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年末の一日

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

At year’s end the narrator takes a journalist to visit Soseki’s grave.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,024 characters · ≈ 12 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.

僕はI (topic marker)何でもall sorts of things / anything雑木の生えたwhere small trees grew (雑木の生えた)寂しいlonely崖の上をalong the top of the cliff歩いて行ったwalked along (went walking)
I walked along the top of a lonely cliff where small trees grew.
崖の下below the cliffはtopic markerすぐにsoon沼にinto a swampなっていたhad become
Below the cliff, there was soon a swamp.
そのthat又also / another (as part of the name)沼swampのof岸shore寄りnear / close toにat / onはtopic marker水鳥water birdがsubject marker二two羽counter for birds泳いでいたwere swimming
Near the shore of that swamp, two water birds were swimming.
どちらもboth薄いthin苔mossのof (linking particle)生えたgrew (past form of 生える)石stoneのof (linking particle)色colorにto (particle marking the point of similarity)近いclose to水鳥water birdだったwere (past copula)
Both were water birds close to the color of stones with thin moss growing on them.

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About the book

The text follows the narrator on a year-end day as he accompanies a reporter to visit Natsume Sōseki's grave, weaving in fatigue after finishing writing assignments, family members polishing windowpanes, and cold clear weather. It reads as plain, unhurried everyday description with a quiet, slightly melancholic tone.

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.

護国寺前行 History

Gokoku-ji is a temple in Bunkyo ward, Tokyo. Here “護国寺前行” refers to a tram line bound for Gokoku-ji.

多少押してやるのに穢い気もした Customs

Occupations involving the placenta and death were regarded as impure under the traditional Japanese concept of “kegare” (defilement), and people in such trades suffered discrimination.

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.

Do I need to pay or sign up?

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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