七夕坂夢幻能 〜 Taboo Japan Disentanglement. // Tanabatazaka Mugen Noh
七夕坂夢幻能 〜 Taboo Japan Disentanglement – Tanabatazaka’s Phantasmagorical Noh
――七月七日の朝、四つ前に通ってはならぬ。
忘れられたタブーをめぐる三様のもつれた異界奇譚。
上海アリス幻樂団が奏でる、不穏さが美しい音楽集第十弾
“On the morning of the seventh day of the seventh month, thou shall not cross this threshold before the final bell of morning strikes four1.”
—So begins this otherworldly tale of a forgotten taboo, as witnessed from three entangled perspectives.
The Shanghai Alice Illusionary Orchestra brings you its tenth album, of music that derives its beauty from its disquiet.
#01 – 七夕坂に朝が来る – Morning Alights On the Slopes of Tanabatazaka
「まだ10時まで4時間はあるか……」
マエリベリー・ハーン(メリー)は心を落ち着かせようとしていた。
慣れない一人旅、そして一人で野宿までしたのだ。
“I still have about four hours before ten…”
Maribel Hearn (Merry) tried to calm herself down.
She was not used to traveling alone, and far less used to camping
outdoors.
いつもなら、旅の準備は親友に任せっきりで、全て自分で計画を立てたのは初めてのことだった。
だから、完全に装備不足だった。野宿にはテントのような物が必要だという事すら忘れていた位である。
Merry usually left all of her travel plans to her best friend; this
was the first time she had ever planned an entire trip herself.
So it should not be a surprise that she was terribly unprepared. The
thought that she would need a tent or something like it did not even
cross her mind.
夜は満足に眠れなかったが、昼夜逆転することが当たり前のメリーにとってそんなことは些細な事だった。
人気ない常陸路の夜は、星を見ながらの夜更かしには最適だった。
Because of this, Merry was not able to sleep well through the night,
but as she was a bit of a night owl anyway, she could have fared
worse.
Besides, the night sky over the unpopulated Old Hitachi Highway was
perfect for staying up late to view the stars.
疲れが取れないことを除けば、だが。
Unfortunately, that did not change the fact that she was exhausted.
今日、7月7日は七夕というだけで無く、メリーが調べたところ、
この場所ーー恐らく七夕坂と思われる坂では特別な日の筈だった。
Merry had come all this way not simply because it was July
7th, Tanabata. This location was just as important as the
date.
According to Merry’s research, this place was once known as
Tanabatazaka, a place where Tanabata should hold a special meaning.
しかし、朝になっても辺りには何の気配も感じず、
不安と諦めの入り交じった感情が脳を支配していた。
However, even as morning dawned on the slopes of Tanabatazaka, Merry
did not sense anything unusual.
Only anxiety and resignation reigned over her thoughts.
#02 – 不等式のティンカーベル – The Tinkerbell of Bell’s Inequality
ーー一人旅の一月前。
—One Month Earlier
メリーは旅の計画を立てていた。
宇佐見蓮子は自分の学説に自信がついたらしく、学会で発表する為に一人籠もって論文をかいているという。
Merry was making plans for her trip.
Meanwhile, Usami Renko had become confident about one of her theories,
and had holed herself up to write a thesis to present at an upcoming
academic conference.
一番の親友であるメリーも暫く合っていなかった。
Therefore, Renko had not had time to meet with her best friend Merry for some time.
「ふーん、これが蓮子の論文最新版、か」
“So this is Renko’s latest draft of her thesis?”
蓮子から送られてきた茶封筒には分厚い紙だけが入っていた。
Merry held a brown envelope filled with page after page of Renko’s draft — all paper, and nothing more.
今どき手書きの論文なんて時代錯誤にも程があるけど、これにも彼女流の仕掛けがあるらしい。
It was more than a little old fashioned for her friend to write out her entire thesis by hand, but it certainly did fit her style.
