21 This was the moment for which the brave Prince had been waiting. Flinging down the wine jar, he seized the tipsy and astonished Kumaso and quickly stabbed him to death with the dagger which he had secretly carried hidden in his breast.
21 勇敢な王子が待っていた瞬間だった。酒壷を投げつけ、ほろ酔いで驚愕するクマソを掴み、こっそり胸に隠し持っていた短剣で素早く刺し殺した。
22 Takeru, the brigand’s brother, was terror-struck as soon as he saw what was happening and tried to escape, but Prince Yamato was too quick for him. Ere he could reach the tent door the Prince was at his heel, his garments were clutched by a hand of iron, and a dagger flashed before his eyes and he lay stabbed to the earth, dying but not yet dead.
22 盗賊の弟タケルは、その様子を見て恐怖に襲われ、逃げようとしたが、ヤマト王子は早すぎた.テントのドアにたどり着く前に、王子はかかとにいて、彼の衣服は鉄の手でつかまれ、目の前で短剣が閃き、彼は地面に突き刺され、死にかけていましたが、まだ死んでいませんでした。
23 “Wait one moment!” gasped the brigand painfully, and he seized the Prince’s hand.
23「ちょっと待って！」山賊は苦しそうに喘ぎ、王子の手を掴んだ。
24 Yamato relaxed his hold somewhat and said.
24 ヤマトは少し手を緩めて言った。
25 “Why should I pause, thou villain?”
25「なぜ私は一時停止する必要があるのですか、あなたは悪役ですか？」
26 The brigand raised himself fearfully and said:
26 山賊は恐る恐る立ち上がって言った。
27 “Tell me from whence you come, and whom I have the honor of addressing? Hitherto I believed that my dead brother and I were the strongest men in the land, and that there was no one who could overcome us. Alone you have ventured into our stronghold, alone you have attacked and killed us! Surely you are more than mortal?”
27 どこから来たのか教えてください。これまで私は、死んだ兄と私がこの国で最強の男であり、私たちを打ち負かすことができる人は誰もいないと信じていました.あなただけが私たちの要塞に足を踏み入れました。あなただけが私たちを攻撃して殺しました!確かにあなたは死ぬ以上のものですか？」
28 Then the young Prince answered with a proud smile:—“I am the son of the King and my name is Yamato, and I have been sent by my father as the avenger of evil to bring death to all rebels! No longer shall robbery and murder hold my people in terror!” and he held the dagger dripping red above the rebel’s head.
28 すると、若い王子は誇らしげな笑みを浮かべて答えた。もはや強盗や殺人が私の民を恐怖に陥れることはありません!」そして彼は反逆者の頭の上に赤く滴る短剣を持った.
29 “Ah,” gasped the dying man with a great effort, “I have often heard of you. You are indeed a strong man to have so easily overcome us. Allow me to give you a new name. From henceforth you shall be known as Yamato Take. Our title I bequeath to you as the bravest man in Yamato.”
29 「ああ」と死にゆく男は一生懸命息を切らして言った。あなたは確かに私たちを簡単に打ち負かした強い男です。新しい名前を付けさせてください。これからはヤマトタケと名乗ります。我等の称号は大和一の勇者として君に贈る」
30 And with these noble words, Takeru fell back and died.
30 そして、これらの高貴な言葉で、タケルは後退して死にました.
31 The Prince having thus successfully put an end to his father’s enemies in the world, was prepared to return to the capital. On the way back he passed through the province of Idum. Here he met with another outlaw named Idzumo Takeru who he knew had done much harm in the land. He again resorted to stratagem, and feigned friendship with the rebel under an assumed name. Having done this he made a sword of wood and jammed it tightly in the shaft of his own strong sword. This he purposedly buckled to his side and wore on every occasion when he expected to meet the third robber Takeru.
31 このようにして世界の父の敵を首尾よく終わらせた王子は、首都に戻る準備ができていました。帰り道、彼はイドゥム地方を通過した。ここで彼は、土地に多くの害を及ぼしたことを知っていた出雲健という別の無法者に会いました。彼は再び策略に訴え、偽名で反乱軍との友情を装った。これを行った後、彼は木の剣を作り、それを自分の強力な剣のシャフトにしっかりと詰め込みました。これは彼がわざと座屈し、3 番目の強盗タケルに会うと予想されるあらゆる機会に身に着けていました。
32 He now invited Takeru to the bank of the River Hinokawa, and persuaded him to try a swim with him in the cool refreshing waters of the river.
32 彼はタケルを火の川のほとりに招待し、涼しくさわやかな川の水で一緒に泳ぐように説得した。
33 As it was a hot summer’s day, the rebel was nothing loath to take a plunge in the river, while his enemy was still swimming down the stream the Prince turned back and landed with all possible haste. Unperceived, he managed to change swords, putting his wooden one in place of the keen steel sword of Takeru.
