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頭蓋骨の秘密

by Fuboku Kosakai

A boy detective helps the police solve a mystery about a skull.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,558 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.

山中in the mountainsのof / 's (possessive-locational particle)骸骨skeleton
A skeleton in the mountains
実験室laboratoryのof前frontのof庭gardenにinあるlocated桐paulowniaのof若葉young leavesがsubject markerようやくfinally出そろったhad all come out五月なかばmiddle of Mayのofあるa certain朝morning
One morning in the middle of May, the young leaves of the paulownia tree in the garden in front of the laboratory had finally all come out.
塚原俊夫君がToshio Tsukahara (subject marker)ＰのおじさんUncle Pと呼ぶcalls (him)警視庁のof the Metropolitan Police Department小田刑事はDetective Oda (topic marker)珍しくもunusually私服を着てwearing plain clothes私たちのour事務室兼実験室をoffice and laboratory (object marker)訪ねられましたvisited (honorific polite past)
Detective Oda of the Metropolitan Police Department, whom Toshio Tsukahara calls 'Uncle P,' visited our office and laboratory, unusually wearing plain clothes.
小田さんはMr. Oda (topic)東京に近いnear Tokyo県のPrefecture's田舎のrural/countryside生まれbirthplace/native ofだそうですがI hear that..., butその村のof that village小田さんのMr. Oda's親戚のrelative's家にat the house一つのone (a certain)事件incidentが(subject marker)発生したのでoccurred, so俊夫君にto Toshioそのthat解決をsolution (object)依頼すべくin order to request来られたのです(he) came (polite) — it is that he came
Mr. Oda says he was born in a country village in △△ Prefecture near Tokyo, but an incident occurred at his relative's house in that village, so he came to ask Toshio to solve it.

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About the book

Young detective Tsukahara Toshio is asked by police to help identify a boy's remains unearthed in the mountains, with clues pointing to Kusano Tomizo, a schoolboy missing since the earthquake five years earlier. The story unfolds step by step like a case file being worked through.

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.

関東の大地震 History

Refers to the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1 September 1923 (the twelfth year of Taishō). The boy went missing on 30 August, and his family sent a messenger to Tokyo on the morning of 1 September—the very day of the earthquake.

兵児帯 Customs

A soft sash made from a full width of cloth without stiff lining, tied in any casual manner; it was mainly used in everyday life by men and children. Here, together with the indigo-kasuri tunic with fitted sleeves, it forms the typical dress of a village boy of the time.

蟇口 Customs

A small metal-clasp purse whose opening shuts like a toad's mouth; in modern times the term also refers to a small cloth pouch tied to the sash for carrying small change.

About the author

Kosakai Mitsuji (8 October 1890 – 1 April 1929), better known by the pen name Kosakai Fuboku, was a Japanese medical scientist and crime writer.

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 “Intermediate”. 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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