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坑夫

The Miner

by Natsume Sōseki

A runaway youth follows a stranger and becomes a copper miner.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,507 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.

さっきからsince a while ago; for a while now松原をMatsubara (object of passing through)通ってるam passing throughんだが(explanatory) but; you see, ... but松原と云うものはas for the thing called Matsubara絵でin the picture見たよりもthan (what I) sawよっぽど長いmuch longerもんだis (indeed) the case; it's that kind of thing
I've been passing through Matsubara for a while, but Matsubara is much longer than it looked in the picture.
いつまで行ってもno matter how far I go松ばかり生えていてonly pines are growingいっこう要領を得ないI get no idea at all
No matter how far I go, only pines grow, and I get no idea at all.
こっちがthis side / weいくらno matter how much歩行たってeven if (we) walk松の方でon the pine side発展してくれなければunless (it) makes progress for us駄目な事だit's no good
No matter how much I walk, it is no good if the pines do not move forward.
いっそrather / just始めからfrom the start突っ立ったままstanding still (as one is)松とwith the pine(s)睨めっ子をしているstaring (at each other)方がwould be better (comparative)増しだis better
It would be better to just stand still from the start and stare at the pines.

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About the book

The Miner (Kōfu) is a 1908 novel by Natsume Sōseki, serialized in the Asahi Shimbun and his second work as a professional writer. It recounts the story of a young man who, after a failed relationship, leaves home and begins working in a mine, with close attention to his perceptions at the time and in retrospect. Panned on publication, it has since been reassessed for its literary innovation.

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.

神楽堂 Customs

A small stage in front of a shrine's worship hall, used during festivals for gagaku music and kagura dances. Finding nowhere to stay for the night, the protagonist takes shelter here from the cold and spends the night.

蟇口 Customs

A small cloth coin purse with an opening shaped like a toad's mouth, closed by a metal clasp. It was a common item ordinary people carried for small change. Here the text explicitly states the purse holds only thirty-two sen, showing the protagonist is short of money.

華厳の瀑 Allusion

Refers to Kegon Falls in Nikkō, in present-day Nikkō City, Tochigi Prefecture. In the late Meiji period it became famous for the many people who committed suicide there, and together with the Asama crater mentioned below, it was a concrete 'place to die' in the minds of people at the time.

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: 坑夫 (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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What level is it?

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

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English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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