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Once upon atime, in aland not so far from the bustling markets of modernity, therewas a peculiar tale of aman named Kandata. Thisman, notorious forhis misdeeds,foundhimself in a rather sticky situation, quite literally, in the depths ofhell.Now, thisisn'tyour everydayhell; thiswas a specialone, where instead offire andbrimstone, there were pools of soy sauce and mountains of grated daikon radish.
Onefine day, orasfineasit could be in such a place, Kandata noticed a glistening strand descending from the heavens.Itwas not the usualspider's silk but a strand of thefinest Ibo-no-ito, thelegendarynoodles known for their delicate and refined texture. The gods,it seemed, had decided to give Kandata a chanceat redemption, for even they could not resist the charm of these exquisitenoodles.
Kandata, withhope inhisheartand a growling stomach, beganhisascent, climbing up the noodle. He climbed past the mountains of tempura, dodged the flying chopsticks, and evenmade abrief stopat the plateau of pickledginger.As he climbed, he couldn't help butmarvelat the noodle's resilience;itwas, afterall, the premium stuff, notyourrun-of-the-mill supermarketsoba.
But alas, the tale takes a turn,as tales often do. For Kandatawas notalone inhis noodlyescape.
Belowhim, a horde of other sinners had caught sight of the noodle and, drivenby their own hunger,started to climb afterhim. Panicset in, for if there'sone thing worse thanbeing in noodlehell,it's having toshareyour noodleout ofit.
In afit of selfishness that wouldmake even akappablush, Kandata bellowed, "This Ibo-no-itoismine!Who toldyou lotyou could climbit? Scram!Get off! Thisis aone-man noodle!" And justlike that, the noodle snapped, not because of the weight, but because of the sheeraudacity of trying to hoardsomethingas communalasnoodles.
Down went Kandata, back into the soy sauce pool,as the noodle retracted back into the heavens, leaving behind a scent of wheat andregret. The moral of thestory? Nevergetbetween aman andhisnoodles, andmore importantly, never underestimatethe power of sharing... especially whenit comes to Ibo-no-ito. For in the end,it's not just about the climb;it's about the companyyoushareyournoodles with.
And so, thelegend of Kandata and the Ibo-no-ito liveson, a cautionary tale whispered across dinner tables, reminding usall that sometimes, thepath to salvationis best traveled with alittlebit of companyand a lot ofnoodles.
芥川龍之介の代表作のひとつ。 昔の国語の教科書には必ず載ってた。
Once upon a time, in a land not so far from the bustling markets of modernity, there was a peculiar tale of a man named Kandata. This man, notorious for his misdeeds, found himself in a rather sticky situation, quite literally, in the depths of hell. ...
昔々、現代の賑やかな市場からそう遠くない地に、ある奇妙な話がありました。その話は、カンダタという名の男の話です。この男は悪行で悪名高く、文字通り、地獄の底でねばねばし...
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