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安井夫人

by Mori Ōgai

A brilliant but plain scholar wins the village beauty as his wife.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,440 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.

仲平さんはNakahei (as for Mr. Nakahei)えらくなりなさるだろうwill become great (honorific)という評判the reputation thatと同時にat the same time as仲平さんはNakahei (as for Mr. Nakahei)不男だis a man without a man's luckという蔭言the whispered rumor thatが(subject marker)清武一郷にthroughout the whole village of Kiyotake伝えられているis being passed around
Along with the good name "Nakahei will become a great man," a rumor that "Nakahei is a man without a man's luck" is passed around the whole village of Kiyotake.
仲平の父はNakahei's father (topic)日向国宮崎郡清武村にin Kiyotake Village, Miyazaki District, Hyuga Province二段八畝ほどの宅地がabout two tan eight se of residential land (subject)あってthere is, andそこにthere / on it三棟の家をthree houses (object)建ててhaving built, and住んでいるis living (in them)
Nakahei's father owns about two tan eight se of house land in Kiyotake Village, Miyazaki District, Hyuga Province, where he has built three houses and lives in them.
財産としてはas for his property宅地をthe residential land少し離れたa little distant所にat a place田畑をfields持っていてhad and年来for years家でat home漢学をChinese studies人の子弟にto other people's children教えるかたわらwhile teaching耕作をfarmingやめずにいたdid not stopのであるit was that
As for property, he has fields a little away from the house land, and for years, while teaching Chinese learning to other people's children at home, he did not stop farming.
しかしhowever仲平の父はNakahei's father (topic)三十八のときat the age of thirty-eight江戸へto Edo修行に出てwent out for training, and中一年おいてleaving a gap of one year四十のときat the age of forty帰国してからafter returning homeだんだんgradually飫肥藩でin the Obi domain任用せられるようになったcame to be appointedのでso今ではnow田畑の大部分をmost of the fields小作人にto tenant farmers作らせるhave (them) cultivateことにしているhas decided to
But Nakahei's father went to Edo for training at thirty-eight, stayed away for one year, and after coming home at forty, he gradually came to be employed by the Obi domain, so now he has most of the fields farmed by tenant farmers.

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About the book

This passage follows the scholar Nakai Heihachi's early years: scarred by smallpox and considered ugly, he is mocked as a 'monkey' by villagers when he walks alone. The narration is plain and restrained, letting the villagers' whispers reveal the quiet pain beneath.

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.

飫肥藩 History

A small domain in southern Hyūga Province (present-day Miyazaki Prefecture) during the Edo period, ruled by the Itō clan. Located in a remote region and modest in scale, it was customary for the sons of domain samurai to travel to Edo for study.

江戸へ修行に出て Customs

Refers to going to Edo to study. In the late Edo period, domains often sent young samurai sons to Edo, where they entered the Shōheizaka Academy or private schools to study Chinese learning, military science, and other subjects; those who returned home after completing their studies were often given important posts.

疱瘡 History

Smallpox. Smallpox epidemics were frequent in the Edo period, and child mortality was high; survivors were often left with pockmarks or even blinded. In the text, the brothers catch the disease together but differ greatly in severity—a common family tragedy of the time.

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).

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

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