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闇の絵巻

by Motojirō Kajii

The author walks pitch-dark mountain roads and finds beauty in them.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,496 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.

最近recently東京を騒がしたmade Tokyo noisy / caused a stir in Tokyo有名な強盗がa famous robber捕まってwas caught and語ったところによるとaccording to what (he) said彼はhe何も見えない闇の中でもeven in pitch-darkness where nothing can be seen一本の棒さえあればas long as there is a single stick何里でも走ることができるという(he) can run any distance, it is said
According to what a famous robber who recently made Tokyo noisy said when caught, he can run any distance even in pitch-darkness where nothing can be seen, as long as he has a single stick.
そのthat棒stickを(object marker)身体bodyの's / of前frontへto / toward突き出し突き出しthrusting out (repeatedly)してdoing (and)畑fieldでもor (something like)なんでもanything (whatever)盲滅法にblindly / recklessly走るrunのだit is that (explanatory)そうであるthey say / it is said
He pushes that stick out in front of his body again and again, and runs blindly through fields or anything, they say.
私はI (topic marker)この記事をthis article (object marker)新聞でin the newspaper読んだときwhen I readそぞろにinvoluntarily; without meaning to爽快なexhilarating; refreshing戦慄をa shudder (object marker)禁じることができなかったcould not suppress
When I read this article in the newspaper, I could not help a certain fresh shudder.
闇darkness
Darkness!

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About the book

"Darkness Scroll" is a short story by Motojirō Kajii, based on a dark road in a mountain hot-spring resort, recording the author's emotions and fantasies while walking in the dark like a picture scroll. Using sharpened sight, hearing, and smell, it depicts a landscape of darkness where unease and repose intertwine. It was also the first of Kajii's works to gain public recognition in literary circles.

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.

療養地 Social role

From the Taishō era to the early Shōwa era, tuberculosis patients often stayed for long periods at hot-spring sanatoria in the mountains to rest and recuperate. Kajii Motojirō himself suffered from tuberculosis, and after moving between Kyoto and Tokyo he settled in places such as Yumoto in Izu. The experience of a mountain sanatorium depicted in the text comes from the author's own life.

炭焼小屋 Customs

A simple hut built by charcoal burners in the woods next to their charcoal kilns. From the Taishō era to the early Shōwa era, villagers in mountain areas still made their living by burning charcoal, tending the kilns day and night, with white smoke rising constantly. The smoke and the smell of resin from the cedar forest across the valley were a typical scene of mountain villages.

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: 闇の絵巻 (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 “Intermediate”. 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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