In the depths of their underwater kingdom, the mighty Dragon Lords quaked with fear. Before them pranced Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. The legendary troublemaker been hatched from a stone, schooled in divine magic, and was currently brandishing the Dragon Lord’s most treasured weapon.
海底の龍宮で 四海竜王たちが 恐怖に慄いておりました 目の前では 美猴王の異名を持つ孫悟空が暴れていました この伝説の厄介者は岩から生まれ 仙人の術を修め 東海竜王の秘宝である如意棒を 目下振り回していました
This magical staff, originally large enough to measure the depth of a great flood, now obeyed the Monkey King’s will and shrank at his touch. Terrified of this bewildering power, the Dragons graciously allowed Sun Wukong to keep the staff. The Monkey King stowed the weapon away, and gleefully sped back to his kingdom to show this treasure to his tribe of warrior monkeys.
この如意棒は もともと大洪水の水深を 測れるくらい大きいのですが 今は孫悟空の命令に従い 触れた途端 縮みました この圧倒的な力に怯えて 四海竜王たちは如意棒を 孫悟空が持つのを許しました 孫悟空は如意棒をしまい 仲間である戦士の猿たちに 戦利品を見せびらかそうと 上機嫌で自分の国へと 駆け戻っていきました
After a lavish celebration, Sun Wukong fell into a deep sleep. But just as he began to dream, the Monkey King quickly realized two things. The first was that this was no ordinary slumber. The second was that he wasn’t alone. Suddenly, he found himself caught in the clutches of two grisly figures. At first the Monkey King didn’t know who his captors were. But as they dragged him toward their city’s gates, Sun Wukong realized his deathly predicament. These were soul collectors tasked with transporting mortals to the Realm of the Dead. This was the domain of the Death Lords, who mercilessly sorted souls and designed gruesome punishments.
贅沢な宴席の後 孫悟空は深い眠りに落ちました 夢を見始めたのですが すぐに2つのことを悟りました まず これがただの夢ではないということ 2つめに そこに誰かがいるということです いきなり 不気味な2つの影に 捕まったのですが 初めのうちは 誰なのか分かりませんでした しかし 鬼門関の方に 引きずられて行ったので 孫悟空は死を迎えているのだと 気付きました 彼らの役目は 死期の近づいた魂を 幽冥界に連れてくることでした ここは冥界の十王たちが治める国でした 十王たちは 情け容赦なく魂を裁き 恐ろしい罰を与えていました
From here, the kingdom of death was laid out before him. He could see the Death Lord’s palaces, and the fabled bridge across the river Nai He. Manning the bridge was an old woman who offered worthy souls a bowl of soup. After drinking, the spirits forgot their previous life, and were sent back to the world of the living in a new form. Further below were the souls not worthy of reincarnation. In this twisting maze of chambers, unfortunate spirits endured endless rooms of punishment— from mountains spiked with sharp blades, to pools of blood and vats of boiling oil.
孫悟空の眼下には 幽冥界が広がり 幽冥界の宮殿や 忘川河にかかる 伝説の奈何橋が見えました この橋の番人の孟婆は 立派な行いをした魂には孟婆湯を与え 飲んだ魂は生前の記憶を忘れて 新たな姿を得て 元の世界へと戻りました 橋の最下層には 生まれ変わるに値しない魂がいました 入り組んだ地獄では 不幸な魂が 針の山から血の池や 煮えたぎった油の釜茹まで 無限に続く罰に耐えていました
But Sun Wukong was not about to accept torture or reincarnation. As the soul collectors attempted to drag him through the gates, the Monkey King whipped out his staff and swung himself out of their clutches. His battle cries and the clang of weapons echoed throughout the underworld. Sensing a disturbance, the ten Death Lords swooped upon him. But they had never met such resistance from a mortal soul. What was this unusual creature? And was he a mortal, a god— or something else?
しかし 孫悟空は拷問も転生も 受け入れようとはしませんでした 官吏が孫悟空を鬼門関の中へと 引きずりこもうとしたので 孫悟空は如意棒をサッと取り出して 手中から逃れました 孫悟空の喊声や武器がぶつかる音は 幽冥界中にこだましました 騒ぎを感じた冥界十王たちが 突然襲ってきましたが 死期の近づいた魂に これ程 抵抗されたことはありませんでした この並外れた生き物は何なのか? 人間か? 神か? 別の何かなのか?
The Lords consulted the Book of Death and Life— a tome which showed the time of every living soul’s death. Not knowing what category this strange being was under, the Death Lords struggled to find Sun Wukong at first; but the Monkey King knew just where to look. Unfortunately, the records confirmed the Death Lord’s claim— Sun Wukong was scheduled to die this very night. But the Monkey King was not afraid. This was far from the first time he’d defied destiny in his quest for wisdom and power. His past rebellions had earned him the power to transfigure his body, ride clouds at dizzying speeds, and govern his tribe with magic and martial arts. In this crisis, he saw yet another opportunity.
冥界十王たちは閻魔帳― 生きとし生けるもの寿命を記した 巻物を調べました 冥界十王たちは この奇妙な生き物の分類が分からず 孫悟空の名前を探すのに 手間取りましたが 孫悟空の方は 調べる箇所が分かっていました 残念ながら 十王たちの言葉どおりでした 孫悟空の命は まさに今夜尽きようとしていたのです しかし 孫悟空は恐れませんでした 英知と力の探求の道のりにおいて 自分の運命に抗うのは 全くの初めてではありませんでした 数々の抗いによって 孫悟空は 変化(へんげ)の術や 神速で飛ぶ觔斗雲の法を体得し 神通力と武術で仲間を支配してきました このたびの難局でも孫悟空は 術を使う好機を見出していました
With a flash of his nimble fingers, the Monkey King struck his own name from the Book. Before the Death Lords could respond, he found the names of his monkey tribe and swept them away as well. Liberated from the bonds of death, Sun Wukong began to battle his way out of the underworld. He deftly defeated endless swarms of angry spirits— before tripping on his way out of the kingdom.
指をサッと動かして 孫悟空は閻魔帳から 自分の名前を消しました 冥界十王たちが反応する前に 孫悟空は仲間の猿の名前も 見つけて消しました 死の運命を免れた孫悟空は 現世に戻るため 戦いを始めました 孫悟空は幽冥界の外へと出て行く前に 怒り狂った冥界の大軍を 巧みに打ち負かしました
Just before he hit the ground, Sun Wukong suddenly awoke in his bed. At first he thought the journey might have been a dream, but the Monkey King felt his new immortality surging from the top of his head to the tip of his tail. With a cry of triumph, he woke his warriors to share his latest adventure— and commence another round of celebration.
地面に落ちる寸前に 孫悟空は寝台で目を覚ましました 初めはあれは夢だと思ったのですが 孫悟空は頭のてっぺんから 尻尾の先まで 新しい不老不死の力を感じました 勝利の雄叫びをあげて 仲間の猿たちを起こし 冒険談を聞かせ また宴会を始めました