topple 復習
京都国立博物館が保管しているある刀が、坂本龍馬のものであることが分かりました。
Learning Japanese from the news / Sakamoto Ryoma’s sword authenticated
Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867) made efforts about 150 years ago to topple the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan during the Edo period (1603-1867). A sword possessed by the Kyoto National Museum has been found to be the actual one owned by Ryoma.
The sword, named Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, was donated to the museum 85 years ago by descendants of Ryoma. However, because it does not have a pattern particular to the kind of sword it is, and also does not feature a curve like ordinary swords, it was unknown whether it was genuine.
Last year, documents written by Ryoma’s descendants were discovered. According to them, the house of one of his descendants in Kushiro, Hokkaido, was burned in a fire about 100 years ago. The documents said the sword became deformed, leading to its curve being lost, and also that the blade had been resharpened. A further examination of the sword revealed the pattern on the blade, which had been difficult to detect.
The sword is to be displayed at exhibitions in Kyoto and Tokyo.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002958585
今回取り上げる表現は、“topple”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、「…をぐらつかせる；〈政府・権力者など〉を倒す」とありました。
Macmillan Dictionary.comでは、“[TRANSITIVE] to make someone in authority lose their power”と定義されています。
今回の場合、「およそ１５０年前の江戸時代、日本を支配していた江戸幕府を倒そうと尽力した坂本龍馬」などと解釈できると思います。(Blue Sky)
以前にも今回の表現は取り上げられておりますので、そちらもご覧ください。
