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放浪記

Diary of a Vagabond

by Fumiko Hayashi

A young woman’s diary of hunger, odd jobs and poetry in Tokyo.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced3,501 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.

秋autumnがsubject marker来comeたんcame (explanatory)だis (casual copula)
Autumn has come.
十月October日day
October × day
一尺四方のone foot square四角なsquare天窓をskylight (object)眺めてlooking at, and始めてfor the first time紫色にinto purple澄んだhad become clear空をsky (object)見たsaw
Looking at the square skylight one foot wide, I saw the sky clear and purple for the first time.
秋autumnがsubject marker来comeたん(explanatory) it is that... / the fact is...だcopula (casual)
Autumn has come.

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About the book

Hōrōki (A Wanderer's Notebook) is an autobiographical novel by Fumiko Hayashi, based on her own diaries, recounting her experiences of a wandering life. Written from diary-style prose and poems, it was serialized intermittently in the magazine Woman's Art from 1928, became her breakthrough work and representative work, and was later adapted for stage, film, and television.

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.

日本髪 Customs

A traditional styled coiffure, in contrast to the cropped or Western hairstyles already popular at the time. A hairdresser needed items such as motogui (paper cord or yarn for tying the hair into a bun) and bin-dashi (oiling and dressing the sides of the hair) to shape the bun. For young women it was a rare form of formal dressing-up and not inexpensive, which is why the author saved up her pocket money before having her hair done.

樺太 History

Sakhalin (Karafuto). After the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, the southern half became Japanese territory, and the Karafuto Prefecture (agency) was established there.

女給 Social role

A waitress who served drinks and food and chatted with customers in cafés from the late Taishō period to the early Shōwa period. Most were young women from poor families. Unlike geisha or prostitutes, they earned their income mainly from customers' tips (morai).

Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 放浪記 (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

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 “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.

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