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手品師

by Yoshio Toyoshima

Hamucha, a wandering conjurer in Persia, performs in town squares.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Beginner3,482 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.

一one
One
昔long agoペルシャPersiaのof国land / countryにinハムーチャHamucha (a name)というnamed / called手品magic / conjuring師practitioner / masterが(subject marker)いましたthere lived / existed (polite past of いる)
Long ago in the land of Persia, there lived a magician named Hamucha.
妻も子もないhaving neither wife nor child一人者a lone personでbeing (and)村や町をvillages and towns (object)めぐり歩いてwandering around広場にin the square毛布をa blanket (object)敷きspreadingその上でon itいろんな手品をvarious tricks (object)使いperformingいくらかのお金をsome money (object)もらってreceivingその日その日をfrom day to day暮らしていましたwas living
He was a lone man with no wife or child, and he wandered from village to town, spread a blanket in the square, performed various tricks on it, collected some money, and lived from day to day.
赤と白とのred and whiteだんだらのstriped (in bands)服をつけwearing a suit三角の帽子をかぶってwearing a triangular hat十二本のナイフをtwelve knives両手で使い分けたりjuggling skillfully with both hands逆立ちしてstanding on his hands両足でwith both feet金の毬をgold balls手玉に取ったりkeeping (the balls) up in the air鼻の上にon top of his nose長い棒を立ててerecting a long poleその上でon top of it皿廻しをしたりspinning plates飛び上がりながらwhile jumping upくるくるとround and roundとんぼ返りをしたりdoing somersaultsその他besides theseいろいろなvariousおもしろい芸をamusing tricksしましたのでdid, and soあたりにaround (there)立ち並んでるstanding in a row見物人からby the spectatorsたくさんのa great deal ofお金がmoney毛布の上にonto the blanket投げられましたwas thrown
He wore a red-and-white striped suit and a triangle hat, and he juggled twelve knives with both hands, stood on his hands and juggled gold balls with both feet, balanced a long pole on his nose and spun a plate on it, jumped and turned somersaults, and did many other amusing tricks—so many that the people standing around threw a great deal of money onto the blanket.

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About the book

This text tells of Hamucha, a wandering magician in Persia who performs tricks in public squares but spends all his earnings on drink, leaving him poor and weary of life. When a traveler mentions a far more wondrous magician who serves the fire god and can turn anything to smoke, Hamucha is left deep in thought; the story reads like a simple folk tale.

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.

善の火の神オルムーズド Allusion

Refers to Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of good in Zoroastrianism. The religion regards fire as sacred and light as a symbol of good, and its priests serve before fire altars—hence he is called the "god of fire" in the text.

マージ Allusion

A transliteration of the Latin Magus (plural Magi), denoting a priest of Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia who was also an astrologer. The Western word "magic" derives from this term.

頭を床にすりつけながら Customs

Pressing the forehead to the floor and rubbing one's head against it is an extremely humble form of salutation, used to express submission and entreaty when facing a god, a master, or a person of high rank. It is far more solemn than an ordinary bow.

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

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