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夜の紅葉と甘酒
駅から会社までの道に、小さな寺がある。毎朝その門の前を通るのに、中に入ったことは一度もなかった。見慣れすぎて、そこに寺があることさえ、ほとんど意識していなかったのだと思う。
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On my way from the station to the office there is a small temple. I walk past its gate every morning, yet I had never once gone inside. I think I had grown so used to it that I hardly registered there was a temple there at all.
十一月の終わり、同僚の村上さんに「今夜がライトアップの最終日らしいよ」と誘われた。残業のあとで疲れていたが、断る理由も見つからず、二人で門をくぐった。平日の夜にもかかわらず、境内には思ったより多くの人がいた。門の横の小さなテントで、温かい甘酒を一杯ずつ買った。
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At the end of November, my colleague Murakami asked me along: “Apparently tonight’s the last night of the light-up.” I was tired after working late, but I couldn’t think of a reason to say no, and the two of us stepped through the gate. Even though it was a weekday evening, there were more people in the temple grounds than I had expected. At a little tent beside the gate, we each bought a cup of hot amazake.
足元から照らされたもみじは、葉の一枚一枚が内側から光っているように見えた。黒い空を背にして、細い枝の形までくっきりと浮かんでいる。白い砂利の上では、葉の影が風の吹くたびに細かく揺れていた。夜ならではの景色に、わたしは何度も立ち止まらずにはいられなかった。
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Lit from below, the maples looked as if every single leaf were glowing from within. Against the black sky, even the thinnest branches stood out sharply. On the white gravel, the shadows of the leaves trembled with every breath of wind. It was a sight only the night could give, and I could not help stopping again and again.
甘酒を少しずつ飲みながら、村上さんがぽつりと言った。「毎朝通ってるのに、こんな木があるなんて知らなかった。」わたしも同じことを考えていた。もみじはずっとそこにあって、季節が進むとともに、少しずつ色を変えていたはずだ。その夜に変わったのは、木よりも、それを照らす光と、見るわたしたちのほうだったのだろう。
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Sipping the amazake, Murakami said quietly, “I come past here every morning, and I never knew there were trees like these.” I had been thinking the same thing. The maples had been there all along, and as the season moved on, they must have been changing colour little by little. What changed that night, I suppose, was less the trees than the light shining on them, and us, the ones looking.
家に帰って、手帳の端に書きとめた。「見慣れたものも、光が変われば、初めて会うものになる。」翌朝、わたしはいつもの門の前で足を止め、朝の光の中のもみじを、初めてゆっくりと見上げた。
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When I got home, I jotted a line in the margin of my planner: “Even familiar things become something new to you when the light changes.” The next morning, I stopped in front of the usual gate and, for the first time, took my time looking up at the maples in the morning light.
Three expressions
夜中にもかかわらず、彼はすぐに電話に出てくれた。
Even though it was the middle of the night, he answered the phone straight away.
「〜にもかかわらず」: “despite …”, “even though …”. The second half is not what you would expect from the first. It is written and formal; in speech, 「〜のに」 is more common. It follows a noun or the plain form. In the story, 「平日の夜にもかかわらず、境内には思ったより多くの人がいた」 means “even though it was a weekday evening, there were more people in the grounds than I had expected”.
この季節ならではの果物を使ったケーキです。
This cake is made with fruit you can only get at this time of year.
「〜ならではの」: “unique to …”, “that only … can offer”. It follows a noun, carries a note of praise, and is mostly used with places, seasons or kinds of people. In the story, 「夜ならではの景色」 means “a sight only the night could give”.
あまりにおかしくて、笑わずにはいられなかった。
It was so funny that I couldn’t help laughing.
「〜ずにはいられない」: “can’t help …ing”. Drop the 「ない」 from the nai form and add 「ずにはいられない」; 「する」 becomes 「せずには」. In the story, 「立ち止まらずにはいられなかった」 means “I couldn’t help stopping”.
One small thing to do
Tip
On your way home today, stop at a place you pass every day and see what it looks like at night. If you are not going out, look out of the window at the familiar street outside.