|
 鈴鹿峠から、大津の琵琶湖へぬけ、京都へ着いたころには、もう梅の花もさかりに、うぐいすのなき声が竹林にひびき、ここちよい春風がふいていました。久助は、平安京の美しさに、ただ、ぼう然とするばかりでした。すれ違った御所車の優雅なすがたに、目をまるくし、「さぞうきれいな、お姫さまが乗っているだんべえ」と、久助は、つぶやきました。 七九四年（延暦一三年）、桓武天皇が、奈良の平城京より、都を京都にうつして、これを平安京と名づけ、国をつかさどり、奈良時代から平安時代に移り変っていきました。 |
| From the
Suzuka Mountain Pass, Kyusuke journeyed on beyond Lake Biwa near Otsu. When he finally
arrived in Kyoto, the plum trees were in bloom and one could hear nightingales singing in
bamboo groves as the gentle spring wind whispered through their swaying branches. Kyusuke was filled with amazement at the beauty of Heiankyo (Kyoto during the
Heian Period). A Court carriage passed before him, and as Kyusuke looked wide-eyed at the
elegant figure of its passenger, he remarked to himself, "That beautiful lady must
surely be a princess!" It then became known as Heiankyo and he ruled the country from there. This change brought the Nara Period to a close and inaugurated the Heian Period in Japanese history. |
