故郷の兄

対象:一般向け ／ 時間:60〜70分

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仇か、赦しか。

握るのは刃か、手か。

Vengeance or forgiveness.

Do you take up the blade—or reach for a hand?

【あらすじ】

何処かの山あい。

西方・東方の二派が刃を交える喧嘩場に、二人の渡世人が仁義を切って名乗り合う——信州はまりこの宿「霞の信吉」と、赤城の仙太郎。

一宿一飯の恩義、恨みっこなしの約束、そして草鞋の緒を気遣うほどの律義。

たった一瞬の勝負が、数多の縁（えにし）を引き寄せる。

場は移り、百姓・三五郎の家へ。

かつての仲間や、赤子、そして山を越えて来る影。

交わされる昔語り、胸にしまった書置き、言えぬ名。

やがて明らかになるのは、血を分けぬ者同士の情か、血を分けた者の宿命か。

握るべきは刃か、手か。背負うべきは恨みか、明日の糧か。

峠に吹く風が収まるとき、男たちはそれぞれの「帰る場所」を見つめ直す。

Somewhere in the mountain country.

On a brawl ground where West and East factions cross blades, two men of the road trade formal courtesies and give their names—Kasumi no Shinkichi of Mariko post town in Shinshū, and Akagi no Sentarō. A debt for one night’s lodging and a bowl of rice, a promise to hold no grudges, and a scrupulous courtesy that notices even a loosened sandal thong. In a single instant, their bout tugs at a wide web of fate.

The scene shifts to the farmhouse of the farmer Sangorō. Old companions, an infant, and a figure come over the mountains. Stories of the past are exchanged, a note kept close to the heart surfaces, and a name that cannot be spoken hovers between them.

What comes into view: the compassion of those not bound by blood, or the destiny of those who are.

Should one grasp a blade—or a hand? Bear a grudge—or tomorrow’s rice?

When the wind over the pass at last falls still, each man looks again toward the place he can call home.

江