Natsume Yuujinchou novel translation - The Ayakashi's Tune (2/4)
Thanks for the very kind comments on the previous post! ♥
As lady39jane noted, she's also uploaded scans for the third story in the collection, if anyone else would like to take a stab at it. :)
---
Translated from scans provided by the very kind lady39jane.
Corrections are appreciated.
The Ayakashi's Tune
Part I
"I have come to see Natsume-dono of the Book of Friends."
"Uwaa, Nyanko-sensei! There's someone strange outside the window again--"
"Calm down, Natsume. If he looks like trouble, I'll drive him away."
Ever since I was a child, I've occasionally seen strange things. Those things, which no one else seems able to see, are probably something like what you'd call youkai.
"Natsume-dono, I came with a request."
"Do you want your name back?"
"No, my name is not in there. I have merely heard that the name of an ayakashi for whom I am searching is in that booklet."
"Searching?"
"Indeed. Natsume-dono. Please, help me summon Ashi-no-Takumi1 using that Book of Friends."
"Ashi-no-Takumi, you said?"
The ayakashi had the appearance of a tengu, and was holding a small cross-flute in his hand.
"I am known as Hichiri."
"Hichiri... haven't we met before, somewhere?"
"Hm? It was only very recently that I learnt of Natsume-dono of the Book of Friends, through rumours. To have met before that... hmm?"
Hichiri stopped speaking, and fixed his gaze upon my face.
"Come to think of it, that face... no, it cannot be. And yet, it's similar--"
"Is there something wrong with my face?"
"No, it must surely be a coincidental resemblance. More importantly, Natsume-dono, about Ashi-no-Takumi--"
"Hang on, please. This Ashi-no-Takumi, exactly who--"
"I've heard about him. Some flute-making artisan, that sort of thing," said Nyanko-sensei.
"Indeed. When it comes to making flutes, Ashi-no-Takumi was the best of his time, a master craftsman. I am, as you can see, a player of the flute, but this flute's condition has been strange of late. Not only am I unable to achieve the desired sound, the timbre is dull."
"So you'd like Ashi-no-Takumi to make a new flute for you?"
"No, I am quite attached to this flute; I wish for it to be repaired. I thus began searching for Ashi-no-Takumi, but ever since his name was taken by Natsume of the Book of Friends, it seems he has shut himself away in the mountains and will not meet with anyone--"
"And so you'd like me to summon him. But since I don't know what that ayakashi looks like, I can't summon him."
"What!"
Hichiri was at a loss for words.
"The one who defeated him in a contest and took his name was my grandmother. I can't summon an ayakashi whom I've never seen before, and I can't return their name either."
"Oi, Hichiri or whoever you are. If you're a flute virtuoso, try playing a tune. I'll listen," Nyanko-sensei said, while eating a stick of dango.
"Certainly. It would be vexing to simply leave like this. Listen, then."
Hichiri readied the cross-flute, and -- taking a breath -- began to play. He had superb skill. I couldn't hear a dull timbre at all. Perhaps it was the sort of subtle difference which only those known as masters could discern. A beautiful tone, a youkai which looked like a tengu... suddenly, a memory from the past resurfaced in my mind.
"Ah! You were from that time--"
It was a music lesson in elementary school. As we were playing in unison, I'd unexpectedly heard the sound of another sort of flute. Yes, it was certainly this sound. When I'd looked, a tengu with a flute was beside our teacher. Without thinking, I'd cried out...
"What, were you that whelp from back then? You've grown."
"Whoa, feels like you're suddenly looking down on me. That's not very nice."
"Hmph, I have no reason to bow my head to someone who cannot even summon Ashi-no-Takumi."
"But if Natsume -- who has the Book of Friends
-- went there, that guy might appear in order to get his name back."
"Hmph... ...Natsume-sama! I beg of you, assist me!"
"What a fickle character. Oi, Natsume, you've no obligation to help this sort of guy."
"That's true. And I had a rough time of it in the past, thanks to you."
"You can't mean that! Natsume-dono, please consider my plea~"
No matter how I'm begged, I have my life at school and with the Fujiwaras; I can't simply leave. I flatly refused... or rather, I should have done so.
The next Sunday, Nyanko-sensei and I -- along with Hichiri -- were in the mountains where he'd guessed Ashi-no-Takumi would be. I thought of it as a losing proposition. But when someone who's burdened with a particular thought implores me desperately, I can't refuse.
It was halfway up a mountain, close to a town where I'd stayed for two months or so when I was in elementary school.
"O~i, Ashi-no-Takumi~, are you here?"
