雪渡り
On frozen snow, two children meet a young fox named Konzaburo.
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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
"Yuki Watari" (Crossing the Snow) is a fairy tale by Kenji Miyazawa about children invited to a fox magic-lantern show and their interactions with young foxes. In the story, on the frozen snowy field, Shiro and his younger sister meet the little fox Konzaburo. It was Miyazawa's debut work, said to be the only payment for writing he ever received.
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.
This is a counting-song-style children's rhyme sung while walking on katayuki (snow with a frozen surface firm enough to bear weight). The words themselves carry no particular meaning; the repeated rhythmic sounds 'kanko' and 'shinko' serve to keep the children's steps in unison.
Naniwa-bushi is a recitative storytelling art that became popular in the Osaka area from the Meiji period onward, in which stories are narrated to the accompaniment of the shamisen. It belongs to the same category of narrated performance as jōruri, but differs in melody and school.
A gathering at which glass lantern slides were projected with a magic lantern. From the Meiji into the Taishō period these were common in Japanese schools and village halls, serving as one of the few forms of entertainment and moral education available in the countryside at the time.
About the author
Kenji Miyazawa (27 August 1896 – 21 September 1933) was a Japanese novelist, poet, and children's literature writer from Hanamaki, Iwate, who also worked as an agricultural science teacher. His major works include Night on the Galactic Railroad, Kaze no Matasaburō, Gauche the Cellist, and The Night of Taneyamagahara, and his work gained its reputation mostly after his death.
Summary prepared with AI from Wikipedia: 雪渡り (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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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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