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琥珀のパイプ

by Saburō Kōga

Soon after the great earthquake, an amber pipe leads to a murder case.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,545 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.

私はI (topic marker)今でもeven nowあの夜の光景the scene of that nightをobject marker思い出すとwhen I rememberゾットするshudder
Even now, when I remember the scene of that night, I shake.
それはthat / it (topic)東京にin Tokyo大地震がa big earthquake (subject)あってoccurred and間もないnot long (after)頃であったit was around the time
It was soon after a big earthquake in Tokyo.
その日that dayのof午後十時ten o'clock in the evening過ぎpastにatなるbecomeとwhen果してas expected空模様the sky's appearanceがsubject marker怪しくstrangeなってbecome来てcome to颱風typhoonのof音soundと共にtogether withポツリポツリdrop by dropとadverb marker大粒large dropのof雨rainがsubject marker落ちてfall来たcame to
When it got past ten in the evening of that day, the sky did turn strange, and with the sound of the typhoon, big drops of rain began to fall one by one.
其の朝that morning私はI新聞にin the newspaper今夜半tonight at midnight颱風帝都に襲来せんa typhoon will strike the imperial capitalとあるのを見たsaw that it saidのでso役所にいてもeven while at the office終日all day long気に病んでいたwas worrying about itのだがbut不幸にもunfortunately気象台の観測はthe weather station's observation見事に適中したproved perfectly accurateのであったwas the case
That morning I saw in the newspaper, "Tonight at midnight a typhoon will hit the capital," so even at the office I worried all day, but sadly the weather station's forecast hit it right.

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About the book

Written in first person, this passage recalls Tokyo shortly after a great earthquake, following the narrator as he serves on a night watch patrol during a stormy night alongside a retired army colonel and a young man claiming to be a journalist. The narration mixes lingering fear of the disaster with mundane details, giving it the plain, slightly uneasy feel of an old personal reminiscence.

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.

自警団なるものを組織した History

After the earthquake the police ceased to function, and residents everywhere organised volunteer self-defence groups (自警団) to keep watch and patrol. With rumours flying and transport cut off, the atmosphere was one of extreme panic. The night-watch group in the story is a remnant of this.

拍子木を叩かねばならない Customs

拍子木 are clappers made of two pieces of hard wood, used in Japan since ancient times to sound the hours on night watch and to raise the alarm during fire patrols. Here it means that the protagonist, taking his turn on night watch, had to walk the streets striking the 拍子木.

竹槍や抜刀を持った自警団 History

Refers to the self-defence groups that sprang up during the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. Rumours spread that Koreans and socialists were setting fires and poisoning wells, and groups armed with bamboo spears and Japanese swords set up checkpoints everywhere, killing large numbers of Koreans and Chinese.

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 “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.

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