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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Uchiyama Gudō, "A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery"}} | {{DISPLAYTITLE:Uchiyama Gudō, "A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery"}} | ||
==Translation== | [[Uchiyama Gudo|Uchiyama Gudō]] 内山愚童 (1908). 「伊藤中將姦通觀」 [A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery], 『世界婦人』 21 (1 January 1908): 7. ([[UG08ITO|Original Japanese here]].) | ||
== Translation == | |||
'''A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery''' | '''A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery''' | ||
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:Uchiyama Gudō | :Uchiyama Gudō | ||
Madam Fukuda | Madam Fukuda,<ref>Fukuda Hideko 福田英子 (1865–1927), the addressee, was a prominent Meiji-era women's rights activist and former Freedom and People's Rights Movement activist who subsequently entered socialist circles associated with the Heiminsha 平民社. She founded and edited ''Sekai Fujin'' beginning in 1907. Gudō addresses her here as ''Fukuda joshi sokka'' 福田女子足下.</ref> it has already become that busy season when only fifteen days remain in the year. I have just now read the twentieth issue of ''Sekai Fujin'' 世界婦人. At your actions—carrying out Heaven's mission by bringing light into the dark world of women—people like us are deeply ashamed of ourselves.<ref>赫顔の至り, literally “the utmost of a flushed face,” expresses embarrassment or shame at falling short of another's conduct.</ref> | ||
I hear that you intend to bring out the January issue before the year's end. I am certain that the present matter of concern, the Lieutenant General's adultery incident,<ref> | I hear that you intend to bring out the January issue before the year's end. I am certain that the present matter of concern, the Lieutenant General's adultery incident,<ref>The officer is identified in the title by surname and rank, Itō Chūjō 伊藤中將, and later in the essay as Chūjō Gigorō 中將義五郎.</ref> will receive bold, decisive new interpretations from various eminent contributors for your readers to see.<ref>快刀亂麻, literally “a sharp blade cutting through tangled hemp,” is an idiom for resolving a complicated problem swiftly and decisively.</ref> | ||
How would it be—would you not print my own view of | How would it be—would you not print my own view of adultery in whatever space remains on your pages? I do not insist upon it in the least; but if there is anything in it worth taking, please let it be printed. | ||
To state my faith plainly: only when filial piety is removed from the dictionary of ethics, loyalty cast aside, and, moreover, the word chastity thrown out, will the world at last behold the Kingdom of Heaven.<ref>天國, | To state my faith plainly: only when filial piety is removed from the dictionary of ethics, loyalty cast aside, and, moreover, the word chastity thrown out, will the world at last behold the Kingdom of Heaven.<ref>天國, “Kingdom of Heaven.” Gudō repeatedly employs Christian-derived vocabulary in this essay—including 信仰 (“faith”) and 福音 (“gospel”)—alongside language with Buddhist resonances. This is consistent with the religiously eclectic vocabulary evident elsewhere in his writings of this period.</ref> For this reason, my view of the present adultery incident differs somewhat in character from that of the capitalist newspapers,<ref>資本家新聞, “capitalist newspapers.” Gudō reframes the scandal as a question of social institutions rather than simply an individual moral failing.</ref> which single out the Lieutenant General alone for abuse. | ||
With this much said by way of preface, let me attempt, in the | With this much said by way of preface, let me attempt, in the simplest terms, a brief comment on each person concerned, and put the question to those distinguished personages known as the reading public. | ||
Pitiable Yōichi | Pitiable Yōichi 陽一—how wretched is one who lacks faith! Unable to cut through the deluding net of the system of private property,<ref>私有制度 (“the system of private property”) is central to Gudō's argument here. His description of it as a 迷網, a “net of delusion,” gives the economic critique a distinctly Buddhist resonance.</ref> it is the superstition that she is “my wife” that has brought about this incident. Even supposing the trial ends in Yōichi's victory, what benefit does this bring to Yōichi himself? Surely he cannot thereby recover the love that O-Hara お原 sold to the Lieutenant General. How sad, Yōichi! You ought now to cast aside the superstition that a wife is one's private possession, and hold instead to the faith that husband and wife should remain so only for as long as their love endures; that when either partner's affection moves elsewhere, this should be regarded as a natural parting,<ref>自然の離別, “a natural parting.” Gudō here explicitly rejects the idea that marriage establishes permanent possession of one's spouse.</ref> in which no selfish human will ought to intervene.<ref>人意の私心, literally the “selfish/private mind” (私心) of human intention. The recurrence of 私 is suggestive alongside 私有制度, the “system of private property.”</ref> Only by entering into this faith will woman, for the first time, escape this world of suffering<ref>苦なる此世界, “this world of suffering.” 苦 also carries the familiar Buddhist resonance of suffering or ''dukkha''.</ref> and become a person of the Kingdom of Heaven. Know that if it is not so, eternal damnation cannot be escaped.<ref>永劫の墮獄, literally an eternal falling into hell.</ref> | ||
