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二百十日

by Natsume Sōseki

Two friends climb Mount Aso, bantering about money and society.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,560 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.

一one
One
ぶらりとloosely / casually両手both handsをobject marker垂げたlet hang / dangledままas they were / while remaining圭さんKei-sanがsubject markerどこからかfrom somewhere帰って来るcomes back / returns
With both hands hanging loosely, Kei-san comes back from somewhere.
どこwhereへto (direction particle)行goったねwent, didn't you? (past tense + seeking confirmation)
"Where did you go?"
ちょっとa little町townをthrough/around (object marker)歩行いてwalking (walk and...)来たcame (did and came back)
"I just walked around town a little."

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About the book

"Nihyaku Tōka" is a novella by Natsume Sōseki, first published in the magazine Chūō Kōron in October 1906 (Meiji 39) and published in book form that December in the collection Uzura no Kago. It follows Kei and Roku as they climb Mount Aso, bickering along the way about the state of the world. The journey's dialogue offers a window into their views on society.

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.

馬の沓 Customs

Refers to the U-shaped iron shoes nailed onto a horse's hooves, usually called 蹄鉄 in Japanese; here the old word 沓 ("shoe") is used instead. In the Meiji period, rural villages relied on smithies to forge and replace them on the spot, which is why chisels, hammers, small knives and other tools are listed in detail below.

腰障子 Customs

A 腰障子 is a sliding partition with wooden panels on the lower half and paper on the upper half, often used on the street-facing side of shops or homes. At night it is closed to keep out the wind and guard against thieves.

About the author

Natsume Sōseki (9 February 1867 – 9 December 1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke, was a Japanese novelist, poet, and scholar regarded as one of the greatest writers in modern Japanese history. His major works include I Am a Cat, Botchan, Sanshirō, Kokoro, and his unfinished final novel Light and Dark.

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 二百十日 (小説) (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 “Intermediate”. 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.

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