Known as the father of modern Japanese children’s literature, Ogawa Mimei(小川未明) took influence from Hans Christian Andersen and wrote hundreds of stories, many of which touch on meaningful moral or spiritual topics. They span a wide gamut of styles, although the majority of them are short and simply written, making good reading practice for learners of Japanese.
I have already translated over thirty of this author’s stories (which you can find here in a bilingual reader), but I thought it would be nice to translate and publish another one of his stories in full on this blog for my readers.
I chose 手風琴 (“The Accordion”), a story about a traveling medicine salesman who plays the accordion (though this may sound strange, there is actually a historical precedent for this). While not one of his most famous stories, this story is available here for the first time in English. It is only around 1300 words, and despite being first published in 1933, the language of this story is reasonably close to that of modern Japanese. Having said that, there are still some expressions (ex: くださいますまいか) that have a classical or aged ring to them and would not likely be used in modern Japanese.
For this translation, I have leaned a bit towards the literal side to make it easier for Japanese learners to compare the English translation against the original text. While there are some kanji in the story, most of the characters are pretty common. I’ve put a few translation notes after the story for more information. (Thanks to Kaimai Mizuhiro (開米瑞浩) for verifying a handful of meanings.)
You can also find an audio narration of the original Japanese version here.
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手風琴
The Accordion
小川未明
秋風が吹きはじめると、高原の別荘にきていた都の人たちは、あわただしく逃げるように街へ帰ってゆきました。そのあたりには、もはや人影が見えなかったのであります。
When the autumn winds began to blow, the city dwellers who had come to their highland cottages hastily returned home, as if in escape. By that time, there were no longer any signs of life in those parts.
ひとり、村をはなれて、山の小舎で寝起きをして、木をきり、炭をたいていた治助じいさんは自然をおそれる、街の人たちがなんとなくおかしかったのです。同じ人間でありながら、なぜそんなに寒い風がこわいのか。それよりも、どうして、この美しい景色が彼らの目にわからないのかと怪しまれたのでありました。
Old man Jisuke, who lived in a small hut in the mountains away from the village where he cut trees and burnt charcoal, felt there was something strange about the city dwellers’ fear of nature. How could another person be that frightened of the cold wind? But more than anything, he couldn’t fathom their lack of appreciation for the beauty of nature.
「これからわしの天地だ。」と、じいさんはほほえみました。
“My heaven starts now,” the old man said with a smile.
石の上に腰をおろして、前方を見ていると、ちょうど、日があちらの山脈の間に入りかかっています。金色にまぶしくふちどられた雲の一団が、その前を走っていました。先頭に旗を立て、馬にまたがった武士は、剣を高く上げ、あとから、あとから軍勢はつづくのでした。じいさんは、いまから四十年も、五十年も前の少年の時分、戦争ごっこをしたり、鬼ごっこをしたりしたときの、自分の姿を思い出していました。
Just as he was gazing out from atop a rock, the sun peaked out between a mountain range in the distance. A group of clouds rushed by in front of the sun, each brightly rimmed in gold. A horse-mounted samurai bearing a flag held his sword high as a large army trailed behind. The old man thought back forty or fifty years ago to when he was still a young boy playing soldiers and tag.
山へはいりかかった、赤い日が、今日の見収めにとおもって、半分顔を出して高原を照らすと、そこには、いつのまにか真紅に色づいた、やまうるしや、ななかまどの葉が火のように点々としていました。
By the time half of the red sun’s face was peeking out between the mountains and casting its light upon the highlands––seemingly hesitating as if to savor this once-a-day moment–––the Japanese sumac and mountain ash leaves that had suddenly turned red dotted the land like flames.
紺碧に暮れていく空の下の祭壇に、ろうそくをともして、祈りを捧げているようにも見られたのです。
The scene also brought to mind candles lit in reverence at an altar below the gradually deepening azure sky.
「よく剣ヶ峰が拝まれる。」と、じいさんは、かすかはるかに、千古の雪をいただく、鋭い牙のような山に向かって手を合わせました。
“The mountain peak is clearly visible,” said the old man, putting his hands together in prayer towards a pale mountain in the distance that was shaped like a sharp fang covered with eternal snow.
