若返り薬
Taro gets an air gun but cannot hit a single sparrow.
- Authentic text: the opening of a public-domain original
- Word-by-word glosses and translation in English or Chinese, free
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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.
About the book
Taro receives an air gun but, after running out of pellets and failing to hit a single sparrow, secretly takes three red pills from his grandfather's box to shoot at the birds. When the pills end up in the hands of an old beggar who claims they are a longevity medicine and refuses to give them back, the story unfolds into a light, gently absurd fairy-tale quarrel between child and beggar.
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.
An air gun: a toy gun that fires pellets using compressed air. Introduced from the West and then produced domestically as a children's toy from the late Meiji to the Taishō period, it was a prized possession that boys of the time longed for.
A Japanese New Year custom of paying a courtesy visit at the start of the year to teachers, elders, and relatives who have looked after one throughout the year, offering New Year greetings. In the text, episodes such as the grandfather going out on New Year calls and shops closing for the New Year holiday all relate to this custom.
A travelling merchant: an itinerant peddler who carried goods on his back and went from street to street selling medicines and sundries.
About the author
Yumeno Kyūsaku (4 January 1889 – 11 March 1936) was a Japanese author whose pen name roughly means "a person who always dreams"; his real name was Sugiyama Yasumichi. He wrote detective novels and also worked as a Zen priest, post office director and sub-lieutenant, and is known for his avant-gardism and surrealistic, wildly imaginative and bizarre narratives.
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 “Beginner”. 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.