翻刻
雷鳥図記
雷之鳥越之白山立山飛之高山皆産焉以
後鳥羽帝有聖製独白山者尤著也其謂雷発声
則鳴其羽可以避雷者非土人之言也妄矣謂可以鎮火者則或験云性不甚畏人然以其深蔵遂居出必以
霧雨陰霾也雖撨夫猟客而不常見以故民謂之霊而礼神此山者以得見為祥云 官嘗？命有司捕而貢僅
離山便殞百方莫能致也好事之士意想於伝聞作図以翫能得其彷彿者葢亦十無一二水戸相公宏度密密
之識小物不遣一日 朝与加賀侯言及此禽侯重宗親之言特遣其画工梅田九英往于白山留宿山中三日審其
形色姿態作八図以進元？頂束尾鳩姿而雉斑腹与翼裳皆白服上赤眉如片霞味趾倶黝碧而両股毳毛短白
毿ヒ達テ爪聳？而顧如応飛而低如雁其短翮而黄者則雛而無文而漫者蓋雌矣遊止常在浅竹石原或雪
上未嘗見其集樹上其飛僅能遇一谷此其大略也其胷？頸之間文彩不一蓋霊岳異気所感非人間凡会毛彩一定
不彩也公観而喜旦【且？】驚曰以白山在侯封内意謂侯家旧或有此図矣是以諸已今以不急之務労人於山谷之間
是豈寡人之意或然既荷侯之周成又不欲没人之労且摹之精可以資博物也其使柴邦彦作記以蔵邦
彦謭陋於本草之学尤非所通暁聞命惶懼莫知所指然嘗謂今王公貴人肆口腹耳目之欲労人於窮山絶海
外以快一笑之娯一筋之飽習以為常怙不以為意其甚者抽人之筋靡人之骨亦未嘗見愁然之形於言啚也
今夫多識物性則窮理之事矣非口？腹耳目之娯矣猶且不欲労人焉三数日筆墨之労非可抽筋骨矣
猶且不欲没其労焉則公之所以為心心者可知已【己？】誰不欲為公竭力致身哉邦彦其可不称述而伝哉況此禽
邦彦所嘗欲知其詳而不得者今幸得寓目焉是其所以厚顔敢当此命也
天明八年十二月
東都奉
朝請儒員柴邦彦謹書
現代語訳
## 雷鳥図記
雷鳥は、越（越中・越後）の白山・立山・飛騨の高山などに産する。後鳥羽帝による御製（和歌）があって以来、とりわけ白山のものがよく知られている。「雷が鳴ると雷鳥も鳴く」「その羽は雷除けになる」というのは土地の人々の言ではなく、でたらめである。「火事を鎮める効験がある」というのは、あるいは験があるとも言われる。雷鳥の性質は人をひどく恐れるわけではないが、深く山に籠もって暮らし、外に出るときは必ず霧雨・陰曇の日を選ぶ。猟師や狩人でさえ常に目にするわけではなく、それゆえ人々はこれを霊鳥と称え、この山の神を祀る者はこの鳥を見ることを吉祥とすると言われている。かつて役所が担当の役人に命じて捕獲し献上させようとしたが、山を離れるとたちまち死んでしまい、どんな方法を尽くしても（生きたままで）届けることはできなかった。好事家たちは伝聞をもとに想像して図を描いて楽しんでいたが、実際の姿に似せることができたものは、おそらく十のうち一つか二つもなかっただろう。
水戸の相公（徳川治紀公）は、広い度量と綿密な識見をお持ちで、小さなことも見逃されない方である。ある日、朝廷において加賀侯（前田家）とこの鳥について話題にされたところ、侯は相公の言葉を重んじ、特に自家の画工・梅田九英を白山へ派遣し、山中に三日間留まらせて、その形・色・姿・態を詳しく観察させ、八図を描かせて献上した。その図によれば、頭頂は束ねたようで、尾は鳩に似た姿をしており、腹と翼の羽は雉のような斑紋があって、いずれも白く、背の上部には赤い眉（赤い眉斑）が片霞のように見え、嘴と趾はともに黝碧色（暗い青黒色）で、両股の綿毛は短く白く細かく垂れ下がり、爪は高く聳えており、うつむいて飛び立とうとするかのようでいながら、雁のように低く飛ぶ。短い羽で黄色みを帯びているものは雛であり、紋様がなく全体的にぼんやりしているものはおそらく雌である。遊び止まるのは常に浅い笹原・岩原あるいは雪の上であり、木の上に集まるのを見たことはない。飛翔するのはわずかに一つの谷を越える程度である。以上がその大略である。胸と頸の間の文彩（羽の模様）は一様ではなく、思うに霊山の異気に感応して生じたものであり、人間界の普通の鳥のように羽の色彩が一定していないのである。
公はこれをご覧になり、喜ばれるとともに驚いておっしゃった。「白山は侯の封内（領地内）にあるのだから、侯家には以前よりこのような図があるかと思っていた。だからこそ（問い合わせるのを）控えていたのだ。今こうして急ぎでもない用件のために、山谷の間で人を労苦させてしまった。これはどうして私の本意であろうか。」と。すでに侯の周到なご厚情を受けた上に、人の労苦を埋もれさせることも望まず、しかもその摹写（模写）は精巧であって博物の資ともなり得る。そこで柴邦彦に記を作らせて蔵めることとされた。
邦彦は浅学非才であり、本草の学においてはとりわけ通暁するものではない。命を承り恐懼して、どう述べてよいかわからない。しかしながら、かつてこう思ってきた——今の王公貴人は、口腹耳目の欲するところに任せ、人を窮山絶海の外まで労苦させて、一笑の楽しみ・一口の飽食のために当然のこととし、そのようなことを何とも思わない。はなはだしい者は人の筋を引き抜き、骨を削るようなことをしながら、ついぞ憂いや苦しみの表情を言葉や顔に現したことがない。
ところで、物の性質を広く知ることは「理を窮める」（物事の道理を究明する）ことであり、口腹耳目の娯楽とは異なる。それでも人を労苦させることを望まれない。三日ほどの筆墨の労苦は、筋骨を抜くようなものではないにもかかわらず、それでもその労苦を埋もれさせることを望まれない。公の心のあり様は、これによっておのずと知ることができる。誰が公のために力を尽くし身を捧げたいと思わないだろうか。邦彦はどうしてこれを称え伝えずにいられようか。しかも、この鳥は邦彦がかねてからその詳細を知りたいと思いながら果たせずにいたもので、今幸いにも目にすることができた。これがこそが恥を忍んでこの命を謹んでお受けした所以である。
天明八年十二月
東都（江戸）にて奉じて
朝請儒員 柴邦彦 謹書
英語訳
## Record of the Ptarmigan Paintings
The ptarmigan (*raicho*) is found in the high mountains of Hakusan and Tateyama in Koshi Province, and in the peaks of Hida. Since the time of the Retired Emperor Go-Toba, who composed an imperial poem about this bird, the ptarmigan of Hakusan in particular has become especially well-known. The claim that "when thunder sounds, the ptarmigan cries" and that "its feathers can ward off lightning" does not come from the words of the local people — it is entirely fabricated. The claim that the bird can suppress fires is, however, said to have some efficacy in certain cases. By nature, the ptarmigan does not greatly fear humans, yet it lives hidden deep in the mountains and ventures out only during misty rain, overcast skies, or murky weather. Even hunters and mountain men do not see it often, and for this reason the people regard it as a sacred bird. Those who worship the deity of this mountain consider seeing it a good omen.
At one time, the relevant authorities were ordered to capture the bird and present it as tribute, but it would die as soon as it left the mountain, and no method could bring it alive to its destination. Enthusiasts drew pictures from hearsay and imagination for their own amusement, but those who managed to capture even a rough likeness were probably no more than one or two in ten.
