今は昔、芥川という所に、たいそう弓の達者な武士が住んでおった。その矢の正確さは百発百中であり、その名声は近隣の村々にまで轟いていた。しかし、この武士には一つの奇妙な癖があった。それは、何事にも疑い深く、他人の言葉を容易には信じないということであった。
Long ago, in a place called Akutagawa, lived a samurai who was exceptionally skilled with a bow. His accuracy was absolute, hitting the mark every single time, and his fame resonated throughout the neighboring villages. However, this samurai had one strange habit: he was deeply skeptical and did not easily believe the words of others.
ある秋の夜、武士は家来を連れて山へ狩りに出かけていた。月明かりに照らされた山道を進むうち、彼らは一軒の古びた寺に辿り着いた。その寺は長らく放置されているらしく、庭には雑草が生い茂り、本堂の扉も朽ち果てていた。家来はこの山には化け物が出ると噂されていることを武士に告げ、早く立ち去ることを勧めたが、武士は「化け物などこの世に存在するはずがない」と一笑に付し、寺で夜を明かすことに決めたのである。
One autumn night, the samurai went into the mountains for hunting, accompanied by his servants. As they proceeded along the mountain path illuminated by moonlight, they arrived at an old, dilapidated temple. The temple seemed to have been abandoned for a long time; the garden was overgrown with weeds, and the doors of the main hall were rotting away. The servants told the samurai of rumors that monsters appeared in these mountains and advised him to leave quickly, but the samurai laughed it off, saying, "There is no such thing as monsters in this world," and decided to spend the night at the temple.
夜半を過ぎた頃、本堂の奥から何やら不気味な音が聞こえ始めた。床板が軋むような、あるいは低い唸り声のような音が、次第に近づいてくる。家来たちは恐怖に震え上がったが、武士は冷静に弓を手に取り、暗闇を見据えた。やがて、障子の奥に巨大な人影が浮かび上がった。その影は異常に大きく、明らかに人間のそれではない。
Around midnight, eerie sounds began to emanate from the depths of the main hall. Sounds like creaking floorboards or low growls gradually drew closer. While the servants trembled in fear, the samurai calmly took his bow in hand and stared into the darkness. Before long, a massive silhouette emerged behind the paper sliding doors. The shadow was abnormally large, clearly not that of a human.
武士は躊躇することなく、矢をつがえてその影めがけて放った。矢は見事に影の胸のあたりに命中し、凄まじい悲鳴とともに影は倒れ伏した。翌朝、明るくなってから確認してみると、そこに倒れていたのは長年山で生き延びてきた巨大な老狐であった。狐は人を化かす術に長けており、寺に迷い込んだ旅人を脅かしては食い殺していたのである。
Without hesitation, the samurai notched an arrow and fired it at the shadow. The arrow struck perfectly near the shadow's chest, and with a terrible scream, the shadow collapsed. The next morning, when it became light enough to check, what lay fallen there was a massive old fox that had survived in the mountains for many years. The fox was adept at the art of bewitching people and had been terrifying and killing travelers who wandered into the temple.
狐の腹には見事に矢が突き刺さっており、もはや息絶えていた。村人たちはこの悪しき狐を退治した武士の勇気と弓の腕前を讃え、口々に感謝の意を表した。しかし武士は、「己の眼で見たものしか信じぬが、世の中には己の知らぬ不思議があるものだ」と述懐し、その後は以前ほど他人の言葉を無碍に否定することはなくなったという。
The arrow was deeply embedded in the fox's belly, and it was already dead. The villagers praised the samurai's courage and archery skills for exterminating the evil fox and expressed their gratitude one after another. However, the samurai reflected, "I only believe what I see with my own eyes, but there are indeed wonders in the world that I do not know." It is said that thereafter, he stopped dismissively denying others' words as he had before.
事の顛末は宮中にも伝わり、武士は恩賞を授かった。このように、弓の腕前が優れているだけでなく、未知の存在に対して畏敬の念を持つこともまた、武士たる者の務めであると語り継がれている。
The details of the incident reached the Imperial Court, and the samurai was granted a reward. Thus, it has been passed down that a samurai's duty is not only to be superior in archery but also to hold a sense of awe for the unknown.