怪談女の輪The Women's Ring

Read a sample in Japanese

What you'll learn

The narrator describes his boarding house room and the eerie twilight setting. He reads a forbidden novel when mysterious sounds begin, escalating to a terrifying encounter with ghostly female legs and a room full of women, after which he falls ill. The story concludes with the teacher moving out due to the baby's crying.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～がち N3Tends to; prone to (used after verb stems or nouns to indicate a tendency)
  此以前も三馬の浮世風呂を一册沒收されて四週間置放しにされたため、貸本屋から嚴談に逢つて、大金を取られ、目を白くしたことがある。
• ～てしまう N4To do something completely; to finish; indicates completion or regret
  内の細君が元結をこゝに棄てると、三七二十一日にして化して足卷と名づける蟷螂の腹の寄生蟲となるといつて塾生は罵つた。
• ～げ N3Suffix attached to adjective stems or nouns to mean 'seeming; appearing'
  震へ聲で、何でせうね。

Cultural notes

• 逢魔が時 and 雀色時These are traditional Japanese terms for twilight. '逢魔が時' literally means 'time to meet demons', and '雀色時' refers to the sparrow-colored dusk. Both evoke a sense of eerie transition between day and night, often associated with supernatural occurrences.
• 美少年録A fictional book title within the story, suggesting a collection of records or stories about beautiful boys. It reflects the character's interest in illicit reading material, as novels are banned in the boarding house.
• Meiji Period Boarding Houses (塾)During the Meiji period, private boarding schools (塾) were common, where students lived and studied. They were often old, run-down buildings, as described here, with minimal maintenance, leading to a creepy atmosphere.

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Topics & grammar

Short Storyghost storyfolkloresupernaturalfateeeriesuspenseful〜てしまうended up (regret)〜がちtends to / prone to