O-Hara | O-Hara お原, captive of present-day society, O-Hara who stands at the very center of this adultery affair—when the Lieutenant General first proposed sexual relations to you, why did you not divorce Yōichi beforehand, and only afterward consent? It is said that you asked the Lieutenant General for a week's grace; had this thought occurred to you within that week, the present incident would never have arisen. And yet, having said this, you too are a child of your age; there is no one today who is not a slave to vanity and to livelihood.<ref>虛榮と生活の奴隷, “a slave to vanity and livelihood.” Gudō again moves from individual conduct toward the social conditions constraining it.</ref> Since you had no prospect of becoming the Lieutenant General's wife, you could not summon the resolve to divorce Yōichi and openly share your love with him. Considering this, is not the system of private property in present-day society itself a thing to be cursed? Devote all your strength for the rest of your life to overturning this system of private property, which has cast you down into your present fate—this is how you will take revenge upon the enemy that cast you into your present pit.<ref>The Japanese transcription presently reads 此私有制度を轉復する. The translation “overturning this system of private property” follows the apparent sense of the passage, but the reading 轉復 should be checked against the original printing in ''Sekai Fujin''.</ref> | ||
Foolish Lieutenant General Gigorō | Foolish Lieutenant General Gigorō 中將義五郎—I am not one who condemns this act of yours as a sin. And yet you too have been unable to cut through the net, and so cannot escape being called foolish. An incident such as this is nothing rare among your fellow officers. Strip away the flimsy black curtain from today's society—filled as it is with those who fall into degradation because money is freely available to them and those driven to degradation by hunger—and one finds the same thing everywhere. And yet the newspapermen attack you as though they had encountered an enemy that comes but once in a thousand years; their sheer foolishness is enough to make one burst out laughing. At the same time, is it not also foolish of you to remain bound by so trivial a social system that you are even driven into administrative suspension? | ||
I think that this affair of yours may perhaps be Heaven's command for you to destroy this foolish society. Stop tormenting yourself and reflect deeply.<ref>煩悶 denotes anguish | I think that this affair of yours may perhaps be Heaven's command for you to destroy this foolish society. Stop tormenting yourself and reflect deeply.<ref>煩悶 denotes anguish or agonized inner struggle; 沈思黙考 means to think or reflect deeply and silently.</ref> Is not the present society—contending as it does over honor as insubstantial as smoke and profit as fleeting as foam—fated sooner or later to perish? What is honor? What is property? And the very protagonist who contends over them—what is he himself? Stop this useless torment. Cease your torment, and after supper take up your cane and stroll through the cemetery at Yanaka 谷中;<ref>Yanaka Cemetery 谷中墓地 in Tokyo provides Gudō with an appropriately concrete setting for contemplation of mortality and impermanence.</ref> there you shall encounter a clear gospel. | ||
Thus having attained this new light, you shall arrive at an honor twice that of the | Thus, having attained this new light, you shall arrive at an honor twice that of the position you have won today by the sword. Do not torment yourself. Go forward and fulfill your heaven-given mission.<ref>The Japanese transcription of the first sentence of this paragraph contains a doubtful reading (榮譽に奥らんかな) that should be checked against the original printing. The present translation follows the apparent sense of the passage.</ref> | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
== Source Note == | |||
Uchiyama Gudō 内山愚童, 「伊藤中將姦通觀」, 『世界婦人』 [Sekai Fujin], no. 21 (1 January 1908): 7. The Japanese transcription underlying this translation has not yet been checked directly against the original printing. Accordingly, translations of several uncertain readings remain provisional. | |||
== How to Cite this Text == | |||
Uchiyama Gudō (1908). “A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery” (「伊藤中將姦通觀」). Translated and annotated by [TRANSLATOR]. ''The Radical Buddhism Project''. Version of {{#time: j F Y | {{REVISIONYEAR}}-{{REVISIONMONTH}}-{{REVISIONDAY}} }}. <nowiki>http://radicalbuddhism.net/wiki/UG08ITO-T</nowiki>. | |||
[[category:Uchiyama Gudo]] | [[category:Uchiyama Gudo]] | ||
[[category:Translations from Japanese]] | [[category:Translations from Japanese]] | ||
Revision as of 00:05, 6 October 2026
Uchiyama Gudō 内山愚童 (1908). 「伊藤中將姦通觀」 [A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery], 『世界婦人』 21 (1 January 1908): 7. (Original Japanese here.)
