| 小栗上野介の言葉 1 真の武士 Words of Kozukenosuke Oguri 1 A true samurai |
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当事者責任
小栗上野介が幕末に行なっていた仕事の量と質を知ると、遣米使節から帰国後のわずか８年間によくぞこれだけ奮闘努力した、と痛感させられる。その彼の心底にあったものは何か。一口に言えばまさに「当事者責任」であろう。徳川家の家臣で禄を食（は）んでいるかぎり、最後までその責任を果たすのが自分の武士としての責任、という心構えは近年の日本人にはなかなか理解しきれない。 |
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| Party Responsibility Knowing the quantity and quality of work that Kozukenosuke Oguri was doing at the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it is painful to realize how hard he struggled to accomplish so much in only eight years after returning to Japan from the mission to the United States. What was at the heart of this man? In a word, it was the responsibility of the parties involved. As long as you are a vassal of the Tokugawa family and receive a stipend, it is your responsibility as a samurai to fulfill your responsibilities until the end of your life, a mindset that is difficult for Japanese people to understand these days. A samurai is willing to put himself on the line if his lord insists on fighting, even if he has no chance of winning. For example, Nobunaga Oda's Battle of Okehazama was a battle that was possible because of this attitude. They did not go into battle by majority vote. |
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| 真の武士 【小栗上野介の言葉】 『親の病気が、もう治る見込みがないからといって、薬を与えないのは親孝行ではない。たとえ国が滅びても、この身が倒れるまで公事に尽くすのが、真の武士である』 |
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| A True Samurai [Words of Kozukenosuke Oguri] "It is not filial piety not to give medicine to a parent just because his or her illness is unlikely to be cured. Even if the country is destroyed, it is a true samurai who devotes himself to public affairs until his own body collapses." |
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| ここでいう「親」とは、自分がつかえている徳川幕府をさす。親の病気が重くてとても助かりそうもないほど重体であっても、息子の立場としては最後の１分１秒まで生きながらえるよう手を尽す。いまの自分がしていることはまさにそれだ。 たとえ国が滅びることになっても、自分の身が倒れるまで公務に尽すのが「真の武士」である。 自分のつかえている徳川家の政治の切り回し方はもう体制が古くて、とてもこのままではもちそうもない。だからと言って投げ出すのではなく、おのれの武士としての責任で最後まで手を尽す、という武士の気概を述べている。 |
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| The "parent" here refers to the Tokugawa Shogunate, which he is holding onto. Even if the illness of a parent is so serious that it is unlikely that the parent will survive, as a son, he will do everything he can to keep the parent alive until the very last minute. "That's exactly what I am doing now," he says. A true samurai is one who devotes himself to his official duties until his own body collapses, even if it means the destruction of his country. The Tokugawa family's political system that he is holding on to is already old and is not likely to last much longer. But that doesn't mean that he should give up everything, but rather that he should take his responsibility as a samurai and do his best to finish the job. That is what Oguri was saying. |
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東洋文庫『幕末政治家』 福地源一郎著・平凡社 「小栗上野介が財政外交の要職にいたころは、幕府はすでに衰亡に瀕していて、大勢はもう傾いているときだから、（たとえ）百人の小栗上野介がいてもどうにもならない時節だった。だが、小栗はあえて不可的（インポッシブル）の言葉を吐いたことはなく・・・」 につづけて小栗上野介の語った言葉として、下記の原文が記されている。 原文 「病（やまい）の癒（い）ゆべからざるを知りて薬（くすり）せざるは孝子の所為（しょい）にあらず。国亡び、身倒るるまでは公事に鞅掌（おうしょう）するこそ、真の武士なれ」 （『幕末政治家』福地源一郎著） |
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| Toyo Bunko “The Political Figures at the End of the Edo Period” by Genichiro Fukuchi, Heibonsha "At the time when Kozukenosuke Oguri was in charge of finance and diplomacy, the Shogunate was already on the verge of decline, and the situation in Japan was already on the verge of collapse, so even if there were a hundred Kozukenosuke Oguri, there was nothing that could be done. However, Oguri never dared to utter the word 'impossible'..." |
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