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百物語

by Mori Ōgai

At a night of ghost stories, the author watches the lonely host.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,369 characters · ≈ 13 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.

何かsome (reason)事情がcircumstances (subject marker)あってthere being / and (te-form of ある)川開きがthe river opening (festival) was暑中をthe hot season (object marker)過ぎた後にhaving passed, after延びたwas postponed年のof the year当日でthe day itself, onあったかit was, I wonderと(quotative particle)思うI think
I think it was the day of the year when, for some reason, the river opening was put off until after the hot season.
余程quite a lot / considerably年yearsもeven / as many as立っているhave passed (of time)のでsince / because記憶memoryがsubject marker稍somewhat / slightlyおぼろげvague-looking / faintにadverbial particleなってはいるhas become (though)がbut又also / on the other hand却てrather / converselyそれが為めにbecause of that或るcertain廉々points / aspectsがsubject markerアクサンチュエエせられてare accentuated翳んだdarkened / shadowed濁ったmuddy / murkyしかもand yet / moreover強いstrong色color / hueにwith / in彩られてcolored / tinged古びたold / aged想像imagination / imaginingsのpossessive particleしまってあるare stored / kept僕my / Iのpossessive particle脳髄brainのpossessive particle物置storeroomのpossessive particle隅cornerにin / at転がっているare lying rolling
Since many years have passed, my memory has become somewhat vague, but because of that, certain points are accented and colored in a dark, muddy, yet strong hue, and they lie rolling in the corner of the storeroom of my brain where old imaginations are kept.
勿論of course生れて始ての事the first time in my lifeであったがit was, butこれから後もfrom now on as well先ずそんな事は無さそうだからsince such a thing seems unlikely生涯に只一度の出来事the only event in one's lifeに出くわしたのだとthat I came across云って好かろうit would be fine to say
Of course it was the first time in my life, but since such a thing seems unlikely to happen again, it would be fine to say that I came across the only event in my life.
それはthat (topic)僕がI (subject)百物語の催しa gathering of a hundred talesに行ったwent to事であるis that (fact)
It is that I went to a gathering of a hundred tales.

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About the book

"Hyakumonogatari" is a story by Mori Ōgai centered on the traditional Japanese ghost-story gathering. In the opening, the narrator is invited to a kaidankai—where telling one hundred tales is said to summon a real spirit—only to find a lonely, quiet host upon arrival. It blends the customs of the hundred-tales ritual with a quiet, subtly suspenseful scene.

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.

川開き Customs

A summer custom since the Edo period: a river-opening ceremony held near the Ryōgoku Bridge on the Sumida River, when the teahouses on both banks were decorated with lanterns, fireworks were set off, and boats went out to enjoy the evening cool. The mentions below of "Ryōgoku" and "Terashima," both on the banks of the Sumida, confirm the story's setting.

百物語とは多勢の人が集まって Customs

Hyakumonogatari was a popular ghost-story gathering of the Edo period: at night a hundred candles were lit, and those present took turns telling ghost stories. After each story, one candle was blown out, and it was said that when the last candle went out, a real monster would appear.

柳橋の船宿 Customs

Yanagibashi was an entertainment district along the Sumida River in Tokyo; a funayado (boat lodge) was a waterside establishment where customers could hire boats for river outings and banquets.

About the author

Mori Ōgai (February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), born Mori Rintarō, was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist and poet, and father of the writer Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a young age, introduced translated German literary works to Japanese readers, and is considered a leading figure who modernized Japanese literature; his major work is The Wild Geese (1911–1913).

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 百物語 (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

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Yes. The library holds the opening section of the public-domain original, taken from 青空文库.

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