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偸盗

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Two thief brothers in old Kyoto are entangled with the woman Shakin.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,358 characters · ≈ 13 minSource: 青空文库

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Sample: three-line reading

Each word has its meaning in this sentence underneath, and each sentence has a full translation. Read the original and glance down only when you need to.

一one
One
おばばold woman猪熊のof Inokumaおばばold woman
"Old woman, old woman of Inokuma."
朱雀綾小路の辻でat the crossing of Suzaku Ayakojiじみなplain紺の水干にin a dark blue suikan揉烏帽子をかけたwearing a twisted eboshi二十ばかりのof about twenty醜いugly片目の侍がone-eyed samurai平骨の扇をa flat-boned fan上げてraised and通りかかりの老婆をan old woman passing by呼びとめたcalled out to
At the crossing of Suzaku Ayakoji, an ugly, one-eyed samurai of about twenty, wearing a plain dark blue suikan and a twisted eboshi hat, raised a flat-boned fan and called out to an old woman passing by.
むし暑くhot and humid夏霞のたなびいたsummer haze had drifted/spread空がthe sky息をひそめたようにas if holding its breath家々の上をover the housesおおいかぶさったcovered / hung over七月のある日ざかりであるit was a certain midday in July
It was a midday in July, when the hot, humid summer haze spread across the sky, covering the houses as if holding its breath.

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About the book

The text follows a band of thieves in the Heian capital: a one-eyed young man named Tarō stops an old woman on a sweltering, deserted street to ask after Jakin, their leader, and confirm tonight's rendezvous at Rashōmon. The opening—heat haze, an empty road, a snake crushed by an ox-cart wheel—gives the writing a sticky, oppressive feel laced with menace.

Cultural notes (selection)

Background a translation can’t carry: social roles, history and allusions. While reading, tap “Note” at the end of a sentence to see them all.

水干 Customs

An everyday garment worn by commoners or low-ranking samurai from the late Heian through the Kamakura period; it was not formal court dress. Here the '紺の水干' (navy suikan) worn with a '揉烏帽子' (softened eboshi cap) marks the wearer as a man of low status, not a court official.

亥の上刻 History

In ancient Japan the day was divided by the twelve earthly branches. The hour of the 亥 (boar) corresponds roughly to nine to eleven at night, and the '上刻' (first half) is the earlier portion of that period.

羅生門 Allusion

The main southern gate of Heian-kyō. After the ninth century it gradually fell into ruin and became a place where corpses were abandoned and thieves gathered, as often recorded in documents and setsuwa collections of the time. Here it serves as the meeting place for a band of thieves.

About the author

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1 March 1892 – 24 July 1927), also known by his art name Chōkōdō Shujin, was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period who is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story". He died by suicide at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital, and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him.

How the glosses are made

Word glosses and sentence translations are generated in context by AI models (DeepSeek and Zhipu GLM), and every word is checked to have a gloss. AI can make mistakes; you can report problems from the book page.

FAQ

Is this the original text?

Yes. The library holds the opening section of the public-domain original, taken from 青空文库.

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What level is it?

This one is marked “Advanced”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

Can I use another gloss language?

English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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