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将軍

The General

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A suicide charge in the Russo-Japanese War, and a general’s face.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,523 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 (as a heading or label)白襷隊White Sash Squad (a unit name)
One: White Sash Squad
明治三十七年Meiji 37 (the 37th year of the Meiji era)十一月二十六日November 26のof / 's (links the date to what follows)未明before dawnだったwas (past copula)
It was before dawn on November 26 in the 37th year of Meiji.
第師団×th Division第聯隊×th Regimentのof白襷隊White Sash Squadはtopic marker松樹山Pine Tree Mountainのon補備砲台auxiliary batteryをobject marker奪取するto captureためにin order to九十三高地Hill 93のof北麓northern footをfrom出発したset out
The White Sash Squad of the ×th Division ×th Regiment left the north foot of Hill 93 to take the backup battery on Pine Tree Mountain.
路はthe road (topic)山陰にalong the shady side of the mountain沿うていたからbecause it ran alongside隊形もthe formation too今日はtoday (topic)特別にspecially四列側面の行進だったwas a march in four columns facing sideways
Because the road ran along the shady side of the mountain, the formation today was special: a march in four columns facing sideways.

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About the book

The passage follows a Japanese shock-troop unit on its pre-dawn march to capture a Russian fort during the Russo-Japanese War, with soldiers trading remarks tinged with alcohol and unease. The tone is somber and tense, mixing the solemnity of a doomed advance with the men's blunt, cynical grumbling.

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.

白襷隊 History

A suicide assault unit in the siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. Soldiers wore white cloth bands (襷) slung diagonally over their uniforms so that friend and foe could be told apart in night fighting; this also amounted to announcing that they were going to their deaths, hence the name 'white-襷 unit'. Their night assault on the fortresses of Pine Tree Hill and others in November 1904 is famous for its heavy casualties.

一等卒 History

A rank of enlisted soldier in the Japanese Army at the time; from bottom to top the ranks were 二等卒, 一等卒, and 上等兵. A 一等卒 was an ordinary soldier, lower in status than Egi, who was a 上等兵.

酒保 Customs

A small shop inside a Japanese army camp that sold soldiers liquor, tobacco, sweets and the like. It is a homograph: not the sense of 'waiter' or 'tavern boy'.

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.

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English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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