KAMIYA SOTAN GIVES AWAY THE HAKATA BUNRIN
神屋宗湛博多文林を手放す
When Kuroda Nagamasa was given the fief of Chikuzen, Kamiya Sotan became very friendly with him.
黒田長政が筑前の領地を任された時、神屋宗湛は彼ととても親しくなりました。
Nagamasa, who was now getting old, also coveted this Tea-caddy and one day Sotan thought to himself, “Having a famous treasure like this in one's family is a great responsibility.
長政はかねてからこの茶入を熱望していました。宗湛はある時考えました、「この様な有名な宝物を持っている事は当家にとって大変名誉な事であるが。
If I have a descendant who cannot live up to it, it may be the cause of a great misfortune to my house.
当家が今後も継続していくならば、この宝物が当家にとって災いを被る事象になる原因に違いない。
So when his lordship returns home I will give it to him.”
殿の帰郷の折にはこれを献上しようと思う。」
On the fourth day of the eight month of Genna (1624) Nagamasa suddenly fell ill at the temple of Ho-no-ji at Kyoto on his way home, and Sotan blamed himself for not remembering to carry out his intention .
元和（１６２４）の八月四日、長政は帰郷途上の京都で病に侵されて本能寺に留まりました。宗湛は茶入献上の件を伝えていなかった事を後悔しました。
“Chi of Yen Liang in China hung up a precious sword on the grave of his lord Hsu.
「中国のＣｈｉ Ｙｅｎ Ｌｉａｎｇは主であるＨｓｕの墓前へ貴重な刀を置いたそうだ。
I may not have the wisdom of Chi, but I must not forget his example.”
私はＣｈｉの知恵を持っていないかもしれないが、彼の経験を忘れてはいけない。」
And he put on his dress of ceremony and taking the Tea-caddy went up and presented it to the new lord Uemon-no-suke Tadayuki, the son of Nagamasa.
彼は正装し茶入を携えて登城し、長政の子右衛門助忠之に献上しました。
Tadayuki was overjoyed at this and offered him a present of three thousand pieces of gold and a fief of the value of five hundred koku.
忠之は大喜びして三千両の金と五百石を与える事を申し出ました。
But this Sotan refused to accept.
しかし、宗湛はそれを辞退しました。
“A fief ,” he explained respectfully, “is a thing that a merchant does not want, and I wish to make this present without any return.”
「領地は」彼は尊敬を込めて説明します、「商人に土地は用無しでございます、私はただ献上したいだけです。」
The remarkable circumstances attending the possession of the painting and the Bunrin Tea-caddy by his family to which Sotan alluded are as follows.
宗湛がそれとなくほのめかした重要な事柄とは、絵画や文林茶入の神屋家における所有それは単なる時の事象であると言う事です。
His great-grandfather Jutei was encouraged to trade with China by Ouchi Yoshioki and opened a branch house in Ning-Po with great success.
彼の偉大な祖父である神屋寿貞は大内義輿の庇護のもと、中国と交易し寧波に支店を構え成功を収めました。
This business was in charge of a manager who married a Chinese wife.
支店長はその仕事の成功によって中国人の妻を娶り指導者の地位を確立したのです。
After a while things went badly and he lost so heavily that he made up his mind to commit suicide in atonement for his mistakes.
しばらくすると状況は悪化、支店は膨大な損失を被りました。そして、支店長はその失敗の責任をとり死を覚悟します。
When his wife heard of it she thought that she was to blame for it and presented him with the picture of ‘Evening Rain' and the Bunren Tea-caddy, which were hereditary treasures in her family, as some kind of compensation .
妻がその報を聞き、考えて、彼女は実家から世襲して来た「午後の雨」の絵と「文林茶入」を埋め合わせとして差し出しました。
These were really cherished possession of the Imperial House of T'ang, for one of her ancestors had accompanied Yang Kuei Fei when she fled and was put to death at Ma-Wei, and rescued these things which were with her and had them sent back to his house.
これらの宝物は唐の王家がとても大切にしていた物で、女帝楊貴妃が馬尾で崩御した時、形見の品々として葬られ、その一部が側近だった妻の先祖によって家に持ち帰られ、そして代々受継がれて来たものでした。
The manager brought them home with him and presented them to Jutei who was so delighted with them that he not only entirely overlooked his mistakes but again entrusted him with a large capital which he took back to Ning-Po and used most successfully so that the business flourished again.
支店長は自分の身と供にその献上品を寿貞に差し出しました。寿貞は彼をとても信頼していて、その失敗を大目に見ただけでなく再起を信じ大きい資本を与える事にします。彼は寧波に資本を持ち帰り再び頑張って仕事を繁盛させました。
He afterwards brought back his Chinese wife to Hakata.
彼は後に中国人の妻とともに博多へ帰国しました。