Takeo Arishima: 7 works in the original Japanese, with translation
Takeo Arishima (March 4, 1878 – June 9, 1923) was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer, and essayist active during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, Ikuma Arishima and Ton Satomi, were also authors, and his son was the internationally known film and stage actor Masayuki Mori.
Works in the library
- A Bunch of GrapesTakeo Arishima · Beginner
- 小さき者へTakeo Arishima · Intermediate
- 溺れかけた兄妹Takeo Arishima · Intermediate
- 燕と王子Takeo Arishima · Beginner
- The Descendants of CainTakeo Arishima · Advanced
- クララの出家Takeo Arishima · Advanced
- かんかん虫Takeo Arishima · Advanced
Cultural notes (selection)
“舶来” refers to goods imported from Europe and America. In the Meiji and Taishō periods it was a byword for things high-class and fashionable.
The Japanese word 産室 refers to the room where a birth takes place, not to an institution such as a maternity ward. Here it describes the wife giving birth at home, with the doctor, midwife and nurse all present in the same room, reflecting that home delivery was still the norm at the time.
Refers to long-period swell around the summer doyō (the roughly eighteen days before the first day of autumn, from late July to early August), caused by distant typhoons and the like. Large waves can appear at the shore even when there is no wind. In the text, large waves still occur as late as September, so the old woman's worry has a realistic basis.
The swallowtail coat (燕尾服) is a Western-style formal dress for men that was introduced to Japan after the Meiji Restoration; it takes its name from the split tail at the back, which resembles a swallow's tail. 「おめしになる」 is the honorific form of 「着る」.