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星

by Doppo Kunikida

A fairy tale of a young poet and two stars in the sky.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced2,177 characters · ≈ 9 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.

都にin the capital程近きnear (to) / close by田舎にin the countryside年わかきyoung詩人poet住みけりlived (past narrative) / was living
A young poet lived in the countryside near the capital.
家はas for the house小高きslightly elevated丘の麓the foot of a hillにありてstood at, andその庭はas for its garden家にふさわしからずnot befitting the house広くwide, and清き流れa clear stream丘の木立ちthe trees on the hillより走り出でてrunning out fromこれを貫き過ぐpasses through it
His house stood at the foot of a small hill, and its garden, too wide for the house, was crossed by a clear stream that ran down from the trees on the hill.
木々はthe trees (topic)野生えのままにin a wild state, as they were育ちgrew春はin spring (topic)梅桜plum and cherry乱れ咲きbloomed in profusion夏はin summer (topic)緑陰深くthe green shade deep繁りてgrew thick and小川の水もeven the stream water暗くwas dark秋はin autumn (topic)紅葉の錦a brocade of crimson leavesみごとなりwas splendid
The trees grew wild; in spring plum and cherry bloomed in profusion, in summer the deep green shade grew thick and even the stream water was dark, and in autumn the red leaves made a fine brocade.
秋autumnややsomewhat老いてhaving grown old凩cold winter wind鳴りそむればwhen it began to sound物thingsさびしさloneliness限りなくboundlessly冬winterにinto入りてはwhen it entered木の葉leaves落ち尽くしてhaving completely fallen庭gardenのof面surfaceのみonly見すかさるるis seen through中among themにもalso in松pines杉cedarsのof類kindのみonlyはas for緑greenにin誇るboast
As autumn grew older and the cold wind began to sound, the sadness of things was endless; when winter came and the leaves had all fallen, only the bare face of the garden was seen, and among them only the pines and cedars boasted their green.

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About the book

The text tells of a young poet living in the countryside who burns piles of fallen leaves in his garden, and of a pair of stars—a male and a female—who are drawn down by the smoke to spend their nights talking in his garden, all unknown to him. It reads like a classic fairy tale with elegant, old-fashioned prose, delicate descriptions of the seasons, and a quiet, gently melancholic beauty.

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.

天津乙女 Allusion

A contraction of "天つ乙女," a general term in Japanese classical literature for celestial maidens or heavenly nymphs, seen in the poetic tradition since the Kojiki and Man'yōshū. Here it is used to refer to a female star, adding a layer of mythological colour to the star.

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.

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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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English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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