Translation
A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery
- Uchiyama Gudō
Madam Fukuda,[1] it has already become that busy season when only fifteen days remain in the year. I have just now read the twentieth issue of Sekai Fujin 世界婦人. At your actions—carrying out Heaven's mission by bringing light into the dark world of women—people like us are deeply ashamed of ourselves.[2]
I hear that you intend to bring out the January issue before the year's end. I am certain that the present matter of concern, the Lieutenant General's adultery incident,[3] will receive bold, decisive new interpretations from various eminent contributors for your readers to see.[4]
How would it be—would you not print my own view of adultery in whatever space remains on your pages? I do not insist upon it in the least; but if there is anything in it worth taking, please let it be printed.
To state my faith plainly: only when filial piety is removed from the dictionary of ethics, loyalty cast aside, and, moreover, the word chastity thrown out, will the world at last behold the Kingdom of Heaven.[5] For this reason, my view of the present adultery incident differs somewhat in character from that of the capitalist newspapers,[6] which single out the Lieutenant General alone for abuse.
With this much said by way of preface, let me attempt, in the simplest terms, a brief comment on each person concerned, and put the question to those distinguished personages known as the reading public.
Pitiable Yōichi 陽一—how wretched is one who lacks faith! Unable to cut through the deluding net of the system of private property,[7] it is the superstition that she is “my wife” that has brought about this incident. Even supposing the trial ends in Yōichi's victory, what benefit does this bring to Yōichi himself? Surely he cannot thereby recover the love that O-Hara お原 sold to the Lieutenant General. How sad, Yōichi! You ought now to cast aside the superstition that a wife is one's private possession, and hold instead to the faith that husband and wife should remain so only for as long as their love endures; that when either partner's affection moves elsewhere, this should be regarded as a natural parting,[8] in which no selfish human will ought to intervene.[9] Only by entering into this faith will woman, for the first time, escape this world of suffering[10] and become a person of the Kingdom of Heaven. Know that if it is not so, eternal damnation cannot be escaped.[11]
O-Hara お原, captive of present-day society, O-Hara who stands at the very center of this adultery affair—when the Lieutenant General first proposed sexual relations to you, why did you not divorce Yōichi beforehand, and only afterward consent? It is said that you asked the Lieutenant General for a week's grace; had this thought occurred to you within that week, the present incident would never have arisen. And yet, having said this, you too are a child of your age; there is no one today who is not a slave to vanity and to livelihood.[12] Since you had no prospect of becoming the Lieutenant General's wife, you could not summon the resolve to divorce Yōichi and openly share your love with him. Considering this, is not the system of private property in present-day society itself a thing to be cursed? Devote all your strength for the rest of your life to overturning this system of private property, which has cast you down into your present fate—this is how you will take revenge upon the enemy that cast you into your present pit.[13]
Foolish Lieutenant General Gigorō 中將義五郎—I am not one who condemns this act of yours as a sin. And yet you too have been unable to cut through the net, and so cannot escape being called foolish. An incident such as this is nothing rare among your fellow officers. Strip away the flimsy black curtain from today's society—filled as it is with those who fall into degradation because money is freely available to them and those driven to degradation by hunger—and one finds the same thing everywhere. And yet the newspapermen attack you as though they had encountered an enemy that comes but once in a thousand years; their sheer foolishness is enough to make one burst out laughing. At the same time, is it not also foolish of you to remain bound by so trivial a social system that you are even driven into administrative suspension?
