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外科室

The Surgery Room

by Kyōka Izumi

A countess refuses anaesthetic and faces surgery fully awake.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,597 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.

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First part
実はin fact好奇心のゆえにbecause of curiosityしかれどもhowever; yet予はI予が画師たるをmy being a painter利器としてas an instrumentともかくもin any case; at any rate口実を設けつつwhile making excuses予と兄弟もただならざるwhose brotherhood with me was no ordinary one医学士高峰をDr. Takamine (medical doctor)しいてforcibly; by compulsion某の日on a certain day東京府下の一病院においてat a certain hospital in Tokyo Prefecture渠が刀を下すべきon whom he was to wield the knife貴船伯爵夫人の手術をばthe operation on Countess Kifune予をして見せしむるto let me seeことをthat (object of forcing)余儀なくしたりforced (me to do it)
In fact, because of curiosity, but using my being a painter as a tool, and making excuses, I forced Dr. Takamine, a medical doctor who was not just a brother to me, to let me see the operation on Countess Kifune, on whom he was to use the knife at a certain hospital in Tokyo on a certain day.
その日that day午前九時nine in the morning過ぐるpassing (beyond)ころaround (the time)家を出でてleft home and病院にto the hospital腕車を飛ばしつhurried a rickshaw (there)
That day, around nine in the morning, I left home and hurried to the hospital by rickshaw.
直ちにimmediately外科室の方にto the surgery ward赴くときwhen I wentむこうよりfrom the other side戸を排してpushing open the doorすらすらとsmoothly出で来たれるcame out (honorific)華族の小間使ともas if they were maids of a noble family見ゆるappeared容目よきgood-looking婦人二三人とwith two or three women廊下の半ばにin the middle of the corridor行き違えりpassed each other
When I went straight to the surgery, I passed two or three good-looking women, who looked like maids of a noble family, coming out smoothly through the door from the other side, in the middle of the corridor.

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About the book

The Surgery Room (Gekashitsu) is a short story by Kyōka Izumi, first published in 1895 in Bungei Kurabu. It opens with a countess who refuses anesthesia and insists on undergoing surgery fully conscious. Only the opening passage is available here, so the story's further development cannot be described.

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.

赤十字の看護婦 History

Refers to nurses of the Japanese Red Cross Society. Founded in the Meiji period (with the Hakuaisha as its predecessor), the society trained nurses and sent them to hospitals and battlefields, and their uniforms and badges were strictly regulated.

貴船伯 Social role

"Kibune" is a surname, and "haku" is an abbreviation of hakushaku (count). In the Meiji peerage system, a count ranked below a marquis; a marquis also appears in the text. Referring to people by their titles was a custom in upper-class households of the time.

医学士 History

In Meiji Japan, "gakushi" (bachelor) titles such as this were academic degrees conferred by institutions like the Imperial University—not simply "someone who studies medicine." Here the title stands in for the protagonist, indicating his professional status.

About the author

Izumi Kyōka (real name Izumi Kyōtarō; 4 November 1873 – 7 September 1939) was a Japanese novelist, writer, and kabuki playwright active in the prewar period. He was known for a Romanticism favoring supernatural tales influenced by the Edo period, and is considered one of the supreme stylists of modern Japanese literature.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 外科室 (CC BY-SA)

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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Yes. The library holds the opening section of the public-domain original, taken from 青空文库.

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