漱石と庄内の文人たち（Ⅱ）（英語対訳）２

漱石と庄内の文人たち（Ⅱ）２

２　松尾芭蕉と正岡子規

 
　俳聖松尾芭蕉（一六四四～一六九四）が門人曽良を伴い江戸深川から奥の細道へ旅立ったのは一六八九年（元禄二）三月。約六百里（二四〇〇㎞）五ヵ月におよぶ行脚は幾多の困難をともなったが、それぞれの土地の珍しい風物や人情、風俗に触れ、貴重な文化遺産となった紀行文『奥の細道』を生む実り多い旅となり、山形県内でも多くの名句を残した。出羽三山には、六月三日（新暦七月十九日）から十日まで滞在。この間、五日に羽黒山、八日に月山、湯殿山をめぐり、三霊山をくまなく踏破した。
　夏目漱石は明治二十七年八月に東北の松島旅行をして瑞巌寺(ずいがんじ)を詣(もう)でているが、山形県には足を運んだ記録がない。しかし、正岡子規は明治二十六年七月十九日から八月二十日までの約一ヵ月間、松尾芭蕉の足跡を訪ねて東北地方を旅した紀行文『はて知らずの記』があり、八月六日から九日まで山形県内を旅し、最上川を下り庄内地方の清川、酒田に立ち寄り、秋田に向かった。正岡子規は芭蕉に少しの反発を持って「ずんずんと夏を流すや最上川」と詠んだ。高浜虚子も山形県を訪れ「夏山の襟を正して最上川」と詠み、昭和三十一年に庄内地方の「羽黒山」で詠んだ「俳諧を守りの神の涼しさよ」の句碑が出羽三山神社にある。

Soseki and Writers of Shonai (II)　２

2 　Matsuo Basho and Masaoka Shiki

 
　　　It was in March 1689 (Genroku 2) that the haiku master Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) set out from Fukagawa, Edo, to Oku no Hosomichi, accompanied by his disciple Sora. The five-month-long pilgrimage, which spanned about 600 li (24,000 km), was fraught with many difficulties, but it was a journey through which he was able to experience the unique sights, humanity, and customs of each region, and was able to write the travelogue "Oku-no-Hosomichi" that has become a valuable cultural heritage. It was a fruitful journey that led to the creation of ``Oku-no-Hosomichi,'' and he left behind many famous poems even within Yamagata Prefecture. He stayed at Dewa Sanzan from June 3rd (July 19th in the new calendar) to the 10th. During this time, he visited Mt. Haguro on the 5th, Mt. Gassan, and Mt. Yudono on the 8th, and traversed all of the three sacred mountains.
　　　Natsume Soseki traveled to Matsushima in Tohoku in August 1897 and visited Zui Ganji Temple, but there is no record of him visiting Yamagata Prefecture. However, Masaoka Shiki's travelogue ``Hate Shirazu no Ki,'' in which he traveled to the Tohoku region in the footsteps of Matsuo Basho for about a month from July 19th to August 20th, 1896, was published. From August 6th to 9th, I traveled through Yamagata Prefecture, descended the Mogami River, stopped at Kiyokawa and Sakata in the Shonai region, and headed toward Akita. Shiki Masaoka felt a little repulsed by Basho and wrote a poem, ``The Mogami River/　Flows/　In summer.'' Kyoshi Takahama also visited Yamagata Prefecture and wrote a poem, ``The Mogami River/ Straightens their postures/　The mountains in summer'', and there is a monument with the poem ``The guardian god/ Of Haiku/ The coolness of it'', which he wrote on ``Mount Haguro'' in the Shonai region in 1965.　It is located at Dewa Sanzan Shrine.　　（To be continued）