初恋
At fourteen, the narrator’s first love begins with an old teacher.
- Authentic text: the opening of a public-domain original
- Word-by-word glosses and translation in English or Chinese, free
- Tap a word for its meaning, listen to the sentence, save words
- Reads in any phone or desktop browser, nothing to download
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.
About the book
This text is a first-person recollection of the narrator at age fourteen encountering a stubborn old scholar in his village and the scholar's granddaughter. The narrator deliberately provokes the old man with a jab about Mencius, while the girl gently urges her grandfather to head home. The tone is playful and self-assured in a boyish way, with quick back-and-forth dialogue that makes it a light, humorous read hinting at the first love to come.
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 common term in the Meiji period for the leader of a group of children—the most dominant child who led the others in mischief. 「餓鬼」 was originally a Buddhist term but came to mean a mischievous child, while 「大将」 means leader or chief.
From Mencius, "Li Lou II": "If the ruler treats his ministers like dogs and horses, the ministers will regard the ruler like a stranger." It means that if a lord treats his retainers as mere dogs and horses to be used, the retainers will see him as nothing more than a stranger.
A concept peculiar to modern Japan, referring to the national structure and founding spirit centred on the emperor. During the Meiji era it was established as official ideology through the Imperial Rescript on Education and other means.
About the author
Doppo Kunikida (30 August 1871 – 23 June 1908) was a Japanese author of novels and romantic poetry during the Meiji period. He is noted as one of the inventors of Japanese naturalism.
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.