A day in the life of a teenage samurai

少年武士生活中的一天

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It’s just after sunrise, and 16-year-old Mori Banshir?

is already hard at work ?practicing drills with his long sword.

Banshir? is an ambitious samurai ?in training,

and today he must impress ?his teachers more than ever.

Today he’ll make his request ?to travel to the capital city of Edo

for a year of martial ?and scholarly studies,

and he needs their support, ?along with his father’s.

太陽才剛升起，16?歲的森伴四郎（Mori Banshir?）

就已經(jīng)在用武士刀 刻苦地練習(xí)招式了。

伴四郎是一名雄心勃勃的見習(xí)武士，

今天他必須給老師們 留下前所未有的出色印象。

因?yàn)榻裉焖麑?huì)請(qǐng)求前往首府江戶，

進(jìn)行為期一年的武術(shù)和文化修行，

而他需要老師們以及父親的支持。

The year is 1800?in the castle town ?of K?chi,

capital of the Tosa domain in Japan.

The daimyo rules the domain, and about ?1,500?samurai retainers serve him.

For 200?years, ?Japan has been at peace,

and the samurai, once primarily warriors, ?now play a much wider range of roles—

they are also government officials,

scholars,

teachers,

and even masters ?of the tea ceremony

or artists.

這一年是 1800?年， 地點(diǎn)是高知城，

日本土佐藩的藩廳（首府）。

藩地由大名（諸侯）管轄， 其手下有約 1500?名武士家臣效力。

日本已維持了 200?年的和平，

曾經(jīng)以征戰(zhàn)沙場(chǎng)為生的武士， 如今則扮演了更加廣泛的角色——

他們也擔(dān)任幕府官員、

學(xué)者、

教師，

甚至是茶道大師

或是藝術(shù)家。

To prepare for these ?diverse responsibilities,

young samurai like Banshir? ?study the “twin paths”

of literary learning and the martial arts.

At 15, he went through the rites ?of adulthood and received the daish?—

a pair of swords.

The long sword is for training ?and combat,

while the short sword ?has a sole, solemn purpose—

to commit ritual suicide, or seppuku,

if he dishonors himself, his family, ?or the daimyo.

為了履行這些不同的職責(zé)，

像伴四郎這樣的年輕武士 會(huì)進(jìn)行 “文武兩道” 的修行，

不僅要修煉武學(xué)，也要研習(xí)文藝。

在 15?歲時(shí)，他行過元服之禮， 獲贈(zèng)了被稱作 “大小” 的——

一對(duì)佩刀。

長刀用于訓(xùn)練與戰(zhàn)斗，

短刀則有著唯一的莊嚴(yán)目的——

如果他使自己、家人或大名蒙羞的話，

就要用短刀切腹自盡。

Banshir? idolizes the legendary samurai ?Miyamoto Musashi,

a renowned swordsman ?who lived 150?years earlier.

But Banshir? doesn’t admire ?his swordsmanship alone.

Miyamoto Musashi was also ?a master calligrapher and painter.

That’s the real reason ?Banshir? wants to go to Edo—

he secretly wants to be a painter, too.

After finishing his practice at home, ?he bids his father goodbye

and walks to school.

伴四郎十分崇拜 活躍于 150?年前的著名劍術(shù)家，

傳奇武士宮本武藏 （Miyamoto Musashi）。

令伴四郎欽佩的不止是他的劍法。

宮本武藏同時(shí)也是 一名書法和繪畫大師。

這也是伴四郎 想前往江戶的真正原因——

他暗中也想成為一名畫家。

在結(jié)束了家中的鍛煉后， 他向父親道別，

走去了學(xué)校。

His father is preparing to accompany ?the daimyo to the capital.

The Tokugawa shogun, head of the Japanese ?military government,

requires all the regional rulers ?to alternate years

between their castle town ?in the home domain and the capital city.

The costly treks back and forth ?keep the daimyo subordinate

and prevent them from building up ?their own military forces

to challenge the shogunate.

The daimyo’s wife and children ?live in the capital full time,

where they serve as hostages ?to ensure his loyalty.

