翻刻
細見花の源
春(はる)といふ名(な)の行とゝかぬ所もなふ気色(けしき)調(とゝのは)ぬ。里(さと)もなき
其中に爰(こゝ)の賑(にぎは)ひ言ねと御出で御存の事それは
ともあれ此 花街(くるわ)の文字(もじ)違(ちか)ひ契情(けいせい)買(かい)は悪敷ものなどゝ
彼火打箱 親父(おやぢ)の夢助(ゆめすけ)古の田夫(でんぶ)野人(やじん)の言出せし事にや
爰(こゝ)に一人の富人(ふしん)ありけるがことしまて三十余年
雨(あめ)ふり風まに此 花街(くるは)に来りて月 雪(ゆき)花郭公
の暁空(あかつきそら)までも宰頭(さいた )末社(まつしや)いと賑(にぎ)〳〵しく仮(かり)に
も拙(つたな)き遊びをせず是さへあるに名(な)に云
たる美婦(びふ)十余人 根(ね)引の金(かね)は数(かす)しらすこれ
【柱】細見序 壱
現代語訳
**細見花の源 序**
「春」という名が行き届かぬ場所もなく、風情の整わぬ里もないものだが、その中でもここ(吉原)の賑わいといったら、言わずとも皆さまご存知のことであろう。
それはさておき、この花街(くるわ)の文字を「傾城買い」と書いて、それが悪しきことだなどと言い出したのは、あの火打ち箱の親父・夢助(ゆめすけ)のような、古めかしい田舎者・無粋な輩の言い草ではないだろうか。
さて、ここに一人の裕福な人物がいた。今年で三十余年もの間、雨の日も風の日も、この花街(くるわ)に通い続け、月・雪・花・ほととぎすを愛でながら暁の空まで、宰頭(さいとう)や末社(まっしゃ)たちと共にたいそう賑やかに遊び、仮にも粗末な遊び方はせずにいた。それだけでなく、名の知れた美婦(美しい遊女)十余人を「根引き」した際の金の額も数知れないほどであった。
英語訳
**Saiken Hana no Minamoto — Preface**
There is no place untouched by what is called "spring," nor any quarter lacking in its proper charm. Among all such places, the lively bustle of this establishment here (the Yoshiwara) needs no words — it is a matter well known to all who have graced it with their visits.
But setting that aside: to write the characters for this flower quarter (*kuruwa*) as "buying a *keisei* (courtesan)," and to declare it something wicked or shameful — was that not the kind of thing first uttered by boorish, old-fashioned rustics of the sort typified by that flint-box codger, Yumesuké — the sort of thick-headed country bumpkin with no appreciation for elegance?
Now, there was here a man of great wealth. For more than thirty years to this day, through rain and wind alike, he had been coming to this flower quarter (*kuruwa*), staying out to admire the moon, snow, blossoms, and the cuckoo until the sky of dawn, all the while keeping merry company with his *saitō* and *massha* attendants. Not once did he permit himself a crude or ungentlemanly manner of amusement. Beyond even this, the sums of gold he spent in "ne-biki" — the ransoming of well-known beauties, more than ten of them — were beyond counting.