「……確率論の崩壊と異界？
コペンハーゲン解釈の復活と夢の世界？
さすが古典量子論復古主義のあいつらしい論文ね」
“…other worlds and the breakdown of probability theory?
Dream worlds and a return to the Copenhagen Interpretation?
I suppose with all her support for the classical model of particle
physics, none of this should be a surprise.”
メリーは退屈していた。
Merry was bored.
最近、秘封倶楽部の活動が途絶えていたからだ。
It seemed like forever since they last did anything together as part of their Hifuu Club activities.
#03 – 禁断の扉の向こうは、この世かあの世か – What Lies Beyond the Forbidden Gate, This World or The Other?
論文を読んで目が覚めた。
After reading Renko’s thesis, Merry felt as if the scales had fallen from her eyes.
私には判るのだ。
宇佐見蓮子が試めている解釈は、古典的な量子論である事を。
I should know…
This interpretation Usami Renko is pushing is no different than any
other classical particle theory.
突拍子もなくみえるだけで、人間の想像を超えていない事を。
It may seem absurd, but it does not escape the bounds of human imagination.
私には視えるのだ。
However, I can see…
今の世界と別の世界を分ける扉が。
I can see the gateways leading from this world to the next.
見えない蓮子がこの現象をいくら量子論的に解釈しようと、
そんなのは陰謀論以下のトンデモにしかならないだろう。
However Renko may try to explain this phenomenon with particle
physics, she cannot see it for herself.
In the end, that makes this theory of hers no better than a deranged
conspiracy theory.
あの禁断の扉の向こうにある世界は、
想像を超えてなければいけないという事を。
But I know the world that lies beyond that forbidden door.
I know that it demands breaking past the bounds of imagination.
そしてそれは、実際に存在しているのだという事を。
And I know that world exists — I know it more than any other.
私なら実在を証明できるという事を。
So I know, that I can prove its existence.
#04 – スモーキングドラゴン – Smoking Dragon
ーー七夕坂に小雨が降り始めた。
—A light rain began to fall on the slopes of Tanabatazaka.
まだ梅雨は明けていないようだ。メリーの身体は小刻みに震えていた。
I seems that the rainy season has not yet fully passed, Merry thought as she shivered.
「あと30分……！午前10時になれば、必ずここに異界の扉が開く。
私が異界の実在を証明してみせる！」
“Only thirty more minutes…! As soon as the clock strikes 10, I am
sure a door to another world will open here,
and I will prove that other worlds exist!”
一から一人で異界の調査したのは初めてだった。
It was the first time Merry had ever investigated a connection to another world all on her own.
いつもは蓮子が新しい資料を見つけてきてくれていたからだ。
Normally, Renko would always show up with some new material she had found to investigate.
七夕坂は、7月とは思えない低い気温で、メリーの心は少しくじけていた。
The temperature around Tanabatazaka had dropped so much that it hardly felt like July, and Merry was beginning to have doubts about her plans.
そんな筈が無いのに息が白くなっているように感じた。
Surely it had not gotten that cold, but Merry felt that she could see her breath clouding up before her.
「あと5分……！」
“Five more minutes…!”
辺りが濃い霧に包まれていく、霧と言うより煙のような濃度だ。
Merry’s surroundings were encompassed in a mist so thick she could have mistaken it for smoke.
これは……望んでいた怪奇現象だ。扉が視える！
This…This is the phenomenon I’ve been waiting for! I can see the gate!
そう思った瞬間に、メリーは視界を失った。
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Merry’s vision faded to black.
#05 – 夢幻能 ～ Taboo Marionette – Phantasmagorical Noh
「その坂は、七月七日の朝四つ前に通ってはならぬ。
通ると必ず不思議がある。」
“On the morning of the seventh day of the seventh month, thou shall
not cross the threshold of this hill before the final bell of morning
strikes four.
If you dare to, a profound mystery will occur.”
七夕坂の禁忌は、とうの昔に忘れられた。
Tanabatazaka’s Taboo has long been forgotten.