His Excellency the Lord of Mito (Tokugawa Haruki) is a man of broad magnanimity and meticulous discernment, who overlooks nothing, however small. One day at court, he spoke with the Lord of Kaga (of the Maeda clan) on the subject of this bird. The lord, taking the words of His Excellency to heart, specially dispatched his own court painter, Umeda Kyūei, to Hakusan. Kyūei stayed in the mountains for three days, carefully observing the bird's form, coloring, and comportment, and produced eight paintings, which he then presented to His Excellency.
According to these paintings: the crown of the head appears tufted; the tail is shaped like that of a dove; the belly and wing coverts bear pheasant-like speckled markings and are entirely white; above the back is a red brow-stripe like a wisp of rosy haze; the beak and toes are both a deep dark bluish-black; the down feathers on both thighs are short, white, and softly trailing; the claws are prominently raised; the bird looks downward as though about to take flight, yet when airborne it flies low like a goose. Those with short, yellowish feathers are chicks; those with no distinctive markings and an overall indistinct appearance are probably females. The birds rest and roam habitually in sparse bamboo-grass fields, stony plains, or upon the snow, and have never been observed gathering in trees. In flight, they travel barely far enough to cross a single valley. Such is the general outline.
The plumage pattern on the chest and neck is not uniform; it is probably the result of being infused with the extraordinary *ki* (vital energy/spirit) of this sacred peak, and unlike the feathers of ordinary birds in the human world, it does not maintain a constant coloration.
His Excellency viewed the paintings with both delight and astonishment, and said: "Since Hakusan lies within the lord's domain, I had assumed the Maeda house might already have possessed such paintings — which is why I had held back from inquiring. To have now made people labor in the mountain valleys over a matter that was not at all urgent — could this ever have been my true intention?" Having already received the lord's thorough and considerate kindness, His Excellency did not wish the efforts of those involved to go unacknowledged. Moreover, the copies were made with such precision as to serve as a valuable resource for natural history. He therefore commissioned Shiba Kunihiko to write this record for preservation.
Kunihiko is a man of shallow learning and limited talent, and in the field of natural history (*honzō*) he is particularly unversed. Receiving this command, he was filled with trepidation and scarce knew what to write. Nevertheless, he has long thought the following: today's lords and nobles indulge their appetites and senses without restraint, sending people to toil in remote mountains and far-off seas for the sake of a moment's amusement or a single satisfying meal. They treat this as the natural order of things and give it no thought whatsoever. The worst among them drain men's very sinews and grind down their bones, yet never show a moment's remorse in their words or expressions.
Yet to broadly know the natures of things is an act of *kyūri* — the investigation of principle — and is entirely different from the gratification of appetite and sense. Even so, His Excellency does not wish to impose labor upon others. The toil of a few days' brush and ink is nothing like the draining of sinews and bones — and yet he does not wish that labor to go unrecognized. From this, one can readily discern what lies in His Excellency's heart. Who would not desire to exert themselves fully and dedicate themselves to such a lord? How could Kunihiko fail to celebrate and transmit this account? Furthermore, this is a bird of which Kunihiko has long wished to learn the particulars, yet had been unable to — and now he has had the good fortune to set eyes upon these paintings. This is the reason he has overcome his own presumption and humbly accepted this commission.
The Twelfth Month of the Eighth Year of Tenmei (1788)
Respectfully submitted from the Eastern Capital (Edo)
Chōsei Jūin (Court-rank Confucian Scholar-Official) **Shiba Kunihiko**, written with reverence