夏の夜の冒険A Summer Night's Adventure

Read a sample in Japanese

What you'll learn

The narrator recounts a night in the 1930s when he and his colleague find a lost, hungry boy near a bridge. They take him to a café, learn his abusive stepmother is at home, and return the boy against his will. Years later, the narrator learns the boy died in a suspicious fire and the stepmother disappeared.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～てしまう N4Indicates completion or regret; often used for unintended actions.
  駅員は帰り支度をしていた。
• ～から N5Conjunction meaning 'because'; reason or cause.
  十二時限り営業まかりならぬというようなお達しは、その頃は出ていなかったから、十二時頃でも喜んで私たちを迎えたのであった。
• ～かもしれない N4Expresses possibility 'might' or 'may'.
  家がわからないんじゃないかと思うんです。
• ～てやる N4Do something for someone (casual/lower status).
  何か食べるものがあったらこの子供に食べさしてやってくれ。
• ～のだ N3Explanation or emphasis; 'it is that...'.
  事情はもう明白だった。しげるの母親は継母なのだ。

Cultural notes

• 夜勤 (Night Shift)The narrator and his colleague worked night shifts, starting at 5 PM and ending at 11 PM. This reflects common work schedules in early 20th century Japan, especially in companies and newspapers.
• カフェ (Café) in 1930s TokyoThe café near Komagome Bridge was a small, possibly artistic establishment run by a painter. Cafés in prewar Japan were social hubs, often frequented by intellectuals and artists.
• 芸者 (Geisha) and 女郎 (Prostitute)Neighbors speculate that the stepmother was formerly a geisha or a prostitute from Itabashi or Tamanoi, reflecting social prejudices and the perceived low status of such professions in prewar Japan.

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Topics & grammar

Short Storymemoryadventurenostalgicphilosophical〜からkara · because / since〜んですn desu · explanatory (んだ / のだ)〜かもしれないkamo shirenai · might / maybe〜てしまうte shimau · ended up (regret)〜てやるte yaru · do for (blunt benefactive)