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作品について：中国の怪異譚集『聊斎志異』に取材した作品。押しかけ女房のもたらす幸福に対し、清貧を貫こうと痩せ我慢をする才之助だったが... やさしい英語の短いお話なので、気軽に読めます。
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About the text：What is "honorable poverty"? This very short story can tell you a little about an ambivalent attitude on wealth. It is about a man who thinks that he shouldn't be happy. The story is based on one of the stories from the famous collection of classical Chinese ghost stories, Ryosaishii. The internationally known novelist, Dazai retold it in a premodern Japanese setting. A chrysanthemum mania, Sainosuke meets a neat boy and his beautiful sister. Since then, poor Sainosuke's luck has changed, but somehow he isn't contend with the change...
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著者について：太宰治（1909.6.19−1948.6.13）
津軽の大地主の六男として生まれる。共産主義運動から脱落して遺書のつもりで書いた第一創作集のタイトルは『晩年』（昭和11年）という。この時太宰は27歳だった。その後太平洋戦争に向う時期から戦争末期までの困難な間も、妥協を許さない創作活動を続けた数少ない作家の一人である。戦後『斜陽』（昭和22年）は大きな反響を呼び、若い読者をひきつけた。
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About the author：Dazai Osamu (1909-1948）
A modern Japanese novelist. Behind his nihilistic style, one can see a deep sympathy towards humans. After several unsuccessful attempts, he eventually killed himself. (Yes, like many other modern Japanese novelists.) His most well-known work is perhaps _Shayo_ (The Setting Sun).
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訳者について：山海空悠丸
国際学校UWC英国校、筑波大学を経て、シカゴ大学で人文学修士号取得。二十カ国百都市を訪問し八十カ国以上の人々と出会う。秋桜舎にて翻訳や執筆を手がける。小説の案も進行中。
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About the translator：Yamaumisora Yuhma
Yuhma went to an international school in Wales, one of ten schools of the international educational organization, UWC. He earned BA at the University of Tsukuba, and then MA at the University of Chicago. His inexhaustible curiosity drove him to visit more than 100 cities of 20 countries, and he talked with people from more than 80 countries. He works as a translator at Cosmos House . Other than translating novels, he is
planning to write novels by himself.
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