Mikan (A Mandarin Orange) : Final Part / 蜜柑 (終篇) 作者/ 芥川龍之介

Mikan (A Mandarin Orange) : Final Part / 蜜柑 (終篇) 作者/ 芥川龍之介 Practice Translating Japanese Literary Works into English  日本の文学作品を英語に翻訳する練習  Mikan (A Mandarin Orange) by Ryunosuke Akutagawa At that time, having glided through the tunnel smoothly, the train was yet passing through a railway crossing on the outskirts of a poor town wedged among the mountains, covered with dry grass. Near the railway crossing were shabby, cramped houses cluttering with thatched and tiled roofs. A single, pale white flag, may very well waved by a railroad crossing attendant, was swaying languidly in the twilight. Just as I thought the train had passed through the tunnel at last, I saw three boys with red cheeks, standing side by side, huddled up close to one another beyond that desolate railroad crossing fence. They were all as short as if they became stiff and freezed thoroughly by the cloudy sky. Furthermore, all of them wore kimono of the same color just like the gruesome scenery on the outskirts of town. No sooner had they all raised their hands in unison, looking up at the train passing, than they bent their little neck backward and gave an incomprehensible cry with one voice desperately. At that moment, something happened. The girl,  who had been leaning half her body out of the window, stretched out her frostbitten hands, shaking them vigorously from side to side. Suddenly, five or six mandarin oranges, so beautifully dyed with sunny-orange color as to make one's heart thrilling, showered down upon the boys who had come to see the train off. At the sight of it, I gasped inadvertently. For a fleeting moment, everything seemed to present itself by clairvoyance. The young girl, who was probably on her way to the place of employment, threw a handful of mandarin oranges saved in her kimono pocket out merely for rewarding her little brothers who came all the way to the railway crossing in order to see her off. The railway crossing at the edge of the town, tinged with the twilight sun, the three children raising their voice, cheering similar to wren-like birds,  and the vivid color of tangerines falling apart upon them – all of them passed by outside the train window in the blink of an eye. Even so, the scene has been engraved on my mind so plainly in a heartrending way. And I was conscious of the fact that a kind of mysterious, cheerful feeling also sprang up from there. I lifted up my head confidently and gazed at the girl as if she were another person. Before I noticed, the girl had returned to her seat somehow in front of mine again. With her chapped cheeks buried in her woolen yellowish-green muffler as usual, she clasped tightly a third-class ticket while holding a large wrapping cloth.... It was not until then that I could finally forget the inexplicable fatigue and weariness, and also the obscurity, inferiority and boredom of life for a little while. (The End) ----- [cb]蜜柑 (終篇) 作者/ 芥川龍之介 【原文】 しかし汽車はその時分には、もう安々と隧道を辷りぬけて、枯草の山と山との間に挾まれた、或貧しい町はづれの踏切りに通りかかつてゐた。踏切りの近くには、いづれも見すぼらしい藁屋根や瓦屋根がごみごみと狭苦しく建てこんで、踏切り番が振るのであらう、唯一旒のうす白い旗が懶げに暮色を揺つてゐた。やつと隧道を出たと思ふ――その時その蕭索とした踏切りの柵の向うに、私は頬の赤い三人の男の子が、目白押しに並んで立つてゐるのを見た。彼等は皆、この曇天に押しすくめられたかと思ふ程、揃つて背が低かつた。さうして又この町はづれの陰惨たる風物と同じやうな色の着物を着てゐた。それが汽車の通るのを仰ぎ見ながら、一斉に手を挙げるが早いか、いたいけな喉を高く反らせて、何とも意味の分らない喊声を一生懸命に迸らせた。するとその瞬間である。窓から半身を乗り出してゐた例の娘が、あの霜焼けの手をつとのばして、勢よく左右に振つたと思ふと、忽ち心を躍らすばかり暖な日の色に染まつてゐる蜜柑が凡そ五つ六つ、汽車を見送つた子供たちの上へばらばらと空から降つて来た。私は思はず息を呑んだ。さうして刹那に一切を了解した。小娘は、恐らくはこれから奉公先へ赴かうとしてゐる小娘は、その懐に蔵してゐた幾顆の蜜柑を窓から投げて、わざわざ踏切りまで見送りに来た弟たちの労に報いたのである。 　暮色を帯びた町はづれの踏切りと、小鳥のやうに声を挙げた三人の子供たちと、さうしてその上に乱落する鮮な蜜柑の色と――すべては汽車の窓の外に、瞬く暇もなく通り過ぎた。が、私の心の上には、切ない程はつきりと、この光景が焼きつけられた。さうしてそこから、或得体の知れない朗な心もちが湧き上つて来るのを意識した。私は昂然と頭を挙げて、まるで別人を見るやうにあの小娘を注視した。小娘は何時かもう私の前の席に返つて、不相変皸だらけの頬を萌黄色の毛糸の襟巻に埋めながら、大きな風呂敷包みを抱へた手に、しつかりと三等切符を握つてゐる。………… 　私はこの時始めて、云ひやうのない疲労と倦怠とを、さうして又不可解な、下等な、退屈な人生を僅に忘れる事が出来たのである。 [/cb] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM-okx_yE2Q

[cb]蜜柑 (完結篇) 作者/ 芥川龍之介 [中文翻譯] 這時火車已經靜靜地溜出隧道口，正要通往荒涼山嶺之間一個貧脊村莊郊外的火車平交道。平交道旁只見雜亂無章、密密麻麻地搭著一個又一個破落的稻草和瓦片屋頂。也許是平交道的守備正在揮舞旗幟吧，一面蒼白色的旗子正在暮色中懶洋洋地招搖著。我心想火車總算是要駛出隧道了 --- 這時，在這荒涼道口的柵欄前方，我看到三名臉頰通紅的小男孩並排站著。他們的個子像是被陰天擠壓了那樣的矮小，穿著像是跟這村莊盡頭荒涼景色搭配好顏色的衣服。 他們一邊抬頭望著火車，一邊高舉雙手，扯開嗓門拼命喊出令人聽不懂的吼叫聲。就在那一瞬間，事情發生了。已經把半個身子探出車窗外的女孩也把她那凍傷的雙手伸出車外，雙手竭力地向左右擺動，五六個叫人雀躍、有著溫暖陽光顏色的蜜柑從幾個送行的小孩頭上直接落下。這瞬間，我不禁屏息凝神，恍然大悟。這女孩大概是要離鄉背井到外地當傭人，於是把幾個藏在袖子裡的蜜柑拋出窗外來慰勞專程來平交道口送別的弟弟們。 暮色中，在這村莊外的火車平交道上、三個興奮高興得叫的跟小鳥一樣的小男孩、還有散落一地蜜柑鮮豔的色彩 ----- 這一切，雖然都會在一瞬間掠過車窗，但卻永遠會停留在我心頭，深深烙印在那裡。我感到一份莫名的喜悅湧上心頭。我昂然抬起頭，彷彿望向另一個人一般地凝視著這女孩。不知何時，女孩已經坐回我前方的位子，依然乾裂的臉龐藏在黃綠色的毛領下，抱著大包袱的手仍緊緊握著那一張三等車廂的車票。 從那時起，我稍稍能夠忘掉那份說不出的疲勞和困倦，還有那個不可理喻又無聊低俗的人生。 [/cb]