LightNovelLingo
Home / Library / Japanese / Winter Flies

冬の蠅

Winter Flies

by Motojirō Kajii

At a winter hot spring, the narrator watches the feeble flies.

Read this book free →

Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,525 characters · ≈ 14 minSource: 青空文库

Want to read your own Japanese light novels? Read the guide →

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.

冬winterのof / 's (linking particle)蠅fly (insect)とはas for (topic marker, 'what is called')何whatかquestion particle
What is a winter fly?
よぼよぼとfeebly; totteringly歩いているis walking蠅fly
A fly walking with weak steps.
指をa finger (object marker)近づけてもeven if (someone) brings (it) near逃げないdoes not run away蠅fly
A fly that does not run away even when a finger comes near.
そしてand飛べないcannot flyのかと思っているとwhen you think (whether it can't fly)やはりafter all / as expected飛ぶflies蠅a fly
And a fly that, when you think it cannot fly, after all flies.

Read free →

About the book

At a winter hot spring, the narrator watches the feeble flies.

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.

日光浴をやりはじめた History

From the late Taishō to early Shōwa era, sunbathing became popular in Japan as a health and recuperation regimen, and tuberculosis patients in particular were advised to get plenty of sunlight. The narrator is a patient staying at a hot-spring inn in a mountain valley, and sunbathing was part of his treatment programme.

溪間の温泉宿 Customs

The author Kajii Motojirō suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and stayed for long periods at mountain hot-spring resorts such as Yumoto in Izu for recuperation. Hot-spring inns in river valleys were common places where patients of the time convalesced over extended stays.

外光派 Allusion

Refers to the plein-air painting style promoted by the Impressionists in the late nineteenth century and popular in European art and in the Japanese art world from the Meiji era onward, which emphasised bright colours under direct sunlight.

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.

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.

Do I need to pay or sign up?

Library books are free to read without an account. Other gloss languages and importing your own texts need an account and credits.

What level is it?

This one is marked “Advanced”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

Can I use another gloss language?

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

More by this author

Read this book free →