作品Free Graded Reading
幻聴Auditory Hallucination
Genchō
by 蘭 郁二郎 · Ran Ikujirō
JLPT N1Short StoryClassical / archaicQuiz ready
A terrifying tale of auditory hallucinations that predict real deaths.
About this story
About this storyA tormented narrator laments their cursed fate and introduces the terrifying phenomenon of clairvoyance.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japaneseああ皆様、なんという私は、この呪われた運命の下に生まれなければならなかったのでございましょう。――思っても嫌な嫌な、バタバタと足をふみならし、歯ぎしりをしてのたうちたいような、居ても立ってもいられない、焦燥の真ッただなかにほうりこまれてしまったのでございます。――こんな愚痴を申し上げてよいものか？……さあ、一寸、ためらうのでございますけれども……。皆様、「千里眼」というものを御存じでしょうか――、アア、そうお笑い下さいますな、イカにも突ッ拍子もない事を申し上げたようですけど――だが、それはまだこの言葉の持つ恐ろしい意味をご存じない、幸福な方だからでございます。
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What you'll learn
What you'll learnThe narrator introduces their curse of clairvoyance and describes its terrifying effects, including hearing future events and auditory hallucinations.
Language difficultyAdvanced · 85/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 千里眼 (せんりがん) | clairvoyance |
|---|---|
| 呪われた (のろわれた) | cursed |
| 幻聴 (げんちょう) | auditory hallucination |
| 符合する (ふごうする) | to coincide |
| 四面楚歌 (しめんそか) | being surrounded by enemies; desperate situation |
| 鉄柵 (てっさく) | iron bars |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～なければならない N4must do somethingこの呪われた運命の下に生れなければならなかったのでございましょう
- ～に違いない N2must be; definitely神経衰弱に違いない
- ～かもしれない N4might; maybe――こんな愚痴を申し上げてよいものか？
- ～てしまう N4to finish doing (often expressing regret)焦燥の真ッただなかにほーりこまれてしまったのでございます
- ～てならない N2cannot help but feel私は私自身が恐ろしくて堪らないのでございます
- ～というものだ N2a thing called (emphatic)「千里眼」というものを御存じでしょうか
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- 千里眼 (Clairvoyance)The ability to perceive events or information beyond normal sensory contact, often associated with spiritual or psychic phenomena in Japanese folklore and modern media.
- Sanatorium with Iron BarsThe narrator is in a sanatorium (保養院) with iron bars on windows, suggesting a mental institution. This setting reflects early 20th-century Japanese medical treatment for nervous disorders.
- 四面楚歌A Chinese-derived idiom meaning 'besieged on all sides,' used here to describe the narrator's overwhelming sense of being attacked by voices from all directions.
Try a comprehension question
Try a comprehension questionWhat is the narrator's main affliction?
- Clairvoyance
- Deafness
- Blindness
- Memory loss
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipFocus on the narrator's emotional state: words like 焦燥, 恐ろしい, 疲れました reveal the tone.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammarShort Storyhorrormadnessobsessionsuspensefuleerieaozora bunko〜かもしれないmight / maybe〜なければならないmust / have to〜てしまうended up (regret)〜に違いないmust be / no doubt〜てならないcan't help feeling
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