発端・電話事件Beginning: The Telephone Incident

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What you'll learn

The narrator begins with an anecdote about Natsume Soseki's telephone quirk and then recounts the story of a man who returned his telephone for free, leading to the discovery of his eccentric house, Nishoutei. The narrator reflects on the house's architectural significance, the man's mental decline, and the subsequent events including his hospitalization and guardianship.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～にすぎない N2Meaning 'merely' or 'nothing but'. Used to downplay something.
  拙い筆をとったにすぎない。
• ～によって N2Meaning 'by means of' or 'due to'. Indicates method or cause.
  科学の手によって分析されるにいたった。
• ～てしまう N4Meaning 'to finish' or 'to completely do'. Often implies regret or completion.
  とりはずしてしまった。
• ～かどうか N4Meaning 'whether or not'. Forms indirect questions.
  笑ってすませるべきだろうか。
• ～ごとき N1Meaning 'like' or 'such as'. Classical form of ような.
  啾々たる寒風に吹きさらされている。

Cultural notes

• Natsume Soseki and TelephonesNatsume Soseki (1867-1916) was a famous Japanese novelist. Known for his reclusive nature, he disliked telephones and would leave the receiver off to avoid calls, as mentioned in the text. This anecdote highlights the early 20th-century view of telephones as intrusive.
• Telephone Number SuperstitionsIn Japan, numbers can have auspicious or inauspicious readings. For example, '8' (八) is considered lucky (末広), and '4' (四) is avoided because it sounds like 'death' (死). The text mentions a phone number '42' (死に) and an auspicious '8' number.
• Psychiatric Guardianship in Showa JapanThe term '禁治産' refers to a legal guardianship system for people deemed mentally incompetent. In the text, the man's family sought this to protect his assets. The use of force and deceit (fake typhus vaccine) to commit someone reflects the era's psychiatric practices.

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Topics & grammar

Articleessayghost storydeathsuperstitioneeriephilosophicalaozora bunko〜かどうかwhether or not〜てしまうended up (regret)〜ごときlike / as if (literary)