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ある心の風景

by Motojirō Kajii

Late at night, a young man stares out at a sleeping street.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,587 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
喬はTakashi (topic)彼の部屋の窓からfrom the window of his room寝静まったquiet (asleep/still)通りにat the street凝視っていたwas staring
Takashi stared from his room's window at the quiet street.
起きているwas awake / lit up (a window being awake)窓はなくthere was no window; no window (was)深夜の静けさはthe silence of the deep night暈となってbecoming a halo街燈のぐるりにaround the streetlight集まっていたhad gathered
No window was awake, and the deep night's silence gathered like a halo around the streetlight.
固い音がa hard sound時どきするcomes sometimesのはthe one that (is) ... is突き当っていくhitting against and going黄金虫の音the sound of a beetleでもあるis alsoらしかったseemed (to be)
The hard sound that came sometimes seemed to be the sound of a beetle hitting the end.

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About the book

"Aru Kokoro no Fūkei" (A Landscape of a Mind) is a short story by Kajii Motojirō, composed of six chapters and based on his moods during his days at Kyoto's Third High School. In fragments, it records the felt experience of gazing at scenery and objects and finding oneself projected into them, so that scene and inner life merge. The monologue on "seeing" in Chapter 4 is a frequently cited passage in discussions of Kajii's work.

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.

帙 Customs

“帙” refers to a cloth or paper book cover used to wrap or hold bound books and scrolls. Here the books and their covers are scattered and separated, showing how untidy the room is.

火の見 Customs

A watchtower common in densely built merchant districts since the Edo period, serving both as a fire lookout and as a semi-public elevated spot. In this work it is a feature of “この家”; climbing it gives a view over the streets of Kyoto, forming a concrete space together with the “界隈を覆っている暗い甍” mentioned below.

検番 History

An office in Kyoto's pleasure quarters that manages the attendance and rankings of geisha and courtesans. Rankings are posted publicly starting from first place, and those near the top receive bonuses. When the woman in the text says she is “四番目”, she is referring to her standing under this ranking system.

About the author

Motojirō Kajii (February 17, 1901 – March 24, 1932) was a Japanese writer of the early Shōwa period known for his poetic short stories, including "Lemon," "In a Castle Town," "Winter Days," and "Beneath the Cherry Trees." His works were praised by fellow writers such as Yasunari Kawabata and Yukio Mishima, and are admired today for their finely tuned self-observation and descriptive power.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: ある心の風景 (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

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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