じゃあ、仕方が無いね。
I suppose this end was unavoidable then…
人間は異界との付き合い方を忘れてしまった。
Humans have forgotten how to interact with other worlds.
じゃあ、仕方が無いね。
I suppose this end was unavoidable then…
禁忌を忘れた幻想は矮小化し、死は幻想入りする。
Fantasy bereft of the memory of their taboos diminish, defanged, until even their deaths are lost in oblivion.
この娘も、自分の世界が現実側だと思い込んでいたのかなー。
She too must have thought her world to be reality…how cute.
不死の人間だと思い込んでいたのかなー。
Perhaps she even thought she was somehow immortal.
そんな訳ないのにね。
Laughable, isn’t it?
ねー。
Isn’t it?
#06 – クレイジーバックダンサーズ – Crazy Back Dancers
「メリー！？
何処かに隠れているんでしょ？」
“Merry!?
Where are you hiding?”
宇佐見蓮子は大声を上げた。
Usami Renko cried out, but received no response.
メリーは音信不通になってから二週間は経とうとしていた。
メリーの家は、蓮子の論文で散らかっていた。
It had been nearly two weeks since Renko had seen or heard any sign
of Merry.
Not only that, but Renko’s thesis was strewn all about her
apartment.
電気も水道も使った形跡は無く、暫く留守になっているようだった。
There is no sign that the water or electricity was used recently, so she must have been away for some time…
「論文にかまけて、ほったらかしにして悪かったわ。
謝るから出てきてよー」
“I’m sorry I left you alone so long to work on my thesis.
I’ll apologize, so would you please let me know where you are?”
返事が期待出来る状況では無いと判断した蓮子は、
メリーの家を漁ることにした。
Once Renko felt sure no answer would come, she began to search her apartment for clues.
失踪したとしたら、何らかの手掛かりがあるかもしれない。と遠慮無く散らかした。
If she has really disappeared, she must have left something behind… Renko thought was she rifled through all of Merry’s things.
元々散らかっていたんだから罪悪感は無かった。
It was already a mess before, so Renko did not feel any guilt for scrambling it up a little more.
すぐに蓮子は一冊の古びた本を見つけた。
It did not take long for Renko to find an old book she was sure meant something.
#07 – 憑坐は夢と現の間に ～ Necro-Fantasia – The Vessel Lies Between Dreams and Reality
「……これをメリーが？」
“Why was Merry was holding on to something like this?”
余り勤勉では無いメリーが読むとは思えない様な難しい本だ。
The book seemed rather difficult to decipher and Merry was not exactly the studious type.
難しい仮名遣いが読み辛い、とても古い本のようだ。
The book was so old, the writing itself was hard to read, let alone its meaning.
注意深く痕跡を探した。
他にもこの場に不釣り合いな写しも見つかった。
Renko looked carefully for any sign that would point her towards
Merry’s whereabouts.
In addition to this book, Renko found some copies that looked out of
place.
どうやらどこぞの風土記の様である。
The copies appeared to be of some regional records, focused around a certain location.
普段から秘密を曝くサークル活動を行っていたから、
違和感を見つけるのは得意だった。
As Renko and Merry’s Club was all about uncovering secrets,
Renko was especially skilled in locating anything that was out of
place.
秘封倶楽部のネタ探しは私がすることが多く、メリーは現場担当だ。
だから私の知らない秘密に関係する資料が、この家にある事自体が不自然だった。
But I’m usually the one who searches for material for us to
investigate. Merry’s skills usually only come into play on
location…
It’s highly unusual for her to have any material on some secrets
that even I do not know about…
違和感は真実である。
Renko’s suspicions were on target.
物理学者が違和感に敏感なのはそれが真実だからである。
And as a physicist, she had learned to not ignore any suspicion that may point to a deeper truth.
「……常陸国風土記(ひたちのくにふどき)？これは、真実、か？」
“Records of the Hitachi Region? Is this the answer?”
