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夜行巡査

The Night Patrol

by Kyōka Izumi

A rigidly dutiful policeman faces a terrible choice on night patrol.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,577 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
こう爺さんKou, old man (form of address)おめえyou (rough, colloquial)どこだwhere are you?と(quotative particle)職人体の壮佼sturdy fellow with a craftsman's lookは(topic particle)そのかたわらなるwho was beside him車夫の老人the old rickshaw manに(target particle)向かいてturning toward問い懸けたりcalled out / asked
"Kou, old man, where are you?" said a strong man with a workman's look, calling to the old rickshaw man beside him.
車夫の老人はthe old rickshaw man年紀すでにalready in age五十を越えてhaving passed fifty六十にもeven to sixty間はあらじthere will probably be no gapと思わるis thought that
The old rickshaw man was already over fifty, and seemed not far from sixty.
餓えてやstarving, and (emphatic particle)弱々しきweak (classical attributive form)声のvoice's / of a voiceしかもand moreover寒さにat the coldおののきtremblingつつwhile (doing)
with a weak, hungry voice, and shaking with cold,

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About the book

The text follows patrol officer Hatta on his night rounds, where duty leaves him caught in a dilemma. The opening unfolds through dialogue: a craftsman consoles an old rickshaw puller still shaken after being scolded by an officer, with the chill of the night street and sympathy for the weak running through their exchange.

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.

腕車を曳く History

A rickshaw (jinrikisha). Before the mid-Meiji period it was the main means of urban transport in Japan, and the pullers were mostly poor labourers. At the time the Metropolitan Police Department had regulations governing pullers' clothing, lanterns and so on. In the text, the old man is scolded for his exposed torn momohiki, which reflects how the police controlled rickshaw pullers' appearance.

股引き Customs

A type of close-fitting drawstring trouser worn under the kimono by Japanese labourers and rickshaw pullers, reaching from the waist to the ankles. Exposing the lower legs was considered "見苦しい" (unsightly), so the policeman rebukes the old man for the torn, exposed garment—an example of the period's regulations on public customs and appearance.

サーベル History

A sword or sabre. In the Meiji period, Japanese police wore swords as part of their uniform while on duty; ordinary policemen (巡査) carried military-style sabres, a symbol of police authority. Sōkō's threat that "without his sword he'd have beaten him up" refers precisely to this.

About the author

Izumi Kyōka (real name Izumi Kyōtarō; 4 November 1873 – 7 September 1939) was a Japanese novelist, writer, and kabuki playwright active in the prewar period. He was known for a Romanticism favoring supernatural tales influenced by the Edo period, and is considered one of the supreme stylists of modern Japanese literature.

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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