Part 2 of 3 · JLPT N2
月夜のでんしんばしら Tsukiyo no Denshinbashira, part 2: A Strange Old Man Leads the March
In this part
The telegraph poles march past Kyōichi in high spirits, singing their stiff old marching songs, and the moon comes out and lights up the scene. A small yellow-faced old man in a ragged grey coat appears, drilling the poles with barked commands. He then offers friendship and a handshake. When Kyōichi timidly gives his hand, he gets a powerful electric shock, which the old man says is only the weakest kind, and the boy is left trembling with fear.
AI translation · independently checked
二人はしかたなくよろよろあるきだし、つぎからつぎとはしらがどんどんやって来ます。The two had no choice but to stagger off, and pole after pole came marching steadily on.
「ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
やりをかざれるとたん帽"Our tin helmets crowned with spears,
すねははしらのごとくなり。"Our shins stand straight as pillars stand.
ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
肩にかけたるエボレット"The epaulettes upon our shoulders
重きつとめをしめすなり。」"Proclaim the weighty duty that we bear."
二人の影ももうずうっと遠くの緑青いろの林の方へ行ってしまい、月がうろこ雲からぱっと出て、あたりはにわかに明るくなりました。The two shadows had already gone far, far away toward the verdigris-green woods, the moon burst out from the mackerel clouds, and all at once everything around grew bright.
でんしんばしらはもうみんな、非常なご機嫌です。By now the telegraph poles were all in tremendously high spirits.
恭一の前に来ると、わざと肩をそびやかしたり、横めでわらったりして過ぎるのでした。When they came up in front of Kyōichi, they would make a show of squaring their shoulders, or smirk at him out of the corners of their eyes as they went by.
ところが愕ろいたことは、六本うで木のまた向うに、三本うで木のまっ赤なエボレットをつけた兵隊があるいていることです。But what was astonishing was that, further off beyond the poles with six crossarms, there were soldiers with three crossarms and bright red epaulettes marching along.
その軍歌はどうも、ふしも歌もこっちの方とちがうようでしたが、こっちの声があまり高いために、何をうたっているのか聞きとることができませんでした。Their marching song seemed to differ from this side's in both tune and words, but the singing on this side was so loud that it was impossible to make out what they were singing.
こっちはあいかわらずどんどんやって行きます。This side kept marching steadily on just as before.
「ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド、"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
寒さはだえをつんざくも"Though bitter cold should pierce our skin,
などて腕木をおろすべき"Why ever should we lower our arms?
ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
暑さ硫黄をとかすとも"Though heat should melt the brimstone down,
いかでおとさんエボレット。」"How could we drop our epaulettes?"
どんどんどんどんやって行き、恭一は見ているのさえ少しつかれてぼんやりなりました。On and on and on they marched, until Kyōichi grew a little tired just from watching, and his mind went hazy.
でんしんばしらは、まるで川の水のように、次から次とやって来ます。The telegraph poles kept coming, one after another, just like the water of a river.
みんな恭一のことを見て行くのですけれども、恭一はもう頭が痛くなってだまって下を見ていました。Every one of them looked at Kyōichi as it went by, but by now Kyōichi's head had begun to ache, and he just stared silently at the ground.
俄かに遠くから軍歌の声にまじって、Suddenly, mixed in with the sound of the marching song far away,
「お一二、お一二、」というしわがれた声がきこえてきました。came a hoarse voice calling, "Hup-two, hup-two!"
恭一はびっくりしてまた顔をあげてみますと、列のよこをせいの低い顔の黄いろなじいさんがまるでぼろぼろの鼠いろの外套を着て、でんしんばしらの列を見まわしながらStartled, Kyōichi looked up again, and there, alongside the column, came a short old man with a yellow face, wearing a mouse-grey overcoat that was nothing but rags, looking the line of telegraph poles up and down
「お一二、お一二、」と号令をかけてやってくるのでした。and barking out the command, "Hup-two, hup-two!"
じいさんに見られた柱は、まるで木のように堅くなって、足をしゃちほこばらせて、わきめもふらず進んで行き、その変なじいさんは、もう恭一のすぐ前までやってきました。Any pole the old man looked at went as stiff as a block of wood, locked its legs rigid, and marched on without so much as a sideways glance, and the strange old man had now come right up in front of Kyōichi.
そしてよこめでしばらく恭一を見てから、でんしんばしらの方へ向いて、Then, after eyeing Kyōichi sideways for a while, he turned toward the telegraph poles
「なみ足い。おいっ。」と号令をかけました。and barked, "Ordinary ti-ime! Hup!"
そこででんしんばしらは少し歩調を崩して、やっぱり軍歌を歌って行きました。At that, the telegraph poles loosened their step a little and carried on, still singing their marching song.
「ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド、"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
右とひだりのサアベルは"The sabres hung at right and left
たぐいもあらぬ細身なり。」"Are slender past compare."
じいさんは恭一の前にとまって、からだをすこしかがめました。The old man stopped in front of Kyōichi and bent down a little.
「今晩は、おまえはさっきから行軍を見ていたのかい。」"Evening. You've been watching the march for a while now, have you?"
「ええ、見てました。」"Yes, I've been watching."
「そうか、じゃ仕方ない。ともだちになろう、さあ、握手しよう。」"I see. Well then, it can't be helped. Let's be friends. Come on, let's shake on it."
じいさんはぼろぼろの外套の袖をはらって、大きな黄いろな手をだしました。The old man brushed back the sleeve of his ragged overcoat and held out a big yellow hand.
恭一もしかたなく手を出しました。Kyōichi had no choice but to hold out his hand too.
じいさんが「やっ、」と云ってその手をつかみました。The old man said "Hah!" and grabbed it.
