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毛利先生

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

The narrator remembers Mr. Mori, an odd and shabby English teacher.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,565 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.

歳晩のある暮方on a certain late-winter evening自分はI友人の批評家とwith a friend, a critic二人でthe two of us together所謂腰弁街道のof the so-called low-salary street裸になったthat had become bare並樹の柳の下をunder the rows of willow trees神田橋の方へtoward Kanda Bridge歩いていたwas walking
On a late winter evening, I was walking with a friend, a critic, under the bare willow trees of the so-called low-salary street, toward Kanda Bridge.
自分たちの左右にはon both sides of us昔formerly島崎藤村がShimazaki Toson (subject)もっと頭をあげて歩け'walk with your heads higher'と慷慨したurged (quoting the words)下級官吏らしいlooking like low-ranking officials人々がpeople (subject)まだ漂っているstill drifting黄昏の光の中にin the light of twilight蹌踉たる歩みをunsteady steps (object)運んで行くwere moving along
On both sides of us, people who looked like low-ranking officials—whom Shimazaki Toson once urged to 'walk with your heads higher'—were moving with unsteady steps in the still drifting twilight.
期せずしてunexpectedly; without intending to同じくlikewise; in the same way憂鬱なgloomy; melancholic心もちをfeeling (object marker)払いのけようとしてもeven though (we) tried to shake off払いのけられなかったcould not shake offからであろうit was probably because
Perhaps because we both could not shake off the same gloomy feeling, even though we tried.
自分たちはwe外套の肩をour coat shouldersすり合せるrub against each otherようにしてdoing so as to心もちa little足を早めquicken our stepsながらwhile大手町の停留場をthe Otemachi stop通りこすpass byまではuntilほとんどalmost一言もa single wordきかずにwithout sayingいたwere
We walked with our coat shoulders touching, quickening our steps a little, and said almost nothing until we passed the Otemachi stop.

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About the book

The text opens with the narrator and a critic friend taking an evening walk, where the friend begins recalling an eccentric English teacher named Mr. Mauri from his middle school days. The wintry dusk street scene sets a quiet, slightly melancholy mood before the story shifts into recollections of the odd-looking old teacher.

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.

諸君 Social role

A second-person plural form commonly used by teachers at old-system middle schools when addressing students, carrying a formal, lecture- or speech-like tone. The students had not heard this form of address from any teacher for three years, so they found it surprising.

チョイス・リイダア History

The general name for the reading textbook (reader) used in English classes at old-system middle schools, usually a selection of famous literary pieces for close reading and translation. The original text writes it in katakana, reflecting the customary Japanese spelling of English textbook names at the time.

「さん」づけ Customs

In old-system middle schools, teachers and students normally addressed one another by surname without honorifics, or by direct address. A teacher adding "さん" to a student's name was unusually intimate and polite, highlighting how Mōri Sensei's behaviour departed from the conventions between teachers and students of the day.

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 “Intermediate”. 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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