revenge against the monster, even though the sisters did not know what it looked like.

真っ赤な月の下、化け物が現れたら、闇に引きずり込まれる寸前にお互い毒を塗った矢を放つ。外した時は命はない。後がないことを己に強く言い聞かせる為、それぞれ持参した矢は、一矢ずつのみだったのでした。
As soon as the monster appears under the red moons, they must shoot poisoned arrows before being dragged into the dark. If they fail to shoot their arrows into the monster, they would be killed. In order to strongly convince themselves that no failure would be allowed, Komatsu and Kosugi brought only one arrow each.

今、姉さんは何を考えているのだろう。
小杉は、先ほどからじっと空を見上げたままの小松の横顔を見つめて、思いました。と、ふいに目が潤みだし涙が頬を伝いました。これまで抑えてきた感情が、堰を切ったように溢れ出していたのでした。小杉は慌てて、姉に見られまいと目を拭ったのですが、涙は止まりませんでした。
“What is Komatsu thinking now?” Looking at the profile of Komatsu, who was looking up the sky for a while, Kosugi wondered. Suddenly, tears came into Kosugi’s eyes and fell from her eyes. Kosugi quickly wiped her eyes, so that Komatsu would not see her tears, but tears kept falling.

父が死んだという知らせを受けてから、姉と必死になって、手を血豆でいっぱいにしながら、弓の特訓を行ってきたこと。そして、今日が人生の最期になるかもしれないという覚悟。
Kosugi recalled her intensive archery training together with Komatsu, having blood blisters on their palms, after hearing of their father’s death. Kosugi also prepared herself for her own death, thinking that today might be the last day of her life.

駄目だ。いけない。戦を前にこんな思いでは、きっと勝てない……。そう思っていると、辺りはいつのまにか真っ暗になっていて、闇の中で、何か得体の知れない巨大なものがずるずると蠢き、這いだして、そのおぞましい振動が、岩場一帯を揺らしはじめるのでした。
“No, I must not think this way. With such negative thinking, I will lose the fight.” Kosugi thought. Then, it was already dark around them. In the darkness, something huge was moving and groveling about, and its horrifying movement caused the entire rocky place to quake.

そして、闇に昇る、二つの真っ赤な月。
Then, the two red moons rose in the darkness.

「あっ！」

小杉は呆然と立ち尽くしました。慌てて弓を構えましたが、指が微かに震えます。
“Oh!” Kosugi was stunned and could not move. She tried to draw the bow quickly, but her fingers slightly trembled.

目前の二つの月は、地獄の血の池のように真っ赤で、恐ろしい色をしていました。小杉は、瞬時にどこか違う世界に放り込まれてしまったように思え、今どこに立っているのかさえわからなくなるような感覚に捉えられて、眩暈を覚えました。
The two moons in front of her were horrifyingly red, like the blood pond in hell. Kosugi felt as if she had arrived somewhere else: a different world. She was confused, being unable to understand where she was now, and felt dizzy.

「駄目―――っ！　小杉！！　月を狙いなさい！！」
姉の絶叫が聞こえました。
“No! Kosugi! Aim at the moon!” Kosugi heard her sister screaming.

「え」
我に返った小杉は、懸命に歯を喰い縛って倒れそうになるのを堪え、月を睨みつけました。
“What?” Kosugi recovered her senses. She tried hard not to fall down, gritting her teeth and glaring at the moons.

 

「そうだ、私が右の月を狙って、姉さんが左の月を狙う」
呟きながら地面を踏み締めて、刹那、脳裏に浮かんだ父の顔を胸に、思い切り矢を放ちました。
“Yes, I must shoot the right moon and Komatsu shoots the left moon.” Kosugi murmured, stood firmly on the ground, and shot her arrow. When doing so, Kosugi recalled her father’s face.

姉妹の放った矢がそれぞれ、二つの真っ赤な月を射抜きます！
Two arrows shot by the sisters hit the right and left red moons!

