高瀬川で思い出すのは『高瀬舟』。安楽死を取り上げた森鴎外の短編小説です。高瀬舟で罪人を護送する同心の羽田庄兵衛は「弟殺し」の罪で島流しに会うというのに晴れやかな表情の罪人に興味を持ち、仔細を聞きます。名を喜助と言い、弟と貧しい中でも力を合わせて細々と暮らしていました。ところが、弟が病に臥せってしまいます。
ある日、仕事から帰ると喉にカミソリが食い込んだ弟がいました。弟は懸命に働く兄を案じて自ら命を経とうとしたのですが死に切れていませんでした。すぐに医者を呼ぼうとする兄を静止して弟はこのまま死なせてくれるように懇願します。兄は弟の必死さを受け止めて、最後には喉からカミソリを引き抜いて弟にとどめを指しました。
兄の喜助からしてみれば、逃れられない死の運命の中苦しむ弟をひと思いに解放してやったという満足感が勝り、後悔などあろうはずがなく晴れやかな顔だったのです。一連の話を罪人から聞いた庄兵衛は悩みます。逃れることのできない死の運命の中苦しむ弟を介錯した兄。果たしてこの殺人は裁かれなければならない罪なのだろうかと疑問に思います。しかし、答えは出ることはなく高瀬舟はただ目的地に向かって高瀬川を下っていきます。

この冬の厳しい寒波のせいで開花も遅れ、いまやっと散り始めた桜が花筏になって、喜助を乗せた高瀬舟と同じように高瀬川を静かに下っていきます。

What comes to mind when thinking of the Takase River is ‘The Boat on the Takase River,’ a short story by Mori Ōgai that deals with euthanasia. Haneda Shōbei, a constable escorting a convict in the Takase boat, grows intrigued by the convict, who is exiled for the crime of ‘killing his younger brother’ but wears a serene expression. The convict’s name is Kisuke, and he once lived a modest life, striving together with his younger brother despite their poverty. However, his brother fell ill.
One day, upon returning home from work, Kisuke found his brother with a razor embedded in his throat. The younger brother, concerned for his hardworking elder brother, had attempted to take his own life but had not succeeded. As Kisuke rushed to summon a doctor, his brother pleaded desperately to be left to die as he was. Taking in his brother’s urgency, Kisuke finally pulled the razor from his throat, ending his life.
For Kisuke, freeing his brother from the inevitable suffering of his terminal fate brought him a sense of fulfillment, leaving no room for regret. This is why he bore a calm demeanor. Upon hearing Kisuke’s story, Shōbei was troubled. A brother who assisted in ending his sibling’s suffering under the shadow of unavoidable death—was this act of killing truly a crime that deserved judgment? However, an answer never emerged, and the Takase boat continued its journey down the Takase River toward its destination.

Due to the severe cold wave this winter, the cherry blossoms bloomed late and are only now beginning to scatter. Their petals, forming rafts of blossoms, drift gently along the Takase River, just like the Takase boat carrying Kisuke.