LightNovelLingo

Home / Library / Japanese / The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum

野菊の墓

Name: 野菊の墓
Availability: InStock
Author: Sachio Itō

The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum

by Sachio Itō

A man recalls first love for his cousin, gentle as a wild flower.

Read this book free →

Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,591 characters · ≈ 14 minSource: 青空文库

Authentic text: the opening of a public-domain original
Word-by-word glosses and translation in English or Chinese, free
Tap a word for its meaning, listen to the sentence, save words
Reads in any phone or desktop browser, nothing to download

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.

後の月the late moon (a poetic name for a late-season month)というcalled / known as時分time / seasonがsubject marker来るcomesとwhen / wheneverどうもsomehow / really思わずには居られないcannot help but think

When the time called the later moon comes, I cannot help but think of it.

幼いchildish訣reasonとはthat (topic marker)思うI thinkがbut何分にもat all / no matter what忘れるforgetことが出来ないcannot (do)

I think it was a childish reason, but I cannot forget it at all.

もはやalready / no longer十年余もmore than ten years過去ったpassed / has passed昔のことであるからbecause it is a matter of the past細かい事実はas for the fine details多くはfor the most part / many of them覚えて居ないdo not rememberけれどbut / although心持だけはas for my feelings alone今なおeven now / still昨日の如くlike yesterdayその時の事をthe things of that time考えてるとwhen I think about全くcompletely当時の心持にto the feelings of those days立ち返ってreturning / going back涙がtears留めどなくwithout ceasing湧くのであるwell up (explanatory)

Since it is a past thing more than ten years ago, I do not remember many details, but my feeling is still like yesterday, and when I think of that time, I completely return to the feeling of those days, and tears come without stop.

悲しくもありis also sad楽しくもありis also happyというようなlike / such as状態stateでin忘れようと思うthink of trying to forgetこともないではないがit is not that I never (do), but寧ろrather繰返し繰返しagain and again考えてはeach time I think夢幻的のdreamlike興味interestを(object marker)貪って居るam savoring / indulging in事が(nominalizer) that多いoften / many

In a state that is both sad and happy, it is not that I never think of forgetting, but rather I often think again and again and enjoy a dreamlike interest.

Read free →

About the book

"The Grave of Wild Chrysanthemums" (Nogiku no Haka) is a short novel by Sachio Itō, published in the magazine Hototogisu in January 1906. It depicts the gentle, delicate romance between Saitō Masao, a fifteen-year-old boy, and his cousin, the two-year-older Tamiko. According to the material, the work was highly praised by Natsume Sōseki.

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.

後の月 Customs

Refers to the moon on the night of the thirteenth day of the ninth lunar month, also called 「後の月」 or 「名残の月」. Counterpart to the mid-autumn moon of the fifteenth of the eighth month, it marks another moon-viewing day in Japan.

矢切の渡 History

Yagiri was a village on the banks of the Edogawa River in Shimōsa Province (today's Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture); the "ferry" (watari) crossing the river led to Musashi Province on the other side.

民やは政の所 Customs

「民や」 is an affectionate form made by adding 「や」 to a name; likewise, the mother calls her son Masao simply 「政」. Both children are called by such pet names in their mother's speech.

About the author

Itō Sachio (September 18, 1864 – July 30, 1913) was the pen-name of Itō Kōjirō, a Japanese tanka poet and novelist. He was active during the Meiji period of Japan.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 野菊の墓 (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.

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

隣の嫁Sachio Itō · Advanced