するとじいさんの眼だまから、虎のように青い火花がぱちぱちっとでたとおもうと、恭一はからだがびりりっとしてあぶなくうしろへ倒れそうになりました。Then blue sparks crackled out of the old man's eyes like a tiger's, and the next moment a jolt went tingling through Kyōichi's body and he very nearly fell over backward.
「ははあ、だいぶひびいたね、これでごく弱いほうだよ。わしとも少し強く握手すればまあ黒焦げだね。」"Aha, gave you a good jolt, eh? And that's only the very weakest kind. If you and I shook just a bit harder, well, you'd be burnt to a crisp."
兵隊はやはりずんずん歩いて行きます。The soldiers kept striding steadily on all the same.
「ドッテテドッテテ、ドッテテド、"Dottete-dottete, dottete-do,
タールを塗れるなが靴の"Our tall boots, all daubed with tar,
歩はばは三百六十尺。」"Stride three hundred and sixty feet."
恭一はすっかりこわくなって、歯ががちがち鳴りました。Kyōichi was now thoroughly frightened, and his teeth chattered.
じいさんはしばらく月や雲の工合をながめていましたが、あまり恭一が青くなってがたがたふるえているのを見て、気の毒になったらしく、少ししずかに斯う云いました。For a while the old man gazed at the moon and the clouds, but when he saw how pale Kyōichi had turned and how hard he was shaking, he seemed to feel sorry for him, and spoke a little more gently, like this:
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | JLPT |
|---|---|---|
| にわかににわかに | suddenly, all at oncedictionary form: 俄かにA literary word. The same word appears in kanji as 俄かに later in the passage. | — |
| ご機嫌ごきげん | good mood, high spirits非常なご機嫌です means 'in tremendously high spirits'. | — |
| そびやかしそびやかす | to square or raise (one's shoulders) proudlydictionary form: そびやかすAlmost always used in 肩をそびやかす, a swaggering, self-important gesture. | — |
| 軍歌ぐんか | military song, marching song軍 'army' + 歌 'song'. | — |
| あいかわらずあいかわらず | as before, as usual, stilldictionary form: 相変わらず | N2 |
| 腕木うでぎ | crossarm (the horizontal bar on a telegraph pole)Literally 'arm-wood'. The story treats the crossarms as the poles' arms. | — |
| しわがれたしわがれる | to become hoarse or husky (of a voice)dictionary form: 嗄れるUsually written in kana. しわがれた声 means 'a hoarse voice'. | — |
| 外套がいとう | overcoatOld-fashioned. Today コート is the usual word. | — |
| 号令ごうれい | word of command, order (as in a drill)号令をかける means 'to call out a command'. | — |
| しゃちほこばらせてしゃちほこばる | to stiffen, to hold oneself rigidlydictionary form: しゃちほこばるComes from the stiff, arched shachihoko fish ornaments on castle roofs. This form is the causative て-form, 'making (the legs) go rigid'. | — |
| わきめもふらずわきめもふらず | without looking aside, single-mindedlydictionary form: 脇目も振らずA fixed expression: 'not even a sideways glance'. | — |
| 行軍こうぐん | a military march | — |
| 黒焦げくろこげ | burnt black, charred to a crispFrom 黒 'black' and 焦げる 'to scorch'. | — |
| 気の毒きのどく | pitiful; feeling sorry for someone気の毒になる means 'to come to feel sorry (for someone)'. | N3 |
Grammar
〜のごとくなり N1 is like ~, as ~ (classical)
ごとく is the adverbial form of classical ごとし, 'like, as'. Followed by classical なり 'is', it forms a literary simile, equivalent to modern 〜のようだ. It gives the song its stiff, old-fashioned tone.
すねははしらのごとくなり。
"Our shins stand straight as pillars stand.
〜たる / 〜れる (classical perfective modifier) N1 ~ed, which has been ~ (attributive)
In classical Japanese, たる (from たり) and れる (from り) attach to verbs to describe a resulting state before a noun. かけたる means modern かけている 'worn on', and かざれる and 塗れる mean 'decorated with' and 'painted with'.
肩にかけたるエボレット
"The epaulettes upon our shoulders
などて〜べき N1 why should one ~? (rhetorical: one never should)
べき expresses what one ought to do. Here it is the classical attributive ending that goes with the question word などて 'why'. The line becomes a rhetorical question, 'why should we lower our arms?', meaning 'we would never lower our arms'. The classical いかで〜ん, a little later in the song, works the same way: いかでおとさん 'how could we ever drop them?'
などて腕木をおろすべき
"Why ever should we lower our arms?
〜とも / 〜も (concessive) N1 even if ~, though ~
In literary style, とも after a verb means 'even if (it should happen)'. Plain も after a verb gives the same 'although' meaning in the earlier verse (つんざくも). Modern Japanese would say 〜ても.
暑さ硫黄をとかすとも
"Though heat should melt the brimstone down,
〜たり〜たりする N4 do things like ~ and ~
This pattern lists typical actions as examples, without claiming the list is complete. Here it describes the various cheeky things the poles do as they pass Kyōichi.
わざと肩をそびやかしたり、横めでわらったりして過ぎるのでした
they would make a show of squaring their shoulders, or smirk at him out of the corners of their eyes as they went by
〜たとおもうと N2 no sooner had ~ than ...; the moment ~
Used after a past-tense verb, (か)と思うと means a second event follows the first almost at once. The next event in the sentence is Kyōichi's shock, which ends in 倒れそうになりました, 'nearly fell over'.
虎のように青い火花がぱちぱちっとでたとおもうと
the moment blue sparks crackled out like a tiger's