興津弥五右衛門の遺書
by Mori Ōgai
An old samurai writes his testament on the eve of ritual suicide.
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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
"The Last Testament of Okitsu Yagoemon" is a short story by Mori Ōgai. Based on the episode "the incense wood of the Hosokawa family" from the Edo-period essay collection Ōkusa, it tells of an old samurai who, before committing seppuku, writes a testament recounting events from years past. The work is said to mark the beginning of Ōgai's historical fiction.
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.
One of the preliminary battles of the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 (Keichō 5). Hosokawa Yūsai (Fujitaka) defended Tanabe Castle in Tango with a small force and eventually opened the castle after mediation by the imperial court. Known as the "Opening of Tanabe Castle," it is a famous siege in Japanese history.
"Ichiban-nori" refers to being the first to break into an enemy position or castle wall during an assault, and was a major military feat for a samurai. The deathbed letter records in detail the date of the writer's brother's death in battle and his posthumous Buddhist name, reflecting the samurai family custom of keeping careful records of military achievements in genealogies.
伽羅 (kyara) is the highest grade of agarwood (jinkō), produced in Southeast Asia and imported to Japan through trade, prized in the way of incense and tea. In Japan agarwood was classified by place of origin into six categories such as 伽羅, 羅国, and 真那賀. Translations generally just say "agarwood," since there is no equivalent grade name.
About the author
Mori Ōgai (February 17, 1862 – July 8, 1922), born Mori Rintarō, was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist and poet, and father of the writer Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a young age, introduced translated German literary works to Japanese readers, and is considered a leading figure who modernized Japanese literature; his major work is The Wild Geese (1911–1913).
Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 興津弥五右衛門の遺書 (CC BY-SA)
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
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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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