あやかしの鼓
The history and curse of a hand drum called the Phantom Drum.
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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.
About the book
Ayakashi no Tsuzumi is a novella by Yumeno Kyūsaku, published in the October 1926 issue of Shin-Seinen. Written for the magazine's prize contest, it won second prize and became his first work published under the pen name Yumeno Kyūsaku. The story centers on a drum called the 'ayakashi drum' and its origins and curse.
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.
「堂上方」 refers to court nobles (kuge) whose rank entitled them to enter the Seiryōden palace hall, as opposed to the «地下» (jige) lower-ranking officials.
“姫” here is an honorific for women of samurai or court-noble descent, often appended to their names; it does not mean princess. Since she married into the Tsuruhara family while her natal family was the Imadaiji house, she was of court-noble lineage, so translating her name as "Princess Aya" would wrongly suggest imperial blood.
Refers to kuge, court aristocrats. The original text speaks of "poor court nobles," reflecting the widespread financial hardship of the kuge at the time; Kunō therefore hopes that the kitchen of the family Aya-hime married into is well provided for.
About the author
Yumeno Kyūsaku (4 January 1889 – 11 March 1936) was a Japanese author whose pen name roughly means "a person who always dreams"; his real name was Sugiyama Yasumichi. He wrote detective novels and also worked as a Zen priest, post office director and sub-lieutenant, and is known for his avant-gardism and surrealistic, wildly imaginative and bizarre narratives.
Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: あやかしの鼓 (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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