昆虫図Insect Diagram

About this story

An artist observes the peculiar and mysterious relationship between his neighbor painter and his wife.

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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): 「日本探偵小説全集8　久生十蘭集」創元推理文庫、東京創元社
1986（昭和61）年10月31日初版
1989（平成元）年3月31日4版

Typed in by 川山隆. Proofread by 門田裕志、小林繁雄.

Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.

The furigana are Yomimaru's.

What you'll learn

Aoki visits his neighbor Danroku's studio and witnesses a bizarre series of insect infestations—flies, butterflies, moths, beetles, and worms—that coincide with the absence of Danroku's wife. Aoki's own female companion reveals a folk belief about insects following burial, leading to the unsettling conclusion that something is rotting beneath the floor.

Key vocabulary

年増としまくさい	seems past one's prime
角刈かくがり	square haircut
頭痛膏ずつうこう	headache plaster
銀蠅ぎんばえ	silver fly (a type of blowfly)
野分のわき	typhoon; autumn storm

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～くさい N2Suffix indicating 'seems like', 'smells like', often negative connotation.

  年増としまくさい女おんなと二に人にんで住すんでいた。

• ～がち N3Tendency to do something; often negative.

  時代じだいおくれな顔かおをした、日蔭ひかげの花はなのような陰気いんきくさい女おんなで、

• ～ておく N4To do something in advance; leave as is.

  あッさりと埋うめといて、早はやく骨ほねになるのを待まつの。

Cultural notes

• お洗骨 (Bone Washing)A traditional Japanese funeral ritual where bones are washed after cremation, often involving gathering the bones with chopsticks. Here it is described as burying temporarily to let the flesh decay naturally, which is a variant practice.
• 吉原 (Yoshiwara)The famous red-light district in Edo (modern Tokyo). The mention suggests the wife's dubious past.

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