by 管啓次郎
どういう物語なのだろう。あざやかな色の浮き彫りが心をくすぐる。謎めいて、楽しい。むかしの中国を知りたくなる。台南の街角で。右の女性は民間信仰の対象、陳靖姑。 What kind of story is it telling? The vividly colored reliefs tickle my imagination. At the same time mysterious and delightful, it makes me want to learn more about ancient China. Found on a street corner in Tainan. The lady on the right is the Chinese deity Chen Jinggu.
峠近くの小さな池の水中に、ぼんやりした白い塊がいくつか。クロサンショウウオの卵だって。初めて見た、見られてよかった！ In the water of a small pond near the mountain pass, I saw several cloudy white clumps. I was told they were black salamander eggs. It was my first sighting of them!
初夏の山形の山道で出遭ったふしぎな花。葉緑素をもたず、その白さは幽霊じみている。菌類から栄養をもらって生きている、その名はぎんりょうそう（銀竜草）だって。 I came across this spooky-looking flower on a mountain path in Yamagata in May. It lacks chlorophyll and its whiteness is ghostly. It draws nutrients from fungi. It’s called "Silver Dragon Grass” in Japanese and the English name I think is Indian Pipe. A friend told me it was Emily Dickinson’s favorite flower!
民家を改造してこんなに瀟洒な書店に？ 地下室の使い方がうまいなあ。台南にて。 Wow, they turned a private home into such a stylish bookstore? The good use of the basement is quite impressive. In Tainan.
不穏、どこか不穏。いましがた何かが起きたが、その何かがわからない台北の夜。 Something suspicious is going on, very unsettling. I’m sure something just happened, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it was. A night in Taipei.
以前から食べてみたいと思っていたのが鵞鳥料理。ふつうの白い肉と、砂肝のスライスか。あひるよりさらに大型だが、美味。 I'd always wanted to try goose dishes! This plate consisted of regular white meat and sliced gizzards. They're even larger than ducks, but ono (delicious), eh?
台北にやってきた！ いつになっても見慣れない漢字がある。いずれ調べようと思い、そのまま忘れる。いつか学ばなくちゃ。 In Taipei again! I keep encountering unfamiliar characters. I’ve always meant to look them up, then forgotten. Will I one day know their meanings?
アムステルダム、それはカオスモスの都市。自分を見失え。 Amsterdam is a world city. It’s a city of chaosmos. Lose yourself in the crowd.
アムステルダムには彼に会いに行った。スピノザ、哲学者たちのプリンス。「あらゆる哲学者には二つの哲学がある。自分自身の哲学と、スピノザの哲学だ」（ベルクソン）。石になった彼の足元にはこの言葉がある。”Het doel van de staat is de vrijheid.” （国家の目的は自由だ）忘れるな、忘れるな！ I went to Amsterdam to see him. Spinoza, the prince of philosophers. “Every philosopher has two philosophies, their own and Spinoza’s,” Bergson famously said. Now petrified, you read this sentence at his pedestal: “The goal of the state is freedom.” Let’s not ever forget that!
反射光の研究（つづき）。水の都アムステルダムで、反射光が川面に。冬の光のまぶしさに自由を感じるのはなぜ？ Again, a study of reflection. In Amsterdam, the city of water, reflected light lingers on the river's surface. Looking at the dazzling light flickering, why do we feel somehow liberated? Liberated from what?