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桃太郎

Momotaro

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A satirical Momotaro who invades the peaceful ogres’ island.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,478 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
むかしlong agoむかしlong ago大むかしvery long agoあるa certain深いdeep山の奥にin the depths of the mountains大きいbig桃の木peach treeがsubject marker一本one (tree)あったthere was
Long, long ago, deep in the mountains, there was one big peach tree.
大きいbigと(quotation particle) 'big'だけではjust / alone is notいい足りないnot sufficientかも知れないmight not be
Maybe 'big' alone is not enough.
このthis桃peach treeの's (possessive)枝branchesはas for (topic marker)雲の上above the cloudsにinto / to (location marker)ひろがりspread outこのthis桃peach treeの's (possessive)根rootsはas for (topic marker)大地the earthの's (possessive)底bottomのof (linking)黄泉Yomi (land of the dead)のof (linking)国landにto (location marker)さえeven及んでいたhad reached
Its branches spread over the clouds, and its roots reached even the land of the dead under the earth.

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About the book

This text retells the Momotaro story: he sets out to invade the demon island simply because he dislikes working like the old couple, and on the way recruits a dog with half a millet dumpling. The opening carries the solemn tone of myth with its giant peach from the age of gods, then shifts to a plain, shrewd portrayal of Momotaro's calculating nature, reading like an unsentimental reversal of the heroic tale.

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.

黄泉の国 Allusion

The afterlife in Japanese mythology, mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the story of Izanagi pursuing his wife to the land of Yomi. Saying here that the peach tree's roots reach down to Yomi traces the peach's spiritual power back to the age of the gods.

伊弉諾の尊 Allusion

Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the creation deity in Japanese mythology. According to the Kojiki, when he was pursued by the thunder gods in the land of Yomi, he threw peaches at them and drove them back, so the peach has been regarded in Japanese tradition as a charm against evil.

蟹の仇打ち Allusion

Refers to the Japanese folktale The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab: a monkey tricks and kills a crab, and the crab's offspring, joining forces with a chestnut, a bee, and others, take revenge on the monkey. The reference here is used by analogy: the monkey almost died on the spot from the dog's bite and would not have lived to see that revenge.

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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Library books are free to read without an account. Other gloss languages and importing your own texts need an account and credits.

What level is it?

This one is marked “Intermediate”. 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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