#08 – ひとりぼっちの常陸行路 – Solitary Journey on the Hitachi Highway
何処までも、のどかな風景が続いていた。
The peaceful landscape seemed to continue on forever.
自然文化保護区に指定された常陸国は、縮約国家政策の象徴のような場所だ。
As the Hitachi Region was designated as a Natural Cultural Heritage
Site,
it was a symbol of preservationist intervention, and a microcosm of what
was happening on a national scale.
昔の日本はこんな感じだったのだろう、という田園風景が広がっている。
だが、保護された文化というものは既に死んでいるのだ。
Though it proudly presented itself as a model for what Japan used to
be, with its expansive rice fields,
the culture it was ostensibly trying to preserve was already long
dead.
死んだことに気が付いていない幽霊のような存在だ。
If anything the region was like a ghost that had yet to realize its own demise.
うわべだけそれっぽくても、本当の日本はこうでは無かったはずだ。
Even if on a surface level it looks similar, surely the real Japan was nothing like this.
文化の墓地の上で生活している今の人類は、ゾンビのようなものかも知れない。
The people who live atop this culture graveyard surely have more in common with zombies than the people of the past.
文化列車遺産である「特急ひたち」に乗って、蓮子は一人目的地を目指した。
Riding on the “Hitachi Express” (designated as a “cultural heritage railway”), Renko headed alone towards her destination.
しかし、蓮子は外を見る余裕なんてなかった。
Despite whatever cultural value the ride held, Renko did not have the patience to look out her window.
手にはメリーの字で追記された自分の論文がある。
Instead Renko stared down at the margins of her own thesis, which were extensively filled with Merry’s notes.
ほぼ全てが、否定形か疑問形の追記だ。
Almost every note was either a refutation or interrogation of a concept she had laid down.
「メリーが私の論文に書き込んでいる……
こんな事今までなかったのに」
“She wrote all over it….
She has never done anything like this before.”
蓮子は戸惑いを感じながら、ほんの少しだけ嬉しく思っていた。
Although Renko was not completely sure what to make of this development, she could not help but feel a little happy.
#09 – 地蔵だけが知る哀嘆 – Lamentations only the Jizō Know
「七夕坂……、どうやら疾うの昔に失われた地名のようね」
“Tanabatazaka…. That’s what this place used to be called, though that name has been long lost to time…”
メリーの集めた資料によると、蓮子が今居るこの辺が常陸国の七夕坂らしい。
According to the materials Merry had collected, Renko had arrived at her destination, the Hitachi Region’s Tanabatazaka.
蓮子は再考証したい気分に襲われたが、それをしなかった。
Although Renko felt a desire to double-check Merry’s work, she decided not to.
何故なら、本当の七夕坂がどこであろうとも、
例えメリーの考察が間違っていたのだとしても、
Whether or not this was the real Tanabatazaka or not…
Even if Merry had made a mistake and went to the wrong place…
メリーの失踪先を探るなら、メリーの資料を信じる事が正しいからだ。
If I’m to find her, believing in her notes is the right thing to do.
「七月七日の朝四つ前に通ってはならぬ。
通ると必ず不思議がある。」
“On the morning of the seventh day of the seventh month, thou shall
not cross the threshold of this hill before the final bell of morning
strikes four.
If you dare to, a profound mystery will occur.”
メリーが行方不明になった時期と一致する。
The time matches Merry’s disappearance.
蓮子は想像した。
Renko imagined what must have happened.
メリーは、能力を持たない私の学説に不満を持っていた。
メリーは異界への扉を見つけるためにこの地にやってきた。
Merry must have been dissatisfied with my theory, as it was made
by one who does not share her power…
Merry must have come here to find a gate to another world.
そして予想できた事故、「神隠し」が起きたのだ。
Then, as anyone might expect, she was spirited away.
登山道の脇の地蔵がこちらを向いている。
蓮子は頭をフル回転させた。
Renko felt that the Jizō statues lining the path were staring at
her.
