What JLPT level is 火星の芝居?

火星の芝居 is suitable for JLPT N2 level readers (estimated JLPT N2).

How long does 火星の芝居 take to read?

火星の芝居 takes about 11 minutes (around 739 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

火星の芝居The Theater on Mars

Kasei no Shibai

by 石川啄木 · Ishikawa Takuboku

JLPT N2Short StoryQuiz ready

A wild imaginary trip to Mars where the theater is unlike anything on Earth.

About this story

A man describes his bizarre trip to Mars where he saw a theater made of compressed sky.

Read a sample in Japanese

『何なにか面白おもしろい事ことはないか？』『俺おれは昨夜さくや火星かせいに行いって来きた』『そうかえ』『真個しんこに行いって来きたよ』『面白おもしろいものでもあったか？』『芝居しばいを見みたんだ』『そうか。日本にっぽんなら「冥途めいどの飛脚ひきゃく」だが、火星かせいじゃ「天上てんじょうの飛脚ひきゃく」でも演るんだろう？』『そんなケチなもんじゃない。第だい一いち劇場げきじょうからして違ちがうよ』『一いち里さと四方しほうもあるのか？』『莫迦ばかな事ことを言いえ。先まず青空あおぞらを十じゅう里さと四よん方位ほういの大だいさに截たって、それを圧搾あっさくして石いしにするんだ。石いしよりも堅かたくて青あおくて透徹とうてつるよ』『それが何なにだい？』『それを積つみ重かさねて、高たかい、高たかい、無む際限さいげんに高たかい壁かべを築きずき上あげたもんだ、然しかも二に列れつにだ、壁かべと壁かべとの間まが唯ただ五ご間けん位いしかないが、無む際限さいげんに高たかいので、仰あおぐと空そらが一いち本ほんの銀ぎんの糸いとの様ように見みえる』『五ご間けんの舞台ぶたいで芝居しばいがやれるのか？』『マア聞きき給たまえ。その青あおい壁かべが何処どこまで続つづいているのか解わからない。万里ばんりの長城ちょうじょうを二に重じゅうにして、青あおく塗ぬった様ようなもんだね』『何処どこで芝居しばいを演るんだ？』『芝居しばいはまだだよ。その壁かべがつまり花道はなみちなんだ』

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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): 「石川啄木集（下）」新潮文庫、新潮社
1950（昭和25）年7月15日発行
1970（昭和45）年6月15日25刷改版
1991（平成3）年3月5日48刷

Typed in by 青空文庫. Proofread by 鈴木厚司.

Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.

The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.

What you'll learn

The narrator tells his friend about an absurd dream of a theater on Mars with walls made of compressed sky, a never-ending hanamichi, and actors with gigantic headgear. The friend expresses disbelief and mocks the story as a tall tale.

Language difficultyIntermediate · 55/100

Key vocabulary

法螺ほら	tall tale, boastful story
花道はなみち	hanamichi (the walkway leading to the kabuki stage)
看客かんきゃく	spectator, audience
烏帽子えぼし	traditional Japanese headwear, often formal
素す	eccentric, unusual

Grammar points you'll meet

～て来た N4Shows movement toward the speaker (and then back) or experience of coming and doing something.
俺おれは昨夜さくや火星かせいに行いって来きた
～んだ（のだ） N4Explanatory or emphasis sentence-ending particle (noda).
俺おれは昨夜さくや火星かせいに行いって来きたんだ
～そうだ ( hearsay ) N3Indicates hearsay: 'I heard that...'
十じゅうカ月げつかかるそうだ
～てしまう N4Expresses completion of an action, often with a nuance of regret or finality.
目めが覚さめたから夢ゆめも覚さめて了りょうったんだ
～ても（でも） N4'Even if...' or 'No matter how...'
行いっても、行いっても、青あおい壁かべだ。

Cultural notes

Hanamichi (花道)A raised walkway through the audience to the stage in Kabuki theater. In the story, it's exaggerated to be made of compressed sky and stretching infinitely, highlighting the absurdity of the dream.
Ishikawa TakubokuIshikawa Takuboku (1886–1912), the author of this piece, is best known for his tanka poetry. Here he writes a playful dialogue: one man insists he visited Mars last night, and his friend teases him for telling tall tales.
Nikolai Cathedral (ニコライの会堂)A Russian Orthodox cathedral in Tokyo, used as a comparison for the size of the actor's headgear. Its great dome was a notable landmark of Meiji-era Tokyo.