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くまと車掌

by Takane Kiuchi

The narrator recalls a bear and a train conductor in Hokkaido.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Beginner3,495 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.

わたしはI (topic marker)尋常科the ordinary (elementary) courseのof四年fourth yearを(object marker)卒業するto graduate / finishまでuntil北海道Hokkaidoにinおりましたwas staying (polite past of いる)
I stayed in Hokkaido until I finished the fourth year of the elementary course.
その頃はat that time尋常科the regular (elementary) courseはas for四年までup to four yearsしかありませんでしたthere was only (lit. there was nothing but)からso / becauseわたしはI北海道でin Hokkaido尋常小学elementary school (jinjō shōgaku)を(object marker)卒業したgraduatedわけですthat is how it is / the fact is
At that time, the elementary course only went up to four years, so I graduated from elementary school in Hokkaido.
今からfrom nowざっとroughly二十年前twenty years agoになりますcomes to be (polite)
It is now about twenty years ago.
今ではnowadays / today小学校の読本はas for elementary school readers日本中どこへいってもno matter where you go in Japan同じのを使っておりますがwe use the same one, butその当時はin those days北海道用という特別のがあってthere was a special one called 'for Hokkaido', andわたしたちはweそれを習ったものですused to study from it
Today, elementary school readers are the same all over Japan, but back then there was a special one for Hokkaido, and we used to study from it.

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About the book

This text is a reminiscence by someone who spent childhood in Hokkaido, recalling bear stories from local school textbooks and rumors heard in daily life, leading into a tale of a bear and a train conductor. It reads like an elder calmly chatting over old memories, with the texture of regional life and a touch of humor.

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.

尋常科は四年までしかありませんでした History

In the elementary education system from the Meiji era to the early Shōwa era, the ordinary elementary school (尋常小学校) originally lasted four years, after which pupils could go on to a higher elementary school. The author states that he completed four years of the ordinary course in Hokkaidō, which shows that his childhood was spent in Hokkaidō.

内地 History

In the Japanese of the pioneer settlement period, 内地 meant the Japanese home islands such as Honshū, as opposed to Hokkaidō, Karafuto and other outlying territories. This word shows that the character has left his home region in the home islands to work in Hokkaidō.

制動室 Customs

A small compartment on a freight train in which the conductor rode; it took its name from the hand brake (braking device) it contained. The text itself explains this too: 'It's called that because it has a brake—in other words, the conductor's compartment.' Inside there was only a space about three shaku (roughly 90 centimetres) wide and a hard bench.

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.

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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