She thought as hard as she could. There must be a way…
彼女は、自分の無力さに嘆く様な、遠慮がちな人間では無かった。
Renko was not the kind of person to lament her powerlessness, nor was she one to show any restraint.
#10 – 秘匿されたフォーシーズンズ – Hidden Four Seasons
「マエリベリー・ハーン！
いつまで異界発見を自分だけの特権だと思い込んでいるのよ！」
“Maribel Hearn!
How long is it going to take for you to realize that uncovering other
worlds isn’t something only you can do!?”
蓮子は乱暴に地蔵をひっくり返した。
文化財であるこの辺一帯の人工物を動かす事は、禁じられているとは知っていた。
Renko violently flipped one of the Jizō statues over.
She knew that moving any man-made object in this designated cultural
heritage site was forbidden.
しかし、本当の禁忌を破る方法はこれしか思いつかなかったのである。
But she could not think of any other act that came close to “breaking a taboo”.
地蔵なんて、後で元通りにしていけば判りゃしない。
In any case, as long as I put them back, no one will be the wiser…
自分にそう言い聞かせたが、心情は穏やかでは無かった。
At least, that’s what Renko told herself, but the truth was, she felt that she was running out of options.
蓮子の予想通り地蔵の背中には、光が漏れる一筋の切れ目が見えた。
As Renko predicted, Renko glimpsed a spot on the Jizō statue’s back, where light was escaping from a gap.
「確かに、メリーの能力は不思議だよ。
だけど、それも物理的な現象で無ければならない。
何故なら、人類には観察しか許されていないからだ！
不思議さで言ったら、量子の世界の方が遥かに上ね！」
“Merry’s ability may be strange. I’ll admit that much.
But it’s a physical phenomenon nonetheless — it must be.
After all, the only power we have as humans is to observe!
Compared to the world of particle physics, your power isn’t strange at
all!”
地蔵の背中にある切れ目は、その先が異界である事が物語っていた。
Although she could not confirm it, Renko was sure the light coming out of the statue’s back was from another world.
ここまで、蓮子の異端な学説と相違はない。
Up until this point, none of this contradicted Renko’s heretical theory.
その背中の切れ目の向こうの世界を予想するだけの材料は無い。
Renko had no idea what she would find beyond the gap, there was no information for her to rely on.
だが、蓮子は躊躇せずに腕を突っ込んだ……！
But Renko thrust her arm into the gap without the slightest hesitation!
確か、さっきまでは騒々しく聞こえていた
鳥の歌も、風の音も、木々のさざ波も止んだ
The sound of birdsong and the wind rustling in the trees,
all of what I had heard so clearly before has died away.
目を閉じると黄金に輝く大地が視える
空一面には沢山の不思議への扉が視える
When I close my eyes I can see the earth sparkling as if it is made
of gold.
I can see countless gates leading to countless mysteries filling the
sky.
マエリベリー・ハーンの姿も手の届きそうな所に視える
And I can see Maribel Hearn right in front of me, just within my reach!
そうか、今日は夏では無かったんだ
I see now… I was mistaken. This is not summer.
隠されていた五つ目の季節が現れる
We’re in a hidden fifth season…
完全に失われていたこの世の姿が蘇る
Where this world completely lost to our own is revived.
この国のタブーが、いま破られたのだ！
I have broken the taboo of this land!
#11 – 夜じゃなくてもお化けはいるから – Apparitions Appear Not Only At Night
「その論文は間違っているわよ。
異界にも実在性はあるんだから。
蓮子だって判っているはずじゃない。一緒に見たでしょ？」
“Your thesis is wrong, you know?
The other world obviously exists.
You should know, you saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you?”
「メリーは勘違いしている。
私の学説は異界の実在性を否定しているのではないわ」
“Merry, you’re the one who is mistaken.
My theory does not deny the existence of other worlds.”
「え？ でもここにそう書いてあるしー」
“What? But it’s written right here…”
「異界だけではなく、粒子の非実在性を肯定しているの」
“The scope is not limited to other worlds. Here, I only affirm the non-existence of particles.”
