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或日の大石内蔵助

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

After the famous vendetta, Oishi listens to praise and feels uneasy.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,445 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.

立てきったhad been opened wide (sliding doors)障子にはon the sliding doorsうららかなwarm and gentle (of weather/sunlight)日の光がthe sunlightさしてshines in嵯峨たるtall and rugged老木の梅の影がthe shadow of the old plum tree何間かのof several rooms (in width)明みをthe bright space右の端からfrom the right edge左の端までto the left edge画の如くlike a picture鮮にvividly領しているcovers (the space)
On the wide-open sliding doors, the warm sunlight shines, and the shadow of an old plum tree, tall and rough, covers the bright space of several rooms from right to left like a clear picture.
元former浅野内匠頭Asano Naganori家来retainer当時at that time細川家the Hosokawa familyにin (the care of)御預り中in custody / under guardianshipのof大石内蔵助良雄Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshioはtopic markerそのthat障子sliding doorをobject marker後にしてwith (it) behind him端然とformally / uprightly膝kneesをobject marker重ねたfoldedままas they were / remaining in that stateさっきからsince a while ago書見readingにin / at余念がないwas completely absorbed
Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshio, a former retainer of the late Asano Naganori and now in the care of the Hosokawa family, sat with his back to the sliding doors, knees neatly folded, and had been absorbed in reading for some time.
書物はthe book (topic)恐らくprobably細川家のof the Hosokawa family家臣のof the retainer(s)一人がone person (subject)借してくれたlent (to him)三国誌のof the Romance of the Three Kingdoms中のamong / of一冊であろうwas probably one volume
The book was probably one volume of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, lent to him by one of the Hosokawa family's retainers.
九人nine people一つone座敷room (Japanese-style room)にinいるare present中でamong片岡源五右衛門Kataoka Gengoemon (name)はtopic marker今し方just now厠へto the toilet立ったhad gone (stood up and left)
Among the nine people in the one room, Kataoka Gengoemon had just gone to the toilet.

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About the book

The passage shows Ōishi Kuranosuke after the accomplished revenge, reading by a sunlit screen in the Hosokawa residence and reflecting on nearly two years of anxiety and scheming, now feeling that everything has finally been settled. The opening scene is quiet and restrained, with old men absorbed in books and letters in a chilly early-spring room, told in a calm, slightly cold 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.

御預り中の大石内蔵助良雄 Social role

"御預り" was an Edo shogunate system under which a person awaiting punishment was entrusted to the custody of a daimyo residence. Ōishi was at that time confined at the Hosokawa estate; he was not imprisoned in a jail but lived within a samurai residence, and was therefore able to read books and sit with his former retainers.

去年の極月十五日 History

"極月" means the twelfth month. On the night of the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of Genroku 15, the Akō rōnin raided the Kira mansion, and the next morning they withdrew to Sengakuji. The "去年" (last year) here refers back to this event from the standpoint of the narration.

三国誌 Allusion

This is the Sanguozhi (Records of the Three Kingdoms), a Chinese classic commonly read by Edo samurai. The passage describes Ōishi reading, showing his cultivation as a samurai; the fact that the borrower was a Hosokawa retainer reveals how he was treated while in custody.

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 “Advanced”. 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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