大名の行く道 The Way of the Warlord

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日本語において漢字のみで成り立つ四字熟語という表現を用いることが多く、一つの考え・思い・コンセプトに相当する意味がたった四文字に凝縮されています。拙僧は日本語に対する理解が深まっていくに連れて、多くの四字熟語を覚えて、その中に気に入りの一つは「栄枯盛衰」です。日本語を勉強するに当たって漢字という「壁」を嘆く方は少なくないでしょうが、たった一文字で色んな意味が伝わることを考えると利便性の高い書記であることが一目瞭然であると思います。動詞、名詞、形容詞、字の組み合わせによってその役割が決まります。この「栄枯盛衰」を字ごとに分解し動詞にしますと、「栄える」、「枯れる」、「盛る」そして「衰える」になります。

The Japanese language features many different yoji-jukugo (四字熟語) expressions that pack the meaning of a single idea/thought/concept into a four kanji character construct. I’ve come to learn a number of these expressions as my knowledge of the language has deepened, and one that I particularly like is 栄枯盛衰 (ei-ko-sei-sui). There are probably more than a few people that study Japanese who lament the significant hurdle that kanji poses, but as a written form of language it is incredibly convenient given how much can be expressed with a single character. Depending on how they are used in combination with other characters, they can act as verbs, nouns, and adjectives. When you break down the four characters in 栄枯盛衰 (ei-ko-sei-sui) into their verb forms, you get the following: 栄える (“sakaeru”, to prosper/thrive), 枯れる (“kareru”, to wither), 盛る (“sakaru”, to flourish), and 衰える (“otoroeru”, to fade/waste away).

 

辞書で上記の語彙の意味を調べますと、下記のような例文が出てきます。

 「国が栄える」

「花が枯れる」

「火が盛る」

「文化が衰える」

 

「栄」、「枯」、「盛」、そして「衰」。この四つの字を見ると一瞬に上記の意味が頭の中に浮かんで、そして勝手に連想に走ります。拙僧にとって漢字の魅力、あるいは「魅惑」はそこにあり、それはまた漢字を勉強し使いこなせる醍醐味でもあります。

 

When you look these four verbs up in a Japanese/Japanese dictionary, you’re bound to find example sentences that read like these:

 “The nation prospers” for 栄える

“The flower withers” for 枯れる

“The flame burns intensely” for 盛る

“A culture fades away” for 衰える

 

The instant you see the four characters (栄, 枯, 盛, 衰) that form the stem of these verbs, your mind instantly conjures up the meaning associated with these characters, and then races off on various tangents that they create. This to me is the charm, or rather the allure, of kanji, and embodies the satisfaction you gain from studying and then mastering these characters.

 

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さて、漢字に関する余談をここで終止符を打って、本題に入りたいと思います。「栄枯盛衰」という四字熟語と初めて「出逢った」のは「センゴク天正記」という漫画シリーズであった気がします。この漫画は一般的な時代劇たる作品と違って、主に一次資料に基づいて徹底したリアリズム追及して描かれている作品です。 主人公となる仙石秀久権兵衛(せんごくひでひさごんべい)は織田家を支える柱のような存在となった羽柴(のち豊臣)秀吉に仕えた実際の武将です。物語は主人公の若かりし頃から追っていく形で展開し、彼が成長していく経緯を通して戦国時代の日本の社会的な変化を非常に如実に描きます。

Alright, I’ll bring this little discourse on kanji to a close and switch to the main topic I wish to write about. I believe the first time I “came across” the four kanji character construct 栄枯盛衰 (ei-ko-sei-sui) was in the manga Sengoku Tenshoki. Unlike most conventional period-piece manga, this series strives for uncompromising realism by crafting a tale based mainly on primary source documents. The main character is a man by the name of Sengoku Hidehisa Gonbei, a real life samurai who served under Hashiba (later Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, one of the key pillars in the Oda clan. The story follows Gonbei from his youth, and uses his growth as a vehicle for providing an extremely realistic portrayal of the changes in Japanese society during the Warring States period.

