秘密

Name: 秘密
Availability: InStock
Author: Hatsunosuke Hirabayashi

by Hatsunosuke Hirabayashi

The narrator records an event that could never happen twice.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,468 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.

一one

One

私がI (subject marker)これからfrom now on書き記してゆくwill write down (and go on writing)ようなsuch as / like出来事はevents (topic)この世の中ではin this world決して二度とnever again起こりもしまいしwill not happen, and (moreover)たとえeven if起こったところでeven supposing they happened当事者がthe person involved (subject)私のようなlike me破廉恥漢shameless manでなければif (he) were notそれをit (object)公にpublicly発表しようintend to publish / make publicなどというsuch a thing as気はthe feeling (topic)起こさぬwould not ariseだろうとI suppose (quotative)思うI think

The events I will write down from now on will never happen again in this world, and even if they did, unless the person involved were a shameless man like me, I think they would not feel like making it public.

第一first of allそんな気を起こすto have such an idea前にbefore大抵の人ならif it were most people小刀をa small knife頸動脈へinto the carotid arteryつきさしてthrust (into)時間的にin terms of timeそういう考えの起こるthat such a thought arises余裕をthe room (for)無くしているだろうwould have eliminated

First, before such an idea arises, most people would thrust a small knife into their carotid artery and, in terms of time, eliminate the room for such a thought to occur.

とは言えthat said / however私自身でもeven I myselfこれを書きながらwhile writing thisさすがにindeed / as expected自分をmyself (as object)世界一のthe world's number one醜悪なugly卑怯なcowardly人間だということはthat (I) am a personはっきりclearly意識しているのだからbecause (I) am aware私がI (subject)それをit (that fact)意識していないかと思ってthinking (I) am not aware of it読者からfrom readers色々various愚にもつかぬfoolish / absurd批評をcriticism (object)私のmy行為にon (my) actions加えて貰うto have (them) add / receiveことはas for (that)真っ平ごめん蒙りたいI absolutely wish to be spared

However, even I, while writing this, am clearly aware that I am the world's most ugly and cowardly human being, so I absolutely wish to avoid receiving various foolish criticisms of my actions from readers who think I am not aware of it.

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About the book

The text opens with a narrator who says he will soon kill himself and wants to record an event that will never happen again in this world, with only hours of life left and no fear of criticism. The story then moves to this morning, as he locks up the house, darkens his study, and takes a slip of paper from a book on criminal psychology, giving the writing a tense, oppressive feel.

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.

デュパンという探偵 Allusion

Refers to the detective Dupin in the American writer Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), one of the earliest famous detectives in the history of detective fiction. The remark here about him darkening his room during the day to create a nighttime atmosphere comes from Poe's story.

アーク灯 Customs

An arc lamp, which produces light through an electric arc between carbon electrodes, giving an extremely white colour. Here the intense light of the arc lamp is used to describe the outdoor sunlight at midday in midsummer.

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 “Intermediate”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

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English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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