What JLPT level is 現場の写真?

現場の写真 is suitable for JLPT N2 level readers (estimated JLPT N2).

How long does 現場の写真 take to read?

現場の写真 takes about 63 minutes (around 4432 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

現場の写真Crime Scene Photo

Gemba no Shashin

by 小酒井不木 · Kosakai Fuboku

JLPT N2Short StoryQuiz ready

A gripping crime mystery centered on a photograph.

About this story

Two men discuss an unsolved murder and the potential for copycat crimes as spring arrives.

Read a sample in Japanese

一いちその年としの春はるはいつまでも寒さむさが続つづいたので、塚原つかはら俊夫としお君くんは、私わたしに向むかって、また大だい地震じしんでも起おこらねばよいがなどと、時々ときどき私わたしを気味悪きみわるがらせておりました。けれども、幸いさいわいに、大おおきな天災てんさい地変ちへんもなく、五月ごがつに入はいってからは急きゅうに暖あたたかくなって、実験じっけん室しつの前まえの躑躅つつじが一時いちじに咲さき揃そろいました。「兄にいさん、気候きこうが寒さむいと、あまり大おおきな犯罪はんざいも起おこらないようだねえ」と、ある日ひの午後ごご、俊夫としお君くんは、紫外線しがいせん装置そうちの部屋へやから、退屈たいくつそうな顔かおをして出でてきながら言いいました。「犯罪はんざいなど起おこらない方ほうがいいねえ。俊夫としお君くんには物もの足たらぬかもしれないけれど、世間せけんはたしかに迷惑めいわくするよ。しかし、ここ一いち週間しゅうかんばかり急きゅうに暖あたたかくなったから、また、犯罪はんざいがふえるかもしれないねえ。ことに浅草あさくさＹ町まちの株かぶ屋や殺ころしのように、事件じけんが迷宮めいきゅうに入はいると、それを模倣もほうして人殺ひとごろしが続出ぞくしゅつしないともかぎらない」「ああ、そうそう」と、俊夫としお君くんは、急きゅうに熱心ねっしんな顔かおをして言いいました。

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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): 「小酒井不木探偵小説選　〔論創ミステリ叢書8〕」論創社
2004（平成16）年7月25日初版第1刷発行

Typed in by 川山隆. Proofread by 門田裕志.

Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.

The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 4 parts.

What you'll learn

The narrator and Toshio discuss how warm weather increases crime, and police detective Oda arrives with a case: the murder of a stockbroker in Asakusa two weeks earlier. Toshio agrees to help find evidence.

Inspector Oda details the murder case: on April 20, stockbroker Suzuki Taisuke was found stabbed to death at home. His clerk Jinkichi is the prime suspect, but lacks concrete evidence. The police are stuck.

Toshio examines crime scene photos and deduces the killer is left-handed and that Jinkichi is innocent. He announces he knows the real killer but won't reveal it yet, then leaves to investigate.

Language difficultyIntermediate · 65/100

Key vocabulary

手代てだい	clerk, apprentice
出鱈目でたらめ	nonsense, random
とんと	completely, not at all
按摩あんま	masseur, masseuse
前科持ぜんかもち	person with a criminal record

Grammar points you'll meet

～のではないか N2Used to express a tentative guess or rhetorical question, often meaning 'might it be that...?' or 'I wonder if...'
もう来くるはずだが、それとも他たの道みちを通とおったのかな
～ということにしている N2Means 'to make it a rule to do something' or 'to pretend to do something'.
自分じぶんに依頼いらいされない事件じけんには、立たち入いった研究けんきゅうをしないことにしているよ
～ものだ N3Used to express a general truth, something that naturally happens, or a characteristic.
人間にんげんは神様かみさまでないから、殺ころされた人間にんげんがありゃ、殺ころした人間にんげんのあることは当あたり前まえじゃないか
～とはいえ N1Means 'although', 'even though', used to acknowledge a fact but present a contrary point.
盲目もうもくでありながら、よくも、巧妙こうみょうに凶行きょうこうをとげたものですねえ。

Cultural notes

Blind Masseurs in Japan (Anma)In Japan, blind masseurs (anma) were historically common and often walked the streets playing a whistle to advertise their services. They wore high clogs (ashida) and used a stick. This story uses the cultural trope of the blind masseur as an unexpected criminal.
Japanese Police and Detective Work in the 1920sThe story reflects early Showa-era police procedures, including the reliance on physical evidence like fingerprints, bloodstains, and witness testimony. The amateur detective Toshio Tsukahara represents the popular 'armchair detective' archetype of the time.

Try a comprehension question

Toshio believes that cold weather leads to more crime.

True
False

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Sensei's reading tip

Pay close attention to dialogue markers that indicate shifts between polite and casual speech, as character relationships are revealed through language.