What JLPT level is ぼろぼろな駝鳥?

ぼろぼろな駝鳥 is suitable for JLPT N1 level readers (estimated JLPT N1).

How long does ぼろぼろな駝鳥 take to read?

ぼろぼろな駝鳥 takes about 2 minutes (around 127 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

ぼろぼろな駝鳥The Tattered Ostrich

Boroboro na Dachō

by 高村光太郎 · Takamura Kōtarō

JLPT N1Short StoryClassical / archaic

A passionate denunciation of an ostrich's captivity in a zoo.

About this story

A poetic monologue questioning why an ostrich is kept in a cramped zoo pen, longing for its natural home.

Read a sample in Japanese

何が面白くて駝鳥を飼うのだ。動物園の四坪半のぬかるみの中では、脚が大股過ぎるじゃないか。頚があんまり長過ぎるじゃないか。雪の降る国にこれでは羽がぼろぼろ過ぎるじゃないか。腹がへるから堅パンも喰うだろうが、駝鳥の眼は遠くばかり見ているじゃないか。身も世もない様に燃えているじゃないか。瑠璃色の風が今にも吹いて来るのを待ちかまえているじゃないか。あの小さな素朴な頭が無辺大の夢で逆まいているじゃないか。これはもう駝鳥じゃないじゃないか。人間よ、もう止せ、こんな事は。

Read the full text with furigana + instant lookups in Yomimaru →

Source

This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko

Base edition (底本): 「近代詩の鑑賞」さ・え・ら書房
1958（昭和33）年3月20日第1刷発行
1971（昭和46）年4月10日第2刷発行

Typed in by 倉本理恵. Proofread by Juki.

Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

The speaker criticizes keeping an ostrich in a small zoo enclosure, pointing out its oversized features, tattered feathers, and distant gaze, ultimately calling for an end to such confinement.

Language difficultyAdvanced · 75/100

Key vocabulary

駝鳥 (だちょう)	ostrich
四坪半 (よつぼはん)	four and a half tsubo (about 15 sq meters)
ぬかるみ	mud, muddy place
大股 (おおまた)	long stride, wide step
頚 (くび)	neck

Grammar points you'll meet

～過ぎる N5Means 'too much' attached to verb/adjective stem.
脚が大股過ぎるぢゃないか。
～ぢゃないか (archaic じゃないか) N4Rhetorical question or emphatic statement: 'Isn't it?' or 'It is, isn't it?'
脚が大股過ぎるぢゃないか。
～てゐる (archaic ている) N4Progressive or state: 'is doing' or 'is in state'.
駝鳥の眼は遠くばかり見てゐるぢゃないか。

Cultural notes

Ostrich in Japanese PoetryThe ostrich, an exotic animal in Japan, appears in modern poetry as a symbol of captivity and alienation. This poem uses the ostrich to critique human confinement of nature.