About this work
A pair of secondhand hiking boots at a shrine market draws the speaker into thoughts of their former owner, family and a life still to be lived. This English version is an editorial translation for access; the Japanese text remains available alongside it for comparison.
Parallel reading
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Read the Japanese original and its English translation together. On smaller screens, each language follows in sequence.
日本語原文 Japanese original
ここは亀ヶ岡八幡宮の境内
炎天下に露天がいくつも
木陰もろくにないのに
生きた革でくるまってる空間が二つ
不用品だぞと威風堂々たる登山靴
摘まみ上げる、靴紐にぶらさがり
「それ、買って。二百円でいいの」
履いてみる。妙に冷たい
そんな北極空間、この日盛りにあるわけないのに
やはり冷たい靴底がひやっこい。
「亡くなった主人が喜びます」
もう君、脱いで、置いて、買わずに去っちゃいかんよ
この世から俺のために冷やっこい霊感だけを遺して
どた靴が炎天下で吠える、「俺様は靴だ、雪よ岩よ、吾等が宿り
俺たちゃ 街には住めないからに」
言われなくても君はもう、次の
生きた足首を捕まえて、護ってやる気だろ
俺はしかし雪よ、岩よ、吾等が宿り…とは行かんだろ、
解決など見当たらない僕の人生を
先刻知っていて護ってくれるかい、どた靴よ
もつれた僕の家族と君の前世の家族が
亀ヶ岡の炎天下でばったり出会った、
ほどけない紐で。
情けなくて悲しくてみっともない
小さな僕の大胆な人生を
ビニール袋でくるんでもらい、
歩き出す自分は、もはや別人の魂魄。
この靴のために楽しい時間を、新しく作れるかい？
君の生家は大阪。田んぼの中にある白壁土蔵のあるお家。
そんな坊やがなんで今、逗子駅前の
神舎の炎天下なのだよ。
生きるって一筋縄ではいかない
どんな困難も乗り越えてきたというのに
売ってくれた家族も大学教授の一家だそうな。
どこ？ 大町、雪の下
炎天下に雪の下か、教会がありますね。
立原正秋と親しかった早稲田の先生も
雪の下にお住まいだった。
これお前、これから君の人生、
始まるね、
僕は黄泉にて待つ父君の遺訓も知らず
ぽっちゃり娘の汗噴き鼻先に
どた靴だけを引き受けたよとも言えず
目いっぱい笑うと笑い返してくる愛想のいいお嬢さん…。
English translation 英訳
AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
Here is the Kamegaoka Hachimangu shrine grounds
Under the blazing sun, several open-air stalls
Not even a single tree shade
Two spaces made of living leather
"Useless things," the proud mountaineering boots declare
Picking them up, the laces hang like a pendant
"Take it. It's only two hundred yen."
Trying them on, strangely cold
Such an Arctic space, how could it be full on this day?
Still, the cold soles are icy.
"The deceased master would be happy."
You, already, must take them off, leave them, and go without buying
Leave this world with only a cold spiritual sensation for me
The boots bellow in the blazing sun, "I am the master, snow and rock, we dwell
We cannot live in the city, so"
You don't need to be told, you already have the intention
To catch the next living ankle and protect it
I, however, am not going to be snow, rock, or dwell in such a place…
No matter how I struggle, no matter how I struggle
There is no solution to my life
Did you know this beforehand and protect me, boots?
The tangled threads of my family and your family from past lives
Met by chance in the blazing sun of Kamegaoka
Bound by an unbreakable lace.
It's pitiful, sad, and unbecoming
This small, bold life of mine
Wrapped in a plastic bag
Walking away, I am no longer the soul of myself
Can you create a new happy time for this shoe?
Your family is in Osaka. A house with a white wall and earthen storehouse in a rice field.
Why is such a boy now in the blazing sun in front of Zushi Station's shrine?
To live is not as simple as one string
Despite having overcome all sorts of difficulties
The family who sold you is apparently a university professor's family.
Where? Odamachi, under the snow
Under the snow, there is a church in the blazing sun.
The professor from Waseda, who was close to Tatsuhara Masaaki,
Also lived under the snow.
Give two coins, and look closely at the leather boots
This is you, from now on, your life
Will begin
I don't know the teachings of my father who waits in Yomi
Before the plump daughter's sweaty nose
I couldn't even accept just the boots
Smiling as much as I can, the cheerful young lady smiles back…
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.