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戯作三昧

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A day in the life of the novelist Bakin, from bathhouse to desk.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,500 characters · ≈ 14 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
天保二年Tenpō 2nd year (1841)九月のof Septemberある午前a certain morningであるit is (copula)
It is a morning in September of the second year of Tenpo.
神田同朋町のKanda Dōbō-chō's銭湯public bathhouse松の湯Matsu no Yu (bathhouse name)ではat / in (topic location)朝からsince morning相変らずas usual客がguests (subject)多かったwere many
At the Matsu no Yu bathhouse in Kanda Dōbō-chō, there were many guests as usual since morning.
式亭三馬Shikitei Sanba (a person's name)がsubject marker何年かsome years前にago出版したpublished滑稽本のof a comic novel中でin神祇gods (Shinto deities)釈教Buddhism恋love無常impermanenceみないりごみall mixed togetherのof / linking particle浮世風呂the floating world bathといったsuch as / like光景はthe scene (topic)今もeven nowそのころthat time / those daysとcompared with変りはないremains unchanged
The scene described in a comic novel published some years ago by Shikitei Sanba—'gods, Buddhism, love, impermanence, all mixed together in the floating world bath'—remains unchanged even now.

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About the book

Gekaku Zanmai is a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, published in 1917. Inspired by the Baqin Diary, it depicts the aged Takizawa Bakin during the writing of Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, struggling with public judgment and his publisher while devoted to his art. Through Bakin, Akutagawa projects his own views on art and life.

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.

「神祇、釈教、恋、無常、みないりごみの浮世風呂」 Allusion

From the opening of Ukiyo-buro (1809–1813) by Shikitei Sanba. It means that all the phenomena of the world—Shinto gods, Buddhism, love, the impermanence of things—are all thrown together into the bathhouse.

曲亭先生 Social role

Refers to Kyokutei Bakin (1767–1848), a late-Edo-period gesaku fiction writer, whose best-known work is Nansō Satomi Hakkenden. The old man in the bathhouse is Bakin in his later years.

八犬伝 Allusion

Refers to Kyokutei Bakin's (Takizawa Bakin's) masterpiece Nansō Satomi Hakkenden, a long yomihon of the late Edo period. It tells the story of eight dog warriors, each bearing one of the eight gems inscribed with the characters for benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, loyalty, trust, filial piety, and brotherly respect. Funamushi, Komonogo, and Shōsuke, mentioned below, are all characters from this work.

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.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 戯作三昧 (CC BY-SA)

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.

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

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