それから、治助じいさんが、自分の小舎にもどって、まだ間がなかったのでした。どこからか、風におくられて手風琴の音がきこえてきたのでした。
A moment later after old man Jisuke returned to his hut, he heard the sound of an accordion carried in by the wind.
「まだ、別荘にいる人たちででもあるかなあ。」
“I wonder if some folks are still in their cottages.”
じいさんは、耳を傾けました。それにしてはなんとなく、その音は、真剣で悲しかったのです。
The old man listened carefully. The accordion’s sound felt somehow too serious and sorrowful to be coming from a city dweller.
そのとき、小舎の入り口に立ったのは、破れた洋服をきて、かばんを肩にかけ、手風琴を持った色の黒い男でした。
Just then, he noticed a dark-skinned man holding an accordion standing at the entrance of his hut, wearing torn clothes and carrying a bag across his shoulder.
「見たことのある人のようだな。」と、じいさんが男の顔をながめていいました。
“I feel as if I’ve seen you before,” said the old man as he gazed at the dark-skinned man’s face.
「村へ、二、三度きたことがあります。田舎をまわって歩く薬売りですよ。」
“I’ve visited this village a few times. I’m traveling the countryside selling medicine.”
「ああ、薬屋さんか、すこし休んでゆきなさい。」と、じいさんが男を小舎の中へいれました。
“Oh, a medicine seller. You should rest here for a little while,” he said and let the man into his hut.
男は、この村へはいってくるのには、いつも、あちらの山を越えて、しかも、いま時分、高原を通ってくるのだということを話しました。
The medicine seller said that he usually crossed that distant mountain when coming to this village. However, during this time of year he passed through the highlands.
「どんな、薬を売りなさるのだ。」
“What sorts of medicine do you sell?”
じいさんがきくと、男は、いろいろ自分の持っている薬について話したのです。
In response to the old man’s question, the dark-skinned man began to talk about his medicines.
「私が、命がけで山に登って採った草の根や木の実で造ったもので、いいかげんなまやかしものではありません。一本のにんじんをとりますのにも、綱にぶらさがって、命をかけています。またこのくまのいは、自分が冬猟に出て打ったもので、けっして、ほかから受けてきたものでありません。だから、この薬を飲んできかないことはない。私は、うそをいったり、偽ったりすることができぬ性分です。病気になって苦しんでいる人たちに、わかりもしないめったのものをやれましょうか。いまは、人をだましても悪いと思わなければ、飲んでその薬がきかなくて死んでも、毒にさえならなければかまわぬといった世の中です。私の親父も薬取りでした。そして、命がけで取って薬を売って歩いて、一生を貧乏で送りました。私も子供の時分から山々へ上がって、どこのがけにはなにがはえているとか、またどこの谷にはなんの草が、いつごろ花を咲いて、実を結ぶかということをよく知っていました。親父は、薬売りは、人の命にかかる商売だから、めったなものを持ち歩くことはできない。自分で採って造ったものなら安心して売ることができるといっていましたが、私が、また死んだ親父の後継ぎをするようになりました。この手風琴も親父が持って歩いたものです。」
“I do not carry counterfeit products, only medicines made with grass roots and tree nuts that I risked my life to gather in the mountains. Even when obtaining a single carrot, I do so by desperately hanging from a rope. For this bear’s gall bladder I went out hunting in deep winter since I would never use something acquired from another. That is why there will never be a day when this medicine is ineffective. My nature prevents me from lying to or deceiving others. Would you be able to give a dubious, unfamiliar medicine to a person suffering from illness? In this day and age, if you deceive without bad intention and the person taking the medicine dies because it is ineffective, no one will pay any attention unless you have purposefully used something poisonous. My father too collected ingredients for medicinal purposes. He lived a life in poverty, walking around trying to sell medicines that he had risked his life to gather. Ever since I was a boy I have climbed many mountains and became familiar with what plants grew at each cliff, what grasses would blossom when, in what valleys, and when they would bear fruit. My father knew that medicines were a matter of life and death, which is why he could never carry around any item of dubious quality. My father said he could sell medicines that he gathered himself without worry, but because he has passed away I have become his successor. This accordion was also carried by my father.”
