LightNovelLingo
Home / Library / Japanese / 黴

黴

by Shūsei Tokuda

A writer’s marriage and household, in all their dreary detail.

Read this book free →

Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,427 characters · ≈ 14 minSource: 青空文库

Want to read your own Japanese light novels? Read the guide →

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
笹村がSasamura (subject marker)妻のhis wife's入籍を済ましたcompleted the registration (of her entry into the family register)のはthe fact that / the one who did it was二人のなかにbetween the two of them産れたwas born幼児のthe infant's出産届とbirth registration andようやく同時くらいであったwas finally about the same time
It was around the same time that Sasamura completed the registration of his wife's entry into the family and the birth report of the baby born between them.
家を持つto own a houseというthat (having a house)ことthe matter ofが(subject marker)ただmerely習慣的にhabituallyしかonly考えられなかったcould not be thought of笹村Sasamuraもalsoそのころaround that time半年たらずのof less than half a year西の方の旅a trip to the westからfrom帰って来るreturnとwhenこれまでuntil now長いあいだfor a long timeいやいやunwillingly執着していたhad been clinging to下宿生活のof the boarding-house life荒れたroughさまstateが(subject marker)一層明らかにall the more clearly振り顧られたwas looked back on
Even Sasamura, who had only thought of having a house as a habit, when he returned from a trip to the west of less than half a year around that time, looked back more clearly on the rough state of his boarding house life that he had unwillingly clung to for a long time.
あっちこっちhere and there; all around行李luggageをobject marker持ち廻ってcarrying around旅しているis traveling間while; during the time笹村のSasamura's充血したbloodshot; congestedような-like; seeming目eyesにto; in (his eyes)強くstrongly映ったwas reflected; caughtのはwhat (was) ... is若いyoung妻wifeなどand the like; etc.をobject marker連れてbringing along船ship; boatへonto; to入り込んでentering; coming in来るcome男man; menであったwas
While traveling around with his luggage, what strongly caught Sasamura's bloodshot eyes was the men who came onto the ship with their young wives.

Read free →

About the book

This passage follows Sasamura as he registers his marriage and prepares to start a household, tracing his recent travels, conversations with friends and family who urge him to settle down, and his uneasy departure from his long-time boarding-house life. The prose moves slowly through small everyday details, creating a quiet, somewhat dreary and oppressive atmosphere.

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.

妻の入籍を済ましたのは History

Under the Meiji Civil Code, a man and woman living together did not necessarily have to register their marriage. 入籍 means formally completing the family-register procedure, giving the wife and her illegitimate child legal status. In the text, the 入籍 and the birth registration are completed at the same time, showing that the two had previously only been cohabiting in fact, and that the child was born out of wedlock; only after the registration were the wife and child entered into Sasamura's family register.

長火鉢 Customs

A large rectangular hibachi, usually framed in wood and lined with copper or iron, in which charcoal could be burned for warmth; it could also be used to keep tea warm and to hold smoking implements. It was a common furnishing in homes and in rooms used for receiving guests during the Meiji and Taishō periods.

高等文官試験 History

A national examination for selecting high-ranking officials, held from the Meiji period through the early Shōwa period. Those who passed mostly entered the ministries and agencies and could look forward to promotion. In the text, K's remaining at university for years because his 'head is bad' (頭が悪い) refers to the phenomenon of students under the old system taking a long time to graduate.

About the author

Shūsei Tokuda (real name Sueo Tokuda; 1 February 1872 – 18 November 1943) was a Japanese writer. The material provided does not mention his representative works.

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.

More in this language

Read this book free →