33 暑い夏の日だったので、反逆者は川に飛び込むことをためらいませんでした.敵がまだ小川を泳いでいる間、王子は引き返し、可能な限り急いで上陸しました.気づかれずに、彼はなんとか剣を交換し、タケルの鋭い鋼の剣の代わりに木製の剣を置きました.
34 Knowing nothing of this, the brigand came up to the bank shortly. As soon as he had landed and donned his clothes, the Prince came forward and asked him to cross swords with him to prove his skill, saying:
34 このことを何も知らずに、山賊はすぐに銀行にやって来た。彼が着陸して服を着るとすぐに、王子は彼に前に出て、彼のスキルを証明するために彼と剣を交えるように頼んだ.
35 “Let us two prove which is the better swordsman of the two!”
35 「二人でどちらが優れた剣士か証明しよう！」
36 The robber agreed with delight, feeling certain of victory, for he was famous as a fencer in his province and he did not know who his adversary was. He seized quickly what he thought was his sword and stood on guard to defend himself. Alas! for the rebel the sword was the wooden one of the young Prince and in vain Takeru tried to unsheathe it—it was jammed fast, not all his exerted strength could move it. Even if his efforts had been successful the sword would have been of no use to him for it was of wood. Yamato Take saw that his enemy was in his power, and swinging high the sword he had taken from Takeru he brought it down with great might and dexterity and cut off the robber’s head.
36 強盗は勝利を確信し、喜んで同意した。彼は自分の州で剣士として有名であり、敵が誰であるかを知らなかったからである。彼は自分の剣だと思っていたものをすぐにつかみ、身を守るために警戒しました。ああ！反逆者の剣は若い王子の木製のものであり、タケルはそれを抜こうとしたが無駄だった.彼の努力が成功したとしても、それは木でできていたので、彼にとってその剣は何の役にも立たなかっただろう.ヤマトタケは敵が自分の力にあるのを見て、タケルから奪った剣を高く振り上げ、大きな力と器用さでそれを倒し、強盗の頭を切り落としました.
37 In this way, sometimes by using his wisdom and sometimes by using his bodily strength, and at other times by resorting to craftiness, which was as much esteemed in those days as it is despised in these, he prevailed against all the King’s foes one by one, and brought peace and rest to the land and the people.
37 このようにして、時には彼の知恵を使うことによって、時には彼の肉体的な力を使うことによって、また時には狡猾さに訴えることによって、彼は当時軽蔑されていたのと同じくらい尊敬されていた.一人ずつ、そして土地と人々に平和と安らぎをもたらしました。
38 When he returned to the capital the King praised him for his brave deeds, and held a feast in the Palace in honor of his safe coming home and presented him with many rare gifts. From this time forth the King loved him more than ever and would not let Yamato Take go from his side, for he said that his son was now as precious to him as one of his arms.
38 彼が首都に戻ると、王は彼の勇敢な行動を称賛し、無事に帰国したことを記念して宮殿で饗宴を催し、多くの珍しい贈り物を彼に贈った。この時以来、王は彼をこれまで以上に愛し、ヤマトタケを彼の側から離しませんでした. なぜなら、彼の息子は今や彼の腕の1つと同じくらい彼にとって貴重であると彼は言ったからです.
39 But the Prince was not allowed to live an idle life long. When he was about thirty years old, news was brought that the Ainu race, the aborigines of the islands of Japan, who had been conquered and pushed northwards by the Japanese, had rebelled in the Eastern provinces, and leaving the vicinity which had been allotted to them were causing great trouble in the land. The King decided that it was necessary to send an army to do battle with them and bring them to reason. But who was to lead the men?
39 しかし、王子は怠惰な生活を長く続けることは許されませんでした。彼が 30 歳くらいのとき、日本列島の原住民であるアイヌ民族が、日本軍に征服されて北方に追いやられ、東部地方で反乱を起こし、割り当てられていた地域を離れたというニュースがもたらされました。彼らはその地に大きな問題を引き起こしていました。王は、彼らと戦い、彼らを説得するために軍を派遣する必要があると判断しました。しかし、誰が男性を率いていたのですか？
40 Prince Yamato Take at once offered to go and bring the newly arisen rebels into subjection. Now as the King loved the Prince dearly, and could not bear to have him go out of his sight even for the length of one day, he was of course very loath to send him on his dangerous expedition. But in the whole army there was no warrior so strong or so brave as the Prince his son, so that His Majesty, unable to do otherwise, reluctantly complied with Yamato’s wish.
40 王子大和タケはすぐに行って、新しく立ち上がった反逆者を服従させることを申し出た.さて、王様は王子をこよなく愛しており、王子が一日たりとも姿を消してしまうのは耐えられなかったので、もちろん彼を危険な遠征に送り出すのはとても嫌でした。しかし、全軍の中で王子ほど強く勇敢な戦士はいなかったので、陛下は他に何もすることができず、しぶしぶヤマトの願いに応えました。
