機械
Machine
In a nameplate workshop, workers grow suspicious of each other.
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About the book
Machine (Kikai) is an experimental short story by Japanese author Riichi Yokomitsu and one of his representative works. Told through the monologue of “I”, a worker at a nameplate factory, it recounts the mutual suspicion and quarrels among coworkers that lead to a serious outcome. Its distinctive mechanical style—with few paragraphs or punctuation marks—traces human psychology interlocking like machinery.
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.
Ferric chloride is a traditional etching solution used to corrode metals such as copper and brass. To make nameplates, the lettering must be etched into the metal plate using chemicals, so the workshop cannot do without highly toxic substances.
About the author
Riichi Yokomitsu (17 March 1898 – 30 December 1947) was an experimental, modernist Japanese writer. After his 1923 stories "Nichirin" ("The Sun") and "Hae" ("A Fly") appeared in Bungeishunjū, he co-founded the magazine Bungei-Jidai with Yasunari Kawabata and became known as a leading figure of the Shinkankakuha (New Sensation School).
Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 機械 (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
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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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