坊っちゃん
Botchan
A hot-headed Tokyo youth becomes a teacher in a provincial town.
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Opening lines
第一章
親譲りの無鉄砲で小供の時から損ばかりしている。小学校に居る時分学校の二階から飛び降りて一週間ほど腰を抜かした事がある。なぜそんな無闇をしたと聞く人があるかも知れぬ。別段深い理由でもない。新築の二階から首を出していたら、同級生の一人が冗談に、いくら威張っても、そこから飛び降りる事は出来まい。弱虫やーい。と囃したからである。小使に負ぶさって帰って来た時、おやじが大きな眼をして二階ぐらいから飛び降りて腰を抜かす奴があるかと云ったから、この次は抜かさずに飛んで見せますと答えた。…
About the book
Botchan is a novella by Japanese author Natsume Sōseki, published in 1906. It follows a rash young Tokyoite who becomes a middle school teacher in Shikoku and takes a dim view of the people around him. One of the most popular Japanese novels, it centers on morality while carrying plenty of humor and sarcasm.
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.
A type of traditional Japanese bamboo fence, woven from bamboo in a crisscross pattern that forms square grids, hence the name. It was often used as a simple enclosure for gardens and vegetable plots, and plants could climb on it.
The shaku was an old Japanese unit of length, about 30.3 centimetres, so six shaku is roughly 1.8 metres; "がた" means approximately. In the Meiji period everyday measurements still used the shakkanhō system, and the adoption of the metric system was a gradual process.
A lined kimono worn in spring and autumn. Its sleeves are wide and hollow, which is why Kantarō's head could slip inside one; this is what makes the comical scene possible.
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: 坊つちやん (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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This one is marked “Intermediate”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.
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More by this author
- I Am a CatNatsume Sōseki · Advanced
- KokoroNatsume Sōseki · Advanced
- SanshiroNatsume Sōseki · Advanced
- KusamakuraNatsume Sōseki · Advanced
- 文鳥Natsume Sōseki · Intermediate
- 永日小品Natsume Sōseki · Intermediate
- And ThenNatsume Sōseki · Advanced
- The GateNatsume Sōseki · Advanced