空中墳墓
by Juza Unno
A mystery opens in the express elevator of a forty-storey building.
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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
A detective named Kurito Ryukyu receives a visitor, Sagara Tokichi, who wants to learn the fate of the Matsukaze, an aircraft that vanished twenty years earlier while attempting a nonstop around-the-world flight. The scene opens with the sound of the fortieth-floor express elevator and the exhausted detective's inner monologue, giving it a brisk, dialogue-driven old-school mystery 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.
A morning coat, the formal daytime dress of the modern Japanese gentleman. Here it shows that the detective Kurishiro deliberately changes into it before receiving a visitor in the morning, revealing a fondness for putting on airs.
A public bathhouse, charging per visit. At the time, most ordinary families in Tokyo had no bathroom of their own, so going to the neighborhood sentō was part of daily life for city residents.
A helper employed by a Japanese household to assist with cooking and cleaning, who may live in or commute. The honorific "さん" is attached in Japanese as a polite way of referring to people in this occupation.
About the author
Unno Jūza (December 26, 1897 – May 17, 1949), born Sano Shōichi, was a Japanese novelist regarded as the founding father of Japanese science fiction.
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 “Intermediate”. 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.