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不在地主

The Absentee Landlord

by Takiji Kobayashi

Hokkaido tenant farmers struggle against an absentee landlord.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Advanced751 characters · ≈ 3 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.

このthis一篇one piece (of writing)をobject marker新農民読本"New Farmer Reader" (title)としてas全国津々浦々every corner of the countryのof小作人tenant farmerとand貧農poor farmerにto捧げるdedicate
This piece is given to the "tenant farmers" and "poor farmers" in every corner of the country as a "New Farmer Reader."
荒木又右衛門Araki Mataemon (a title)やor (among others)鳴門秘帖Naruto Hicho (a title)でもsomething like読むような積りでwith the intention of reading, as if reading仕事のof work合間合間にin the intervals between寝ころびながらwhile lying down読んでほしいI want you to read
I want you to read it while lying down between work, as if you were reading "Araki Mataemon" or "Naruto Hicho."
一one
One
ドンドンdondon (repeated drumming sound)ドンdon (a single drumbeat)
"Dondon, don"

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About the book

The passage opens on an everyday scene in which a farmer named Yuzo polishes a kerosene lamp in a decaying house, with a peeling mud wall, smoke leaking through the thatched roof, and his mother blowing on the stove fire. The dense, detailed depiction of a damp, smoky interior conveys the heavy poverty of a tenant farmer's household.

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.

荒木又右衛門 Allusion

Araki Mataemon was a swordsman of the early Edo period. His tale of revenge, the 'Iga-goe Vendetta', was retold over and over in kōdan storytelling, kabuki and other forms, making it known to every household. Naruto Hichō is a popular novel by Yoshikawa Eiji. The author draws an analogy with this kind of popular reading matter, hoping that this book too will become light reading that poor farmers can enjoy with ease.

ホヤ Customs

This refers to the glass chimney of a kerosene lamp (ランプ). It blackens with soot after long exposure to the flame and must regularly be cleaned by twisting a sheet of newspaper into a roll and inserting it to wipe the inside. You first breathe on the glass so the soot comes off more easily, and the smell of kerosene is left on your hands.

About the author

Takiji Kobayashi (October 13, 1903 – February 20, 1933) was a Japanese writer of proletarian literature, best known for his short novel Kani Kōsen (Crab Cannery Ship), published in 1929, which depicts the hard life of cannery workers, fishermen and seamen aboard a cannery ship and the start of their revolt against the company and its managers. He died at 29 after being arrested by the Special Higher Police and subjected to violent torture.

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 “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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