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かんかん虫

by Takeo Arishima

Dockworkers scrape ship rust under the August sun on a Russian bay.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,554 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.

ドゥニパー湾の水はthe water of Douarnenez Bay (topic)照り続くcontinuing to shine (beating down)八月の熱でwith the heat of August煮え立ってboiling up総てのall濁ったmuddy / turbid複色の彩はthe mixed colors (as topic)影を潜めhid themselves in the shadowsモネーの画に見る様なlike those seen in a Monet painting強烈なintense単色ばかりがonly single colors海とthe sea, and空とthe sky, and船とthe boats, and人とをthe people (as object)めまぐるしい迄にdazzlingly, to the point of making the eyes spinあざやかに染めてdyeing vividly其の総てをall of that (as object)真夏の光がthe midsummer light押し包む様にas if to wrap up射して居るis shining on
The water of Douarnenez Bay boiled with the heat of the continuing August sun, and all the muddy mixed colors hid themselves; only strong single colors, like those in a Monet painting, dyed the sea, sky, boats, and people so brightly it made the eyes spin, and the midsummer light shone on it all as if to wrap it up.
丁度just / exactly昼弁当時lunchtimeでand (copula, linking)太陽はthe sun (topic)最頂at its highest point / zenith物の影がthe shadows of things (subject)煎りつく様にas if scorched / burned小さくsmall濃くdark / deepそれを見てすらeven just looking at themぎらぎらとglaringly / blazingly眼が痛むone's eyes ache程の暑さheat to the extent thatであったit was
It was just lunchtime and the sun was at its highest; shadows were small and dark as if burned, and even looking at them made the eyes hurt, it was so hot.
私はI (topic)弁当をlunch (object)仕舞ってからafter putting away荷船オデッサ丸の舷にto the side of the cargo ship Odessa Maruぴったりとtightly繋ってあるis tied大運搬船の舷にon the side of a large transport ship一人の仲間とwith one companion竝んでside by side海に向ってfacing the sea坐って居たwas sitting
After I put away my lunch, I sat facing the sea beside one companion on the side of a large transport ship tied tight to the side of the cargo ship Odessa Maru.
仲間と云おうかwhether to call him a companion親分と云おうかor whether to call him a boss兎に角in any case私がI一週間前a week ago此処に来てからのfrom when I came here知合いであるis an acquaintance
Whether to call him a companion or a boss, he was, anyway, an acquaintance from when I came here a week ago.

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About the book

The passage shows the narrator sitting beside his fellow worker Yakov Ilyich during a lunch break at the docks, discussing the nickname 'kankan bug' given to workers who hammer rust off ships' hulls, before Yakov asks about the narrator's past. The opening paints the harbor under blazing midsummer sun in vivid, saturated colors, giving the text a bright yet sweltering, oppressive 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.

赤眼のシムソン Allusion

Samson, the strongman in the Old Testament Book of Judges, whose eyes were gouged out by the Philistines and who was forced to turn a mill as a slave. The narrator likens himself to this figure, saying that, like the blind Samson, he has to work desperately hard to earn his living.

己れもやっぱりお前と同じ先祖はアダムだよ Allusion

An allusion to Genesis: all human beings are descendants of Adam. When the narrator tells the policeman, 'You and I share the same ancestor,' he means that the policeman, too, has appetites and desires just like anyone else, so there is no point in acting high and mighty.

ヤコフ・イリイッチ Social role

A Russian name (Yakov Ilyich); the use of a patronymic signals that the speaker is Russian. The coarse colloquial language in the text (derogatory verb endings such as 「やがる」) is a marker used in the Japanese rendering to convey the tone of a lower-class Russian labourer.

About the author

Takeo Arishima (March 4, 1878 – June 9, 1923) was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer, and essayist active during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, Ikuma Arishima and Ton Satomi, were also authors, and his son was the internationally known film and stage actor Masayuki Mori.

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 “Advanced”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

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