すると、巨大な化け物が激しくのたうつ姿が、闇の中からぼんやりと浮かび上がってきました。
Then, a violently wriggling huge monster emerged vaguely out of the darkness.

「あ、あれは……」
それは、あまりに巨大な、まだらの一匹の蛇でした。
二つの真っ赤な月というのは、大蛇の両目だったのです。
“Oh, that is…” the sisters murmured together. The monster was an extremely huge piebald python, and the two red moons were the eyes of the python.

大蛇は両目を姉妹の矢に射抜かれながらも、牛の脚ほどもある図太い大きな舌をしゅるしゅる伸ばし、二人を呑み込もうと口を大きく開けます。
With both eyes shot with the sisters’ arrows, the python opened its wide mouth, stuck out its tongue, which was as thick as a cow’s leg, and tried to swallow the sisters.

喰われるものか！！
小杉は懸命に身を低くして、岩にしがみつきました。
“I won’t be swallowed!” Kosugi bent down, trying to be as low as possible, and held on to the rock.

と、矢に塗っておいた毒が効いてきたのか、大蛇の体がびゅんと大きく反り返って、首が垂れ、大蛇が闇雲に振り回した頭がすっぽりと二つの巨岩の間に嵌まって、抜けなくなりました。
Then, perhaps the poison on the arrows started to work. The python cramped, significantly wriggling its body and lowering its head. The python shook its head in blind panic, causing the head to be wedged between the two massive rocks. The python became unable to pull its head out from the rocks.

じゅじゅじゅじゅじゅるる！！！
大蛇はいっそう舌を伸ばし、苦悶の絶叫を上げるかの如く大量の胃液を辺りにぶちまけ、尻尾で辺りの石を蹴散らして激しく暴れましたが、頭は岩にがっしり挟まれたまま抜けませんでした。
Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss…. Sticking out its tongue further, the python poured out a large amount of its stomach fluid, as if it was groaning with pain. With its tail, the python violently kicked stones nearby. Its head, however, was still firmly wedged between the rocks and never came out.

「や、やった……」
呟いた小杉に、隣で、姉の小松が頷きます。
「姉さん」
姉は、ここ何年も久しく見ていなかった柔らかな目をしていました。
小杉は、たちまち顔をしゃくしゃにして大粒の涙を流して、姉の手を強く、強く握り締めたのでした。
“We, we did it…, Komatsu,” said Kosugi. Komatsu nodded. Komatsu smiled with gentle eyes, which Kosugi had not seen for many years. Kosugi burst into tears, with her face rumpled, and strongly held Komatsu’s hand.

大蛇は、首を岩に挟まれて身動きが取れなくなったまま毒が全身に回り、とうとう果てました。
村人たちはその骨を岩場の一角に埋めて、大蛇院というお寺を立てて、弔ったといいます。
Wedged between the rocks and unable to move, the python was, at last, killed by the poison. The village people buried some of the python’s bones in the rocky place, and built a temple, called Daijain (literally meaning large snake shrine), to express their condolences.

姉の小松は、父の仇討ちを遂げた後、甲州へと戻っていきました。
After having her revenge, Komatsu went back to Koshu.

しかし、妹の小杉は故郷へは帰りませんでした。小杉は、父の終焉の地となったこの村に残ることを決め、もう二度と化け物が復活することのないよう祈念し続けたそうです。後に、村の者と一緒になり、子を産んで、生涯を終えました。
The younger sister, Kosugi, however, did not return to her home village. Instead, Kosugi decided to stay in the village where her father died, and kept praying there that the monster would never come back to life again. Later, Kosugi married a villager, had children and lived there until she died.

以来、村は小杉原と呼ばれるようになり、小杉の名は伊豆松崎町の山間の地名となって今も語り継がれています。
The village came to be called Kosugi-hara Village, and her name, Kosugi, is still the name of the place in Matsuzaki Town in Izu.