Basho, M. (2004) "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" Translated by Dr Tim Chilcott. UK: @http://www.tclt.org.uk
6
Dear Friends,
Our journey with Basho continues. I feel in very good company. How about you? I am enjoying time to contemplate and make notes on my thoughts… maybe compiling my own travel log.
<那須＞
那須の黒はねと云所に知人あれば是より野越にかとりて直道をゆ
かんとす。遥に一村を見かけて行に、雨降日暮る。農夫の家に一
夜をかりて、明れば又野中を行。そこに野飼の馬あり。草刈おの
こになげきよれば、野夫といへどもさすがに情しらぬには非ず「
いかとすべきや、されども此野は縦横にわかれてうゐ／、敷旅人
の道ふみたがえん、あやしう侍れば、此馬のとどまる所にて馬を
返し給へ」とかし待ぬ。ちいさき者ふたり馬の跡したひてはしる
。独は小姫にて名を「かさね」と云。聞なれぬ名のやさしかりけ
れぱ、
かさねとは八重撫子の名成べし 曾良
頓て人里に至れば、あたひを鞍つぼに結付て馬を返しぬ。
I had an acquaintance who lived in Kurobane in Nasu, so we decided to take the shortest route, straight across the plain. We took a bearing from a village in the distance, but as we walked, the rain began to fall and the darkness closed in. We took lodgings for the night at a farmhouse, and next morning started off again across the plain.
We came upon a horse grazing and a farmer cutting grass. We asked him the way. Although a simple, rustic man, he was full of sympathy. He pondered a while, then said, 'What would be the best thing to do? The trails here criss-cross all over the place, and strangers like you could easily get lost. That worries me. I'll let you have the horse. When he won't go any further, just send him back.' And with that, he leant us his horse.
Two small children followed us, running behind the horse. One of them, a little girl, was called Kasane [Double]. It was such an unusual and charming name that Sora wrote about it:
Kasane must be
the name given the wild pink
with double petals
Before long, we reached a village and turned the horse back home, with some money tied to the saddle.
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