ＷＥＢ絵本『蛸島の虻』

This is also an old story.
A Mr. Yanagi lived in the port area of Takojima village of Noto province.
One day, he went to the open sea in his rowboat with a young man for fishing mackerel.
He got amazingly many mackerel.
And so, he couldn't return and he kept fishing.

是もむかし能登国蛸島の湊に、柳何がしと云う人がありました．

或る日ひとりの若い者を連れて、鯖を釣りに小舟に乗って沖に出ましたが、面白いほど鯖が沢山に釣れるので、帰ることも出来ないで、いつ迄も釣っておりますと・・・

Meanwhile the young man, whoes job was rowing the boat, was bored.
And the young man fell asleep.
After a while, Mr. Yanagi unexpectedly noticed that three horseflies appeared from nowhere and were flying around.
They were getting in or out from the nose holes of the sleeping young man repeatedly.
He didn't think that horseflies were able to come to the open sea.
And he shook the sleeping young man awake.
The young man woke up and said "Just now, I dreamed a quite odd dream. Three Buddhas changed into three horseflies in the Marudo temple of our village. And they flew out. I was watching where they were going. Then you awoke me."
Mr. Yanagi said "Indeed, your dream is strange. Well, I'll give you all today's mackerel. And so, please sell the dream to me."
The young man answered "If you buy my dream, I will sell it in any amount."
So, the young man got a large number of mackerel.
The two people joyfully returned back.

・・・舟を漕ぐ若い者は退屈をして寝てしまいました．

主人は暫くして、ふと気が付いて見ますと、何処から来たものか３匹の虻が飛びまわって、しきりに寝ている男の鼻の穴から、出たり入ったりしています．

こんな沖合に虻など飛んで来るわけはないがと思って、その若者の寝ているのを揺り起こしました．

若者が起きて言うには、私は今実に珍しい夢を見ていました．

村の丸堂の中から３体の仏様が、３匹の虻になって飛んで出られたのを、どこ迄行かれるのかと見届けようとしているうちに、貴方がお起こしになったのですと申しました．

主人はこれを聞いて、それはなる程奇妙な夢だ．それでは今日の鯖を残らずお前にあげるから、その夢を私に売ってくれぬかと言いました．

夢なんか若し買って下さるならば、幾らでも売りましょうと言って、男は沢山の鯖を貰って、喜び勇んで共々に帰ってきました．

Immeadiately, Mr. Yanagi went to the place the Marudo temple of the village stood.
As the dream told, three horseflies were going in and out from a gap in a wall of the temple.
He waited with a reedy hat in his hand, caught the horseflies tenderly, and went back to home in haste.

柳の主人はその足で直ぐに、村の丸堂という御堂の在る所に行って見ますと、果して夢の話の通り、御堂の壁の隙間から３つの虻が、出入りをしておりました．

笠を手に持って待っていて、そっとその虻を押えて大急ぎで家に帰り・・・

He removed the hat in a room.
Instead of the horseflies, three beautiful Buddhist images of about 2 inches appeared.
He thought that it was too greedy to keep all the three images at home.
So, the Amida Buddhist image was dedicated to the Shoanji temple of the village.
The Benten Buddhist image was taken to a tiny island out of the port. Still now, the island is called Bentenjima island.
And, the remaining Bishamon Buddhist image has been worshiped at this home carefully.
(Noto province Suzugun county)

・・・座敷の中でその笠を除けて見ますと、虻ではなくて一寸八分ほどの美しい３つの御仏像でありました．

これを３つとも家に置いては、あんまり慾が深すぎると思いまして、阿弥陀様は村の勝安寺というお寺に納め、弁天様は湊の外の、小さな島に持って行って、今でもそこを弁天島といっております．

そうして残りの毘沙門さまの像だけは、今でも大事にして、この家で祭っているという話であります．
（能登珠洲郡）

――　奥付　――
ＷＥＢ絵本『蛸島の虻』
絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：柳田国男

A Picture Book : "Horseflies of Takojima Village"
Illustrated and translated by : Akanemachi Haruhiko
Original author : Yanagida Kunio