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sparrow lodging [familiar, to juniors] forest depths, the back bamboo bamboo grove, bamboo thicket enjoyable, fun [here:] green straight, upright [kanji now no longer used] to be lined up to grow [of plants] almost every day to play all the more in due course bamboo shoots to do the laundry

to cheep, chirp, chirrup around, surroundings woth pleasure

to leap, jump to hop, bob, about only, merely one evening within [a short space of time] rapidly to go to bed

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to get up yesterday, the day before to an amazing extent to be surprised, amazed, startled to fly suddently, rapidly to ask, enquire thereupon cute, sweet to hug, embrace you [familiar, to juniors] for the first time to [get to] know, learn [familiar, to juniors] life life force, power

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1. 2. Research the life and works of Shimazaki Tson. Shimazaki came from the region known as Kiso in present-day Gifu Prefecture. Locate this setting on a map/Google maps. What was the character of this district in the early twentieth century when this story was written? What is the significance of the bamboo in this tale? Shimazaki is said to be the founder in Japan of the literary movement called naturalism. What is meant by naturalism? Discuss ways in which this short story represents characteristics of naturalist literature. Shimazaki wrote a courageous novel called , translated as The Broken Commandment (for UNESCO by Kenneth Strong). It deals with the most thorny and taboo topic in Japan (even now), the issue of historical outcasts. What is this issue, and why is it so controversial?

3. 3.

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