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雪のシベリア

by Denji Kuroshima

Soldiers left in Siberia sigh after seeing comrades off for home.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,551 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
内地へ帰還するreturning to the mainland同年兵達fellow soldiers from the same yearを見送ってseeing off停車場から帰って来るとwhen they came back from the station二人はthe two of them兵舎の寝台にon the beds in the barracks横たわってlay down久しくfor a long timeものを言わずにwithout saying anything溜息をついていたwere sighing
After seeing off their fellow soldiers from the same year who were returning to the mainland, they came back from the station, lay down on the beds in the barracks, and for a long time said nothing, just sighing.
これからfrom now onなおstill / further一年間for one year辛抱しなければif they do not endure内地へto the mainland帰れないcannot returnのだit is that (explanatory ending)
They could not return to the mainland unless they endured for another year.
二人はthe two (people) / as for the two過ぎて来たhad passed / had gone by (up to now)シベリヤの一年the year in Siberiaが(subject marker)如何にhow退屈でboring and長かったかhow long it wasを(object marker)思い返したrecalled / looked back on
The two recalled how boring and long the past year in Siberia had been.

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About the book

The opening follows two soldiers left behind in Siberia who see off comrades returning home and look back on a year of snowy plains, border clashes, and field hospital duty, knowing they must stay another year. The prose moves slowly and quietly, weighed down by waiting and weariness.

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.

赤衛軍 History

The Red Army of Soviet Russia. From 1918 Japan dispatched troops to Siberia and fought repeatedly against the Red Army and guerrilla forces, withdrawing in 1922. The line “十月には赤衛軍との衝突があった” refers to this kind of armed conflict.

ペーチカ Customs

From the Russian печь, a large brick stove of Russian style, used both for heating and cooking, and the centre of winter life in Russian homes and barracks. The Siberian winter is long and severe, and people relied entirely on it to get through the season indoors. The word entered Japanese as a loanword.

シベリアへ志願をして来た History

Refers to the “Siberian Intervention” (シベリア出兵), when Japan sent troops to Siberia from 1918 to 1922 to intervene in the Russian Revolution. The Japanese army was stationed there for a long time under poor conditions of supply; many died from the severe cold and epidemics, and morale was low. Kishima Denji went to Siberia with the army and drew much of his work from this experience.

About the author

Denji Kuroshima (December 12, 1898 – October 17, 1943) was a Japanese author.

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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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.

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