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運命論者

by Doppo Kunikida

On an empty autumn beach, the narrator meets a man obsessed by fate.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,448 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
One
秋の中過the middle of autumn冬winter近くなるとwhen it draws near何れの海浜を問ずevery shore, alike大方はmostly淋れて来るbecome lonely鎌倉もKamakura too其通りでis the same自分のようにlike me年中住んで居る者those who live all year roundの外はapart from浜へ出て見てもeven when you go out to the beach里の子village children浦の子children of the bay地曳網の男men with dragnets或はor浜づたいにalong the shore往通う行商peddlers coming and goingを見るばかりyou see only都人士らしい者someone looking like a city personの姿をthe figure of見るのseeingは稀なのであるis rare
In the middle of autumn, as winter draws near, every beach becomes lonely. Kamakura is no exception. Apart from people like me who live here all year round, when you go out to the beach you see only village children, children from the bay, men with dragnets, or peddlers walking along the shore. It is rare to see anyone who looks like a city person.
或日one day自分はI何時のようにas usual滑川の辺までto the area of the Nagarekawa散歩してtook a walk andさてthen砂山に登るとwhen I climbed the sand hill思の外unexpectedly北風がthe north wind身に沁のでfelt cold to the bone, so直ぐ麓に下てwent straight down to the foot其処らaround there日あたりの可い所a sunny place身体を伸してstretch out楽にcomfortably書の読めそうな所a place where I could seem to read a bookとand (quoting)四辺を見廻わしたがlooked around but思うようなところがないのでsince there was no such place as I wanted彼方此方とhere and there探し歩いたsearched aroundするとthen一個所one spot面白い場所をan interesting place発見けたfound
One day I took a walk to the area of the Nagarekawa as usual, and when I climbed the sand hill, the north wind felt unexpectedly cold, so I went down to the foot of it and looked around for a sunny place where I could stretch out and read a book comfortably, but there was no such place, so I searched here and there, and then I found an interesting spot.
砂山がthe sand hill (subject)急にsuddenly崩げてhad given way and草の根でby grass roots僅にonly slightlyそれをit (object)支えheld up其下がthe part below it (subject)崕のようにlike a cliffなって居るhad become其根方にat its base座ってsitting両足をboth legs (object)投げ出すとwhen I stretched out背はmy back (topic)後の砂山にagainst the sand hill behind靠れleaned右の臂はmy right arm (topic)傍らの小高いところにon a small rise nearby懸りrested恰度justソハにon a sofa倚ったようでas if leaning真にtruly心持の佳いpleasant-feeling場処であるis a spot
The sand hill had suddenly given way, held together only by grass roots, and below it dropped off like a cliff. I sat at its base and stretched out both legs, my back resting against the sand hill behind me, my right arm draped over a small rise nearby as if I were leaning on a sofa—truly a pleasant spot.

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About the book

The text describes the narrator's encounter on the late-autumn Kamakura shore with a strange man who takes over the narrator's reading spot and digs a large bottle out of the sand. The prose moves at an unhurried pace, with a sense of quiet unease building as the man appears without warning and behaves oddly.

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.

地曳網 Customs

Beach seine fishing: a traditional fishing method in which anywhere from a few to several dozen fishermen work together to haul a large net from the sea onto the shore, usually carried out collectively by a whole ura-mura (fishing village). In the text it is mentioned alongside「里の子、浦の子」to convey that after autumn sets in, only local fishermen remain on the beach.

原因結果の理法 Allusion

「理法」means law or principle; this expression refers to the law of cause and effect, standing in contrast to the mystical notion of「運命」(fate/destiny).

About the author

Doppo Kunikida (30 August 1871 – 23 June 1908) was a Japanese author of novels and romantic poetry during the Meiji period. He is noted as one of the inventors of Japanese naturalism.

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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