I think that this affair of yours may perhaps be Heaven's command for you to destroy this foolish society. Stop tormenting yourself and reflect deeply.[14] Is not the present society—contending as it does over honor as insubstantial as smoke and profit as fleeting as foam—fated sooner or later to perish? What is honor? What is property? And the very protagonist who contends over them—what is he himself? Stop this useless torment. Cease your torment, and after supper take up your cane and stroll through the cemetery at Yanaka 谷中;[15] there you shall encounter a clear gospel.
Thus, having attained this new light, you shall arrive at an honor twice that of the position you have won today by the sword. Do not torment yourself. Go forward and fulfill your heaven-given mission.[16]
Notes
- ↑ Fukuda Hideko 福田英子 (1865–1927), the addressee, was a prominent Meiji-era women's rights activist and former Freedom and People's Rights Movement activist who subsequently entered socialist circles associated with the Heiminsha 平民社. She founded and edited Sekai Fujin beginning in 1907. Gudō addresses her here as Fukuda joshi sokka 福田女子足下.
- ↑ 赫顔の至り, literally “the utmost of a flushed face,” expresses embarrassment or shame at falling short of another's conduct.
- ↑ The officer is identified in the title by surname and rank, Itō Chūjō 伊藤中將, and later in the essay as Chūjō Gigorō 中將義五郎.
- ↑ 快刀亂麻, literally “a sharp blade cutting through tangled hemp,” is an idiom for resolving a complicated problem swiftly and decisively.
- ↑ 天國, “Kingdom of Heaven.” Gudō repeatedly employs Christian-derived vocabulary in this essay—including 信仰 (“faith”) and 福音 (“gospel”)—alongside language with Buddhist resonances. This is consistent with the religiously eclectic vocabulary evident elsewhere in his writings of this period.
- ↑ 資本家新聞, “capitalist newspapers.” Gudō reframes the scandal as a question of social institutions rather than simply an individual moral failing.
- ↑ 私有制度 (“the system of private property”) is central to Gudō's argument here. His description of it as a 迷網, a “net of delusion,” gives the economic critique a distinctly Buddhist resonance.
- ↑ 自然の離別, “a natural parting.” Gudō here explicitly rejects the idea that marriage establishes permanent possession of one's spouse.
- ↑ 人意の私心, literally the “selfish/private mind” (私心) of human intention. The recurrence of 私 is suggestive alongside 私有制度, the “system of private property.”
- ↑ 苦なる此世界, “this world of suffering.” 苦 also carries the familiar Buddhist resonance of suffering or dukkha.
- ↑ 永劫の墮獄, literally an eternal falling into hell.
- ↑ 虛榮と生活の奴隷, “a slave to vanity and livelihood.” Gudō again moves from individual conduct toward the social conditions constraining it.
- ↑ The Japanese transcription presently reads 此私有制度を轉復する. The translation “overturning this system of private property” follows the apparent sense of the passage, but the reading 轉復 should be checked against the original printing in Sekai Fujin.
- ↑ 煩悶 denotes anguish or agonized inner struggle; 沈思黙考 means to think or reflect deeply and silently.
- ↑ Yanaka Cemetery 谷中墓地 in Tokyo provides Gudō with an appropriately concrete setting for contemplation of mortality and impermanence.
- ↑ The Japanese transcription of the first sentence of this paragraph contains a doubtful reading (榮譽に奥らんかな) that should be checked against the original printing. The present translation follows the apparent sense of the passage.
Source Note
Uchiyama Gudō 内山愚童, 「伊藤中將姦通觀」, 『世界婦人』 [Sekai Fujin], no. 21 (1 January 1908): 7. The Japanese transcription underlying this translation has not yet been checked directly against the original printing. Accordingly, translations of several uncertain readings remain provisional.
How to Cite this Text
Uchiyama Gudō (1908). “A View on Lieutenant General Itō's Adultery” (「伊藤中將姦通觀」). Translated and annotated by [TRANSLATOR]. The Radical Buddhism Project. Version of 6 October 2026. http://radicalbuddhism.net/wiki/UG08ITO-T.
