Prevod

Long ago there lived a man named Shimotsuke no Atsuyuki, a lieutenant of the Right Palace Guards. He was an excellent rider in horse races and enjoyed exceptional favor, beginning with the emperor himself. From the reign of Emperor Suzaku through that of Emperor Murakami, he was in his prime, and everyone acknowledged him as an outstanding imperial horseman. When he grew old, he went to live in the western part of the capital. One day a neighbor died suddenly, and Atsuyuki went to offer his condolences. He met the dead man’s children and asked about their father’s last moments. In the course of their conversation, he heard them say, “When we carry our father out, the gate faces an unlucky direction. Still, we cannot leave him here. We shall have to take him out through the gate.” Atsuyuki said, “It would be most improper to carry him out in an unlucky direction. For the sake of all you children, too, that is something especially to be avoided. I shall break down the fence between our houses, and you may carry him out that way. While he was alive, he showed me nothing but kindness on every occasion. If I do not repay his kindness even at a time like this, how shall I ever repay it?” The children answered, “We could not possibly carry him out through the house of someone whose household has suffered no misfortune. Even if the direction is unlucky, we must take him out through our own gate.” But Atsuyuki said, “Do not make such a mistake. We shall simply carry him out through my gate,” and went home. He told his children, “I felt sorry that our neighbor had died, so I went to offer my condolences. His children were distressed and said, ‘Though it faces an unlucky direction, we have only the one gate, so we must carry him out that way.’ I pitied them and told them to break down the fence between us and carry him out through our gate.” When his wife and children heard this, they all protested. “What an extraordinary thing for the head of a family to do! Would even the holiest ascetic, one who had given up eating grain, do such a thing? However little you may care what becomes of you, who would let a neighbor’s corpse be carried out through his own gate? It is utterly unthinkable!” Atsuyuki replied, “Do not all talk such nonsense. Just leave this to me and see what happens. Those who fuss over ritual abstinences and scrupulously observe every taboo have short lives and accomplish nothing worthwhile. Those who pay no heed to such things live long, and their descendants prosper. People who make so much of abstinences and taboos scarcely deserve to be called human. It is those who remember kindness and forget themselves who truly deserve that name. Surely Heaven will look on such people with favor. Stop this foolish talk.” Then he called his servants and had them tear down the cypress fence between the houses, so that the dead man could be carried out that way. When word of this spread, even the great lords marveled and praised him. Atsuyuki went on to live to about ninety before he died. His children, too, all lived long lives, and it is said that the descendants of the Shimotsuke family continued to enjoy high regard among the imperial horsemen.