じいさんは、変わっている男だと思いました。町の薬屋へゆけば、このごろどんな薬でも他の町からきている。そして、光ったりっぱな容器の中にはいって、ちゃんと効能書きがついている。田舎だって、もうこうした売薬は、はやらないだろうと思いました。
The old man thought that this was an unusual man. These days if you went to a town drugstore, all of their medicine came from another town. Not to mention it was all sold in wonderful, shiny containers detailing the medicine’s effects. He thought that even in the countryside, this sort of medicine seller would not prosper.
「こうして、歩きなさって、薬が売れますかい。」と、じいさんは、ききました。
“Are you really able to walk around like this and sell medicine?” asked the old man.
「偽物が安く買われますので、なかなか売れません。薬ばかりは、病気になって飲んでみなければわからないので、すぐに本物とは思ってくれないのです。」
“As people will easily buy fake medicine, I have difficulty selling my products. No one knows the efficacy of medicine until they actually fall ill and try it, so people can not easily know that mine is the real thing.”
「都にゆくと、たくさん、大きな工場があって、どんな病気にもきく薬をいろいろ造っているという話だが。」
“I’m talking about how if you go to the capital, there are many large factories where they make medicines for any ailment.”
「おじいさんは、そんな薬を信用なさいますかね。」
“Sir, do you trust that kind of medicine?”
「さあ、私は、じょうぶで薬を飲んだことがないからわからないが。」
“Well, I am in good health and have never taken medicine before, so I am not sure.”
男は、さびしそうな顔をして、もう、まったく暗くなってしまった、暮れ方の空を見上げました。
With a sorrowful expression the dark-skinned man stared up at the evening sky, which had already turned completely dark.
「おじいさん、この小舎のすみに一晩泊めてくださいますまいか。」と、頼みました。
“Sir, would you mind letting me stay a night in a corner of your hut?” begged the man.
「ああいいとも、これから里へ出るにはたいへんだ。」
“Yes, of course. Heading out to the village now would be troublesome.”
その晩、二人は、炭をたくかまどのかたわらで語り明かしました。夜風が渡ると、降るように落ち葉が、小舎の屋根にかかりました。夜が明けて、男が出かけるときに、
The two men talked beside the charcoal-filled stove all through the night. When the wind gusted, leaves struck the roof of the hut as if raining down from the sky. Once morning came, the man spoke on his way out.
「もしおじいさん、腹でも痛んだりしたときに、これをおあがんなさい。」と、黒い色をした薬をすこしばかりくれました。
“Sir, if you ever have stomach trouble, please take this,” the man said, handing over a small amount of black-colored medicine.
「なにかな、これは。」
“What is this?”
「くまのいです。このくまは大きなやつでしたが。」
“It’s a bear’s gall bladder. The bear was indeed a huge one.”
「こんな高いもの、私はいらんが。」
“I don’t need such an expensive thing.”
「いくら達者でも、人間は病気にかかるものです。また来年、来年こなければ、明後年やってきます。もし、こなければ、綱でも切れて、がけから落ちて死んだと思ってください。」と、男はいいました。
“No matter how healthy they are, everyone falls ill at some point. If I don’t come next year, I’ll come the year after that. But if I don’t return, please assume I have died by falling down a cliff when my rope snapped,” said the dark-skinned man.
「じゃ、おまえさんも達者で。」と、じいさんは、別れを告げました。
“Well then, you stay healthy yourself,” the old man said and bid farewell.
秋草の咲き乱れた高原を、だんだん遠ざかってゆく、手風琴の音がきこえました。
The sound of the accordion gradually grew distant across the highlands, where autumn grasses bloomed profusely.
「変わった薬屋さんもあったものだ。」
“That man truly was an unusual medicine seller.”
