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隣の嫁

by Sachio Itō

On a farm, young Shosaku falls for the young wife next door.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,465 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
満蔵満蔵Mitsuzo (name, repeated)省作省作Shosaku (name, repeated)そとはoutside (topic)まっぴかりだよis very bright (emphasis)
"Mitsuzo, Mitsuzo, Shosaku, Shosaku, it's very bright outside."
さあさあcome on, come on起きるだget up (dialectal/emphatic)起きるだget up (dialectal/emphatic)
Come on, get up, get up.
向こうover thereやand (listing particle)隣next doorでat/in (location particle)やand (listing particle)もうalready一仕事one more jobしたdidころだit's about the time (that)わ(feminine sentence-ending particle)
Over there and next door, they've already done one job by now.

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About the book

The passage depicts an early morning on a farm, where the young Shosaku, aching all over from yesterday's rice harvest, lingers in bed while his sister loudly urges him up and the household's sounds of sweeping and fire-making fill the air. The colloquial, leisurely prose captures the small rhythms of rural daily life with a lazy yet vivid feel.

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.

例のむずかしやの姉 Style

「むずかしや」 means hard to deal with, difficult to please—referring to this elder sister's sharp temper and fondness for nagging. 「例の」 means "the usual one," "as always."

竜の髭 Customs

That is, リュウノヒゲ, a evergreen herb commonly planted at hedges and pathsides in Japanese gardens. In late autumn it bears small, spherical, deep-blue berries, glossy and round like beads of green jade—hence the text below calls them "jewels" (玉).

中学を終えて History

This refers to the old-system middle school, a five-year secondary school for boys from the Meiji era. Having finished middle school and returned home to farm, Shō counts as a well-educated young man for the rural village of that time.

About the author

Itō Sachio (September 18, 1864 – July 30, 1913) was the pen-name of Itō Kōjirō, a Japanese tanka poet and novelist. He was active during the Meiji period of Japan.

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 “Advanced”. 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.

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