他的父親正在為陪同大名 前往首府做準(zhǔn)備。

日本武家政府的 最高領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者徳川將軍

要求所有地區(qū)的領(lǐng)主 輪流往返領(lǐng)地與首府執(zhí)行政務(wù)，

進(jìn)行 “參勤交代”。

成本高昂的來回跋涉 能使大名保持服從，

并阻止他們累積軍事力量

對(duì)幕府進(jìn)行謀反。

大名的妻子和孩子 會(huì)在江戶長期居住，

作為幕府的人質(zhì)， 確保大名的忠誠。

But the practice ?doesn’t just affect the daimyo—

it determines much of the rhythm ?of life in Japan.

Samurai must accompany the daimyo to Edo.

This year it’s Banshir?’s father’s ?turn to go,

and Banshir? is desperate to go with him;

but given that he’s still in training, ?he’ll need permission

from both his father and the domain.

但是這樣的制度 不僅會(huì)影響到大名——

也決定了日本多數(shù)人的生活節(jié)奏。

武士必須跟隨大名前往江戶。

這一年輪到伴四郎的父親陪同參勤，

伴四郎渴望與他同行；

但是鑒于他仍在見習(xí)，

他需要得到父親和領(lǐng)地雙方的許可。

At school, Banshir?’s first lesson ?is in swordfighting.

Under his teacher’s stern eye, ?he pairs up with his classmates

and goes through the routines ?he’s been practicing.

At the end of the lesson, he reminds the ?instructor of his request to go to Edo.

The instructor cracks ?his first smile of the day,

and Banshir? feels confident ?he will gain his support.

在學(xué)校，伴四郎的第一堂課是劍術(shù)。

在老師嚴(yán)厲的目光下， 他與同學(xué)們結(jié)對(duì)

演練他一直在練習(xí)的整套招式。

課程結(jié)束時(shí)，他再次向?qū)?提起了前往江戶的請(qǐng)求。

導(dǎo)師當(dāng)天首次展顏微笑，

伴四郎相信自己將得到他的支持。

Next, Banshir? practices archery, ?horsemanship, and swimming

before his academic courses ?in the afternoon.

Courses cover Confucian philosophy, ?morality, and history.

When the instructor calls on him, he has ?the response on the tip of his tongue,

ensuring another supporter ?for his campaign.

By the end of the day, Banshir? ?feels confident that his formal request

will be approved, but the greatest ?challenge is still ahead of him:

convincing his father.

接下來，在他下午的學(xué)術(shù)課程之前，

伴四郎還練習(xí)了 射箭、騎馬以及游泳。

下午的學(xué)術(shù)課程包括 儒家哲學(xué)、倫理和歷史。

當(dāng)導(dǎo)師點(diǎn)到他時(shí)， 他早已醞釀好了答案，

這為他的旅程贏得了另一位支持者。

一日將盡，伴四郎很自信 自己的正式申請(qǐng)會(huì)得到批準(zhǔn)，

但最大的挑戰(zhàn)仍在前方：

說服他的父親。

His father believes the martial arts ?are more important than the literary arts,

so Banshir? doesn’t mention ?his artistic ambitions.

Instead, he talks about renowned ?sword instructors he can train with,

and teaching certifications he can earn ?to improve his professional prospects

back in K?chi.

Then, he makes his final, ?strongest argument:

if he goes this time and succeeds, ?his father can retire and send him instead

in the future.

他父親認(rèn)為武道比文道更加重要，

因此伴四郎沒有提及他的藝術(shù)追求，

而是談到了自己 能有機(jī)會(huì)師從知名的劍術(shù)家，

還可以考取教學(xué)資格證書， 讓他返回高知時(shí)有更好的

職業(yè)前景。

然后，他提出了 最后也是最有力的論點(diǎn)：

如果他這次同去且萬事順利， 父親就可以退休，

未來能派遣他跟隨大名參勤。

It’s this last point ?that finally sells him—

Banshir?’s father agrees ?to take him on his tour of duty.

In the bustle of the capital city, ?Banshir? will finally have the opportunity

to pursue his secret ambition ?to become a painter.

正是最后這一點(diǎn)說服了他父親。

伴四郎的父親同意 在勤務(wù)之旅中帶上伴四郎。

在首府的喧囂中， 伴四郎終于能有機(jī)會(huì)

去追求他心底想成為畫家的理想。