I half-heartedly tried calling out, but there was no reply.
"Meh, there's no reason it would be so easy to find him. Natsume, let's eat dango or something and go."
"Surely not! We have but just arrived!"
While we headed into the depths of the forest, I glimpsed two girls -- wearing the uniform from my school -- walking from the bus stop along the track that led up to the guesthouse.
"Oh no-- did they see me?"
Still, surely I could just make something up if they had seen me. With that thought, we went even deeper into the forest.
We must have searched for two or three hours. The sun was beginning to set, and it was about time to give up on that day's search and go home.
"Milord, milord, are you searching for Ashi-no-Takumi?"
With those words, there appeared before us an ayakashi with the face of a beast -- not quite that of a cow, nor a hound.
"My lords, did you not know? They say there is a melody which summons Ashi-no-Takumi."
"A melody which summons him?"
"Yes, if you play that melody upon a flute, Ashi-no-Takumi will be summoned -- or so they say. It's a tune called 'Niji no Hakaze'2. It goes something like this. Piihyururu--"
"Ah, could it be--" And saying that, Hichiri played his flute. It was the tune he'd played in my room.
It was a splendid performance. After playing the melody, Hichiri quietly put the flute away. We waited. But nothing appeared.
"Was that the one?"
The cow-hound answered. "It was certainly that tune. I've seen Ashi-no-Takumi play it before, after all."
"What did you say?"
"Takumi let a human girl hear that tune, and said that to summon him, she could just play it."
"A human girl..."
"He said he slept in a marsh overgrown with weeds, a bit further ahead, so he might not hear if he was simply called. But if he could hear that tune played all the way till the end, he'd surely awaken -- so he said. It was then that the human girl named the tune. "How about 'Niji no Hakaze?'" -- just like that."
I knew instantly who that had been. Strangely, Hichiri too seemed to have realised something.
"Well, it's an old story. Takumi's probably forgotten it. Right, I'll be off now."
With that, the cow-hound dashed off through the thicket.
"This flute is spoilt, and the sound it makes is dull -- there's no way it can summon him. But this is the only flute I have."
"How is it that you know that tune, Hichiri?"
"That tune was taught directly to me by my master3. My master was a very strict person, and would strike out with a fist, unforgivingly, if I made a mistake."
As he said that, Hichiri looked nostalgic.
"In that case, that master might have had other disciples."
"No, I don't believe there were any other disciples besides myself. If you ask why, it's because my master..."
But Hichiri would say no more about his master.
"Well then, nothing for it but to give up. Natsume, let's go," Nyanko-sensei said, hurrying me. Whereupon Hichiri, looking as though he didn't want to say it, confided in us.
"They weren't my master's disciple, but there is someone else -- just one person -- who can play it. But the thing is..."
According to what we coaxed out of the hemming and hawing Hichiri, that person was a human girl. She lived at the foot of this mountain, and on the way home from school, she would play the flute as she walked, every day. Liking that cheerful tone, Hichiri would play his flute in accompaniment, and that girl seemed able to hear the sound which should have been audible only to ayakashi. And then Hichiri -- as his master did before -- would play for her that tune he learnt from his master, though only in brief snatches. And then that girl would, with seeming enjoyment, continue playing after he had done so.
"Ah, how she seemed to enjoy playing a tune! Humans are fascinating creatures. Though there are those who are only able to lead a life of deceiving and outwitting others, there are also those who spend their days so purely and simply enjoying music. As long as those such as that child exist, I cannot come to hate humans. I most definitely cannot hate them."
There was an incredibly tender expression on Hichiri's face as he said that.
"Hang on. If you played that tune for this human child, shouldn't Ashi-no-Takumi have appeared then?"
"Both my master and I only passed on this tune in snippets. So that must be why, at that time, Ashi-no-Takumi did not awaken."
"I see. Then if we somehow just ask her to play the tune from start to finish..."
"That's impossible," Hichiri muttered. "Recently, for whatever reason, that child's flute has also sounded dull. It no longer plays with the delightful tone which it used to. Her flute must also be broken, surely. No... perhaps it's my fault."
"Eh?"
"Because my flute was broken, her flute also... So, no matter what, I must repair this flute."
"Hichiri, could it be that--"
"You've fallen for her, eh?"
"D-don't utter such nonsense. I just want that child to play with that delightful tone once more, that's all..."
Translator's notes:
1葦の匠. Literally, 'Master craftsman of the reeds'.
2虹の葉風. 'The leaf-stirring wind of the rainbow', or less literally, something like 'The rainbow's breeze'. 'Hakaze' refers specifically to a wind which stirs the leaves.