「うーん？」
“Umm…”
「この世界に古典的な意味での物質は無い、と言っているのよ。
この世の全ては場の干渉だったんだ。
異界だけじゃなくてね」
“What I’m saying is that at least in a classical sense, this world is
devoid of matter.
Everything in this world is nothing more than a disturbance within a
field.
The same goes for other worlds.”
「えー
物質が無いって、そんな極端な……。
それじゃあ、私達皆、幽霊みたいじゃない」
“What do you mean?
Saying that there’s no matter… Then your theory is more radical than I
thought…
In that case, it’s like we’re nothing more than ghosts.”
「じゃあ、幽霊と私達、何か違うって言うの？
七夕坂で異界に触れたメリーなら、簡単には答えられないはずよ」
“Then tell me, what difference is there between us and ghosts?
Especially after touching that other world at Tanabatazaka, I doubt you
can give me a solid answer, Merry.”
七夕坂から生還したメリーは、それでも蓮子の学説に納得はしてなかった。
Even after Merry returned from Tanabatazaka alive and well, Merry still could not fully agree with Renko’s theory.
でも、良い答えが見つからず、頷くしか無かったに。
But despite her protests, she could not come up with a satisfying answer.
「……しかし、二週間も過ぎてたなんてね。
私には午前十時になった途端、霧の向こうから蓮子が現れたように見えたのに」
“…Still, I cannot believe that two whole weeks passed.
From my perspective, as soon as the clock struck ten in the morning, you
suddenly appeared out of the fog.”
「時間そのものも場の干渉の一つなのね。
もし、私が助けに行かなかったらメリーはどうなってたと思う？」
“Well time is also no more than a disturbance in a field.
What do you think would have happened to you if I did not come to save
you?”
「普通に午前十時になって、何も起きなくてそのまま旅から帰ってたと思う。とぼとぼと、ね」
“I’m sure it ten o’clock would have come and gone; nothing would have happened and I’d have returned dejected.”
「ふふ、そこは私も同じ考えで良かったわ」
“Haha. I’m relieved to know you and I think alike.”
この世は夢か現か
Is this world a dream or reality?
これだけは忘れてはならない
タブーを忘れるな
This at least you should never forget.
Never forget what is taboo.
お化けのいない場所は、この世の何処にも無いのだから
For there is nowhere in this world without ghosts.
あとがき – Afterword
どうも、ZUNです。久しぶりに秘封倶楽部のCDが作れました。
Hey, it’s ZUN. It’s been a while, but I was finally able to make another Hifuu Club CD.
配信中心になり、タイパを求める余り音楽の楽しみ方の種類も減り、それと共に音楽のジャンルも減っている気がしています。
そんな時代に逆行するべく、フルで没入する熱量の高いCDを用意しました。まさに幻想的独善思考！
The way everything is so focused on streaming these days, with time
and cost performance paramount, the ways there are to listen to music
have decreased,
and I have the feeling that the number of musical genres have decreased
as well.
As a way of turning against the tide, I have prepared a CD full of
passion that you can really immerse yourself in.
Is this idea both phantasmagorical and self-righteous? Sure!
最近、茨城県が常陸ブランドを売り出す上で『常陸』が読めない人が増えている事が最大の障壁だ、というニュースを見ました。
Lately, on the news I heard that one of the biggest obstacles to Ibaraki Prefecture selling its Hitachi brand is that fewer and fewer people these days can read “Hitachi”!
まあ、当て字だし知らなければ読めない系ですよねぇ。
諦めてひらがなブランド名にしちゃうとかやめてほしいです……。
Well, I mean, Hitachi is an ateji word, where its pronunciation does
not depend on its components, so there’s no getting around it if you
don’t already know.
But please don’t give up and rely only on a phonetic script!
上海アリス幻樂団 ZUN(お化けは、いるよ)
Shanghai Alice Illusionary Orchestra ZUN (Ghosts Exist)
kafka-fuura 