LightNovelLingo
Home / Library / Japanese / The Wild Geese

雁

The Wild Geese

by Mori Ōgai

In 1880 a moneylender’s mistress quietly falls for a passing student.

Read this book free →

Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,599 characters · ≈ 14 minSource: 青空文库

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.

壱one (formal numeral used in legal/financial documents)
One
古いold話storyであるis (copula, formal/literary)
This is an old story.
僕はI (topic)偶然happen to / by chanceそれがthat (subject)明治十三年のof Meiji 13 (year 13 of the Meiji era)出来事だとthat it was an event (quotative)云うことをthe fact that (it is said / called)記憶しているremember / am remembering
I happen to remember that it was an event of Meiji 13.
どうしてwhy年をthe year (object)はっきりclearly覚えているかと云うとif I say why I remember (lit. when I say how it is that I remember)その頃at that time僕はI (topic)東京大学のof Tokyo University鉄門のof the iron gate真向いにdirectly oppositeあったstood / was located上条と云うcalled Kamijo下宿屋にin a boarding houseこの話のof this story主人公とwith the protagonist壁一つ隔てたseparated by one wall隣同士にas next-door neighborsなってbeing (and)住んでいたwas livingからであるbecause (it) is
The reason I clearly remember the year is that at that time I was living in a boarding house called Kamijo, right across from the iron gate of Tokyo University, next door to the main character of this story, separated by one wall.

Read free →

About the book

In 1880 a moneylender’s mistress quietly falls for a passing student.

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.

川上眉山 Allusion

Kawakami Bizan (1869–1908), a writer of the Ken'yūsha group. He took his own life in 1908—the 'miserable end' mentioned in the text. Ōgai uses this figure, well known to readers of his day, as a point of reference for the Okada in his memory.

赤門 History

The Red Gate of the University of Tokyo's Hongō campus was originally the goruden-mon (guarded gate for ladies of the lord's household) of the Kaga domain's upper residence in the Edo period. It is painted vermilion throughout, hence its name, and today serves as a byword for the university. The positions and opening arrangements of the Iron Gate and the nagaya-mon gate described in the text reflect their appearance in the early Meiji period as stated in the original.

香奩体の詩 Allusion

The xianglian style originated in the late Tang dynasty with Han Wo's Xianglian Ji (Collection from the Toilet Case), a sumptuous poetic manner devoted to boudoir themes and sensual love.

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).

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 “Advanced”. 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.

More by this author

Read this book free →