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貉

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

From an old record of a shapeshifting badger, a musing on belief.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate2,297 characters · ≈ 9 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.

書紀によるとaccording to the Chronicles日本ではin Japan推古天皇のof Empress Suiko三十五年春二月the second month, spring of the thirty-fifth year陸奥でin Mutsu始めてfor the first time貉がa raccoon dog人にinto a person化けたchanged
According to the Chronicles, in Japan, in the spring of the thirty-fifth year of Empress Suiko, in the second month, in Mutsu, a raccoon dog changed into a person for the first time.
尤もof course / admittedlyこれはthis (topic)一本によるとaccording to one book化人'changed person' (the term 化人)でなくてnot being (and instead)比人'compared person' (the term 比人)とあるis written asがbut両方ともboth of themその後にafter that歌之と書いてあるhave 'sang of it' writtenからsince / because人に化けたにしろwhether it changed into a person人に比ったにしろwhether it was compared to a person人並にlike a person / to the extent of a person唄を歌ったsang songs事だけはat least the fact that事実らしいseems to be a fact
Of course, one book says not 'changed person' but 'compared person', but since both have 'sang of it' written after, whether it changed into a person or was compared to a person, it seems to be a fact that it sang songs like a person.
それより以前にもeven before that垂仁紀the Chronicles of Suininを見るとwhen one looks at八十七年the eighty-seventh year丹波の国のof Tanba Province甕襲と云う人の犬がa dog of a person called Kame no So貉をa raccoon dog噛み食したらwhen it bit and ate腹の中にin its belly八尺瓊曲玉がa curved jewel of eight feetあったとthat there was書いてあるit is written
Even before that, looking at the Chronicles of Suinin, in the eighty-seventh year, when a dog of a person called Kame no So in Tanba Province bit and ate a raccoon dog, it is written that there was a curved jewel of eight feet in its belly.
このthis曲玉curved jewelはtopic marker馬琴Bakinがsubject marker八犬伝Eight Dogs Storyのof中middleでin八百比丘尼Yao Bikuni妙椿Myochinをobject marker出すto presentのにin order to借用したborrowed
This curved jewel was borrowed by Bakin in his Eight Dogs Story to present Yao Bikuni Myochin.

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About the book

The text begins with a record from Japanese chronicles about a tanuki first taking human form, then tells the story of two lovers in Mutsu: when questioned by her mother about a singing voice at night, the woman improvises that it must be a tanuki, and the tale spreads through the village. The prose is calm and slightly archaic, unfolding like the origin of a folk legend.

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.

書紀 Allusion

Refers to the Nihon Shoki, a chronicle written in classical Chinese and compiled by Prince Toneri and others, completed in Yōrō 4 (720). The references below to the thirty-fifth year of Empress Suiko, the Suinin chapter, and Emperor Jimmu's eastern expedition all come from this work.

八尺瓊曲玉 Allusion

One of Japan's Three Imperial Regalia. 'Yasakani' means a large string of beads, and 'magatama' are curved jewels. According to the Suinin chapter of the Nihon Shoki, this jewel was found in a badger's belly after a dog ate it; the author cites this to show that in ancient records the badger merely hid the jewel and could not yet transform.

京畿 History

Refers to the region centred on Kyoto, that is, the Kinai. The original text says that after the legend spread to the 'Kinai', badgers in Yamashiro and Ōmi transformed into humans one after another.

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

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