3In the sense of a respected teacher.
Part III
Part IV
As lady39jane noted, she's also uploaded scans for the third story in the collection, if anyone else would like to take a stab at it. :)
---
Translated from scans provided by the very kind lady39jane.
Corrections are appreciated.
The Ayakashi's Tune
Part I
"I have come to see Natsume-dono of the Book of Friends."
"Uwaa, Nyanko-sensei! There's someone strange outside the window again--"
"Calm down, Natsume. If he looks like trouble, I'll drive him away."
Ever since I was a child, I've occasionally seen strange things. Those things, which no one else seems able to see, are probably something like what you'd call youkai.
"Natsume-dono, I came with a request."
"Do you want your name back?"
"No, my name is not in there. I have merely heard that the name of an ayakashi for whom I am searching is in that booklet."
"Searching?"
"Indeed. Natsume-dono. Please, help me summon Ashi-no-Takumi1 using that Book of Friends."
"Ashi-no-Takumi, you said?"
The ayakashi had the appearance of a tengu, and was holding a small cross-flute in his hand.
"I am known as Hichiri."
"Hichiri... haven't we met before, somewhere?"
"Hm? It was only very recently that I learnt of Natsume-dono of the Book of Friends, through rumours. To have met before that... hmm?"
Hichiri stopped speaking, and fixed his gaze upon my face.
"Come to think of it, that face... no, it cannot be. And yet, it's similar--"
"Is there something wrong with my face?"
"No, it must surely be a coincidental resemblance. More importantly, Natsume-dono, about Ashi-no-Takumi--"
"Hang on, please. This Ashi-no-Takumi, exactly who--"
"I've heard about him. Some flute-making artisan, that sort of thing," said Nyanko-sensei.
"Indeed. When it comes to making flutes, Ashi-no-Takumi was the best of his time, a master craftsman. I am, as you can see, a player of the flute, but this flute's condition has been strange of late. Not only am I unable to achieve the desired sound, the timbre is dull."
"So you'd like Ashi-no-Takumi to make a new flute for you?"
"No, I am quite attached to this flute; I wish for it to be repaired. I thus began searching for Ashi-no-Takumi, but ever since his name was taken by Natsume of the Book of Friends, it seems he has shut himself away in the mountains and will not meet with anyone--"
"And so you'd like me to summon him. But since I don't know what that ayakashi looks like, I can't summon him."
"What!"
Hichiri was at a loss for words.
"The one who defeated him in a contest and took his name was my grandmother. I can't summon an ayakashi whom I've never seen before, and I can't return their name either."
"Oi, Hichiri or whoever you are. If you're a flute virtuoso, try playing a tune. I'll listen," Nyanko-sensei said, while eating a stick of dango.
"Certainly. It would be vexing to simply leave like this. Listen, then."
Hichiri readied the cross-flute, and -- taking a breath -- began to play. He had superb skill. I couldn't hear a dull timbre at all. Perhaps it was the sort of subtle difference which only those known as masters could discern. A beautiful tone, a youkai which looked like a tengu... suddenly, a memory from the past resurfaced in my mind.
"Ah! You were from that time--"
It was a music lesson in elementary school. As we were playing in unison, I'd unexpectedly heard the sound of another sort of flute. Yes, it was certainly this sound. When I'd looked, a tengu with a flute was beside our teacher. Without thinking, I'd cried out...
"What, were you that whelp from back then? You've grown."
"Whoa, feels like you're suddenly looking down on me. That's not very nice."
"Hmph, I have no reason to bow my head to someone who cannot even summon Ashi-no-Takumi."
"But if Natsume -- who has the Book of Friends
-- went there, that guy might appear in order to get his name back."
"Hmph... ...Natsume-sama! I beg of you, assist me!"
"What a fickle character. Oi, Natsume, you've no obligation to help this sort of guy."
"That's true. And I had a rough time of it in the past, thanks to you."
"You can't mean that! Natsume-dono, please consider my plea~"
No matter how I'm begged, I have my life at school and with the Fujiwaras; I can't simply leave. I flatly refused... or rather, I should have done so.
The next Sunday, Nyanko-sensei and I -- along with Hichiri -- were in the mountains where he'd guessed Ashi-no-Takumi would be. I thought of it as a losing proposition. But when someone who's burdened with a particular thought implores me desperately, I can't refuse.
It was halfway up a mountain, close to a town where I'd stayed for two months or so when I was in elementary school.
"O~i, Ashi-no-Takumi~, are you here?"
I half-heartedly tried calling out, but there was no reply.