じいさんは、働きながら、男のいったことを思い出していました。それには、真理がありました。かわいい孫が腹下しをして、わずか二日ばかりで死んだのであったが、せっかく買ってきた薬がなんのききめもなかったのが思い出されました。
As he worked, the old man remembered what the dark-skinned man had said. There was indeed truth to his words. His precious grandchild had fallen ill with diarrhea and passed away in a mere two days. The medicine they went through all the trouble to obtain had no effect.
「あのとき、このくまのいがあったら、たすからないともかぎらなかった。」
“Had this medicine been available then, my grandchild might still be alive today.”
じいさんは、男が残していった、紙に包んだくまのいをおしいただいて、帯の間にしまいました。坂に、一本の山桜があって、枝が垂れてじいさんの頭の上にまで伸びていました。
He lifted up the paper-wrapped medicine that the man left behind and gave it a good look before tucking it under his belt. On the side of the mountain was a wild cherry tree whose branches stretched to the old man’s head.
今年の葉は、もう散って、枝は裸になっていたけれど、葉の落ちたあとには、来年咲く花のつぼみが、堅く見えていました。じいさんは、それを見ると、花が咲くまでに、すさまじいあらしと雪の時節を経なければならないのだ。しかし、この若木は、無事にそれをしのいで、いくたびも春を迎えて、麗しい花を開くであろう、が、こう年をとった私は、はたして、もう一度、その花が見れるだろうかと思ったのでした。しかし、良薬をもらって、その考えが変わりました。じいさんは、にこにことして、急に仕事をするのに張り合いができたのでした。
The leaves this year had already fallen off, leaving the branches bare, but the young buds that would flower next year were already visible. When the old man saw those, he thought that they would not bloom until a season of terrible rainstorms and snow came and went. This young tree would probably pass through many such seasons to greet spring and bloom beautifully. However, being at this age, the old man wondered if he would see those flowers once again. But he had a change of heart after receiving this good medicine. The old man grinned, suddenly motivated to work.
「変わった薬屋さんだ。信心するので、神さまが薬をおめぐみくだされたのかもしれない。」
“What an unusual medicine seller. Perhaps the gods bestowed this medicine upon me because of my belief.”
じいさんは、まだどこかに手風琴の音がきこえるような気がして、耳をすましていました。
Detecting a faint whisper of the accordion’s sound coming from somewhere, the old man listened carefully.
(Translation Copyright © 2025 J.D. Wisgo)
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Translation notes:
- The term 剣ヶ峰 (kengamine) indicates a mountain with a sharp peak, and has historically been used to refer to several different mountains in Japan, including Mount Fuji. Judging from the story content and the time it was written, it is possible this was a reference to Mount Asama (浅間山) in Nagano prefecture, and the “highland cottages” were a reference to Karuizawa, which has been a well-known resort town since the early 20th century.
- The phrase 拝まれる (ogamareru) is technically the passive form of the verb 拝む(ogamu), which means “to worship”. However, in the context of this story it is used in an alternate meaning “to be seen” or “to be visible”.
- The main character uses the word 天国 (tengoku) to refer to the area he is in. This word literally means “heaven” (and has been translated as such), which is a reference to the fact that the city dwellers who don’t appreciate nature have left the area.
- Musical instruments often play an important part in Ogawa Mimei’s stories, for example in “The Life of a Musical Instrument.”
- The word 神さま (kamisama) has been translated as “gods” because many Japanese people have traditionally believed in multiple gods, in part due to the influence of Shintoism. Japanese lacks a generic plural suffix and only allows explicit plurals for specific cases.
- The last line in the story says literally “The old man got a feeling he could still hear the accordion’s sound somewhere, and listened carefully.” This was changed to use the term “faint whisper” to convey the feeling a bit better. There are a few other places in the story where the translation ended up being non-literal.
If you enjoyed the story, please consider checking out my bilingual reader collection of over thirty of Ogawa Mimei’s stories here (including a bonus essay).
Also, if the idea of a traveling salesman who plays an accordion interests you, consider checking out this semi-biographical tale by woman author Hayashi Fumiko.