 

考えてみますと、「栄枯盛衰」という四字熟語は歴史の流れを見事に表現していると思います。川の流れの如く、激しくなることもありますし、また緩やかに流れることもあります。その川の流れの勢いを左右するのは河岸と地形であり、人間社会に当てはまるとそれは外からの影響や圧力に当たるでしょう。戦国時代の日本ですとその変遷が殊に激しく、大名家が凄まじいペースで台頭し、そして衰退していきました。センゴク天正記には数多くの大名家が登場しますが、特に印象に残ったのは武田家でした。最後の当主であった武田勝頼は定説によりますと父と比べて備えた器と能力が劣ったですが、最近の研究ですとその評価が抜本的に塗り替えて、一次資料から垣間見えるのは優れた先見性を持つ為政者です。ただし、一部の家来は過去の作法とやり方に固執してしまった結果、武田家がうまく時代の流れの変化を乗り切ることができず、最後に滅びました。センゴク天正記ではその運命に悟った武田勝頼の最期を見事に描かれて、そこに「栄光盛衰」という真理が鮮明に映っていると思います。漫画のなかにその見どころをやや時代劇いっぽくの口調で翻訳してみました。その英訳はイメージの下に掲載されています。

 

The four kanji character construct 栄枯盛衰 (ei-ko-sei-sui), in my opinion, perfectly describes the flow of history. Just like a river, the current of history can be both fierce and gentle. The river’s current is determined by its banks and the lay of the land, which would equate to pressure from external forces if we are to draw an analogy between nature and human civilization. These currents were especially intense during Japan’s Warring States period, with warlord clans rising and falling at an incredibly fervent pace. Many of these warlord clans appear in the manga Sengoku Tenshoki, but the depiction that stuck with me the most was that of the Takeda clan. The final ruler of this clan was Takeda Katsuyori, and according to the previously accepted historical narrative, he lacked the persona and skills of his father. However, recent scholarship has sparked a reappraisal of Katsuyori, with primary documents showing him to be a ruler with incredible foresight and vision. Unfortunately, some of his subordinates clung to old conventions, which ultimately prevented the Takeda clan from successfully navigating the changing tides and led to their demise. Sengoku Tenshoki paints an exquisite portrayal of how Katsuyori recognized the fate of the Takeda clan, and in my opinion provides a vivid reflection of the 栄枯盛衰 (ei-ko-sei-sui) principle at work. The text in the manga has a period-piece feel to it, so I tried to match that in my own translation of the text (placed below the corresponding images).

 

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Shingen: Remember: Always secure victory before you even draw your sword.

Now tell me Shiro (Katsuyori), how do you prevent a river from flooding? Do you shore up the point where it’s most likely to overflow?

Katsuyori: Yes.

Shingen: (Long pause). No… you do not.

You shore up the spot just before it.

The river will then change course on its own.

 

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Shingen: The same applies to both waging war and governing.

The key is to anticipate things before others.

My fault is that I failed to do just that.

 

I failed to maintain harmony within our own family.

This failure brought me to bury my eldest son and heir.

I couldn’t even bequeath to you the rightful rank of “yakata”.

 

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Shingen: All my stopgap efforts in governing did was to exalt this name of Shingen.

This makeshift approach caused our clan to cling to conventions of old,

thereby impeding the reforms you sought to enact.

Katsuyori: Father, I’ve known the Takeda clan was destined to fall for quite some time now.

Fate would have it that I inherited that same ability from you, that to anticipate things before others.

 

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Shingen: So tell me why you, with your gentle heart, chose to fight and walk a path burdened with the iniquity of killing?

Katsuyori: I was searching… searching for what it truly meant to be a daimyo (warlord).

I finally found it the moment I laid torch to my own bastion.

The glory of a castle, an illustrious history of 450 years, the fame claimed in battle and rule…

All these things shall pass one day.

 

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Thus it is I who shall be the one to extinguish the flame of the Takeda clan.

 

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Katsuyori: You can sense it, too, Nobunaga.

The rise and fall of power, the turning of the seasons.

These tides are not to be resisted.

The castle that stands high against the sky.

The might wielded that holds sway over all beneath its sword.

All forms of glory are no more than fleeting dreams.

That element of power which drives you and all those around you…

The mystery which embodies that which you can sense…

In your eyes, that is the essence of a warlord, but I, Takeda Katsuyori, see something different.

 

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Katsuyori: It is a burden that cannot be borne by others, one in which you bear all the sin and anguish around you.

In the end, you silently accept your fate, neither begrudging heaven nor blaming others…

That is the way of the warlord.

Takeda Daizen Daiyu Katsuyori

Slain at Mt. Tenmoku, age 37.