"Meh, there's no reason it would be so easy to find him. Natsume, let's eat dango or something and go."
"Surely not! We have but just arrived!"
While we headed into the depths of the forest, I glimpsed two girls -- wearing the uniform from my school -- walking from the bus stop along the track that led up to the guesthouse.
"Oh no-- did they see me?"
Still, surely I could just make something up if they had seen me. With that thought, we went even deeper into the forest.
We must have searched for two or three hours. The sun was beginning to set, and it was about time to give up on that day's search and go home.
"Milord, milord, are you searching for Ashi-no-Takumi?"
With those words, there appeared before us an ayakashi with the face of a beast -- not quite that of a cow, nor a hound.
"My lords, did you not know? They say there is a melody which summons Ashi-no-Takumi."
"A melody which summons him?"
"Yes, if you play that melody upon a flute, Ashi-no-Takumi will be summoned -- or so they say. It's a tune called 'Niji no Hakaze'2. It goes something like this. Piihyururu--"
"Ah, could it be--" And saying that, Hichiri played his flute. It was the tune he'd played in my room.
It was a splendid performance. After playing the melody, Hichiri quietly put the flute away. We waited. But nothing appeared.
"Was that the one?"
The cow-hound answered. "It was certainly that tune. I've seen Ashi-no-Takumi play it before, after all."
"What did you say?"
"Takumi let a human girl hear that tune, and said that to summon him, she could just play it."
"A human girl..."
"He said he slept in a marsh overgrown with weeds, a bit further ahead, so he might not hear if he was simply called. But if he could hear that tune played all the way till the end, he'd surely awaken -- so he said. It was then that the human girl named the tune. "How about 'Niji no Hakaze?'" -- just like that."
I knew instantly who that had been. Strangely, Hichiri too seemed to have realised something.
"Well, it's an old story. Takumi's probably forgotten it. Right, I'll be off now."
With that, the cow-hound dashed off through the thicket.
"This flute is spoilt, and the sound it makes is dull -- there's no way it can summon him. But this is the only flute I have."
"How is it that you know that tune, Hichiri?"
"That tune was taught directly to me by my master3. My master was a very strict person, and would strike out with a fist, unforgivingly, if I made a mistake."
As he said that, Hichiri looked nostalgic.
"In that case, that master might have had other disciples."
"No, I don't believe there were any other disciples besides myself. If you ask why, it's because my master..."
But Hichiri would say no more about his master.
"Well then, nothing for it but to give up. Natsume, let's go," Nyanko-sensei said, hurrying me. Whereupon Hichiri, looking as though he didn't want to say it, confided in us.
"They weren't my master's disciple, but there is someone else -- just one person -- who can play it. But the thing is..."
According to what we coaxed out of the hemming and hawing Hichiri, that person was a human girl. She lived at the foot of this mountain, and on the way home from school, she would play the flute as she walked, every day. Liking that cheerful tone, Hichiri would play his flute in accompaniment, and that girl seemed able to hear the sound which should have been audible only to ayakashi. And then Hichiri -- as his master did before -- would play for her that tune he learnt from his master, though only in brief snatches. And then that girl would, with seeming enjoyment, continue playing after he had done so.
"Ah, how she seemed to enjoy playing a tune! Humans are fascinating creatures. Though there are those who are only able to lead a life of deceiving and outwitting others, there are also those who spend their days so purely and simply enjoying music. As long as those such as that child exist, I cannot come to hate humans. I most definitely cannot hate them."
There was an incredibly tender expression on Hichiri's face as he said that.
"Hang on. If you played that tune for this human child, shouldn't Ashi-no-Takumi have appeared then?"
"Both my master and I only passed on this tune in snippets. So that must be why, at that time, Ashi-no-Takumi did not awaken."
"I see. Then if we somehow just ask her to play the tune from start to finish..."
"That's impossible," Hichiri muttered. "Recently, for whatever reason, that child's flute has also sounded dull. It no longer plays with the delightful tone which it used to. Her flute must also be broken, surely. No... perhaps it's my fault."
"Eh?"
"Because my flute was broken, her flute also... So, no matter what, I must repair this flute."
"Hichiri, could it be that--"
"You've fallen for her, eh?"
"D-don't utter such nonsense. I just want that child to play with that delightful tone once more, that's all..."
Translator's notes:
1葦の匠. Literally, 'Master craftsman of the reeds'.
2虹の葉風. 'The leaf-stirring wind of the rainbow', or less literally, something like 'The rainbow's breeze'. 'Hakaze' refers specifically to a wind which stirs the leaves.
3In the sense of a respected teacher.
Part III
Part IV