作品Free Graded Reading
星あかりStarlight
Hoshi Akari
by 泉 鏡花 · Izumi Kyōka
A haunting ghost story under the starlight, filled with eerie beauty.
About this story
About this storyA man locked out of his temple lodging wanders a graveyard at night, struggling to re-enter.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in JapaneseSource
SourceThis 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): 「書物の王国11 分身」国書刊行会
1999（平成11）年1月22日初版第1刷発行
Typed in by 土屋隆. Proofread by 門田裕志.
Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, replaced classical grammar and some archaic words with modern ones, and rephrased some sentences, keeping their meaning.
The furigana are Yomimaru's.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnThe protagonist, staying at a temple in Kamakura, cannot sleep and goes outside. He wanders through a graveyard, tries to open a door, and eventually walks to the beach. Overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion, he rushes back to the temple, where he hallucinates seeing his own sleeping body.
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 墓石 (はかいし) | tombstone |
|---|---|
| 蚊帳 (かや) | mosquito net |
| 卵塔場 (らんとうば) | cemetery with stupa-shaped tombstones |
| 由井ヶ浜 (ゆいがはま) | Yuigahama beach (in Kamakura) |
| 法華宗 (ほっけしゅう) | Nichiren sect of Buddhism |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～てならない N1Indicates that a feeling is so strong it cannot be suppressed; 'cannot help but feel'.不安心でならぬから、浪が襲うとすたすたと後へ退き、浪が返るとすたすたと前へ進んで、
- ～たところで N1Even if; no matter. Indicates that an action will not lead to the expected result.何にもならないで、ばたりと力なく墓石から下りて、腕を拱き、差俯向いて、じっとして立って居ると、
- ～のを ～る (nominalization) N3Nominalizes a verb phrase to act as the object of a following verb.戸を開けようとすると閉出されたことに気がついた。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- Kamakura's Temples and BeachesThe story is set in Kamakura, a historic city south of Tokyo, famous for its temples and beaches like Yuigahama. The 'Myocho-ji' temple mentioned is a real Nichiren sect temple in the area.
- Nichiren Sect (法華宗)A major Buddhist sect founded by Nichiren in 13th-century Japan, focusing on the Lotus Sutra. The temple in the story belongs to this sect.
- Morning Market (朝市)The protagonist speculates about a 'yuki no shita no asaichi' (morning market in Yukinoshita), a traditional practice in Japan where farmers sell fresh produce in the early morning.
Try a comprehension question
Try a comprehension questionWhat does the protagonist use as a platform to try to open the sliding door?
- Fallen tombstones
- A wooden box
- A stone lantern
- His own luggage
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipRead slowly, paying attention to descriptive passages that convey the protagonist's psychological state.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammar
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