作品Free Graded Reading
かさを一本One Umbrella, Please
by Yomimaru
JLPT N5Short Story
Every clear morning a young samurai buys one umbrella from a small shop in Edo and walks off toward the river without opening it. On the seventh morning it rains, and the girl who has been selling them to him shuts the shop and follows.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnIn Edo, the daughter minding her father's umbrella shop sells a young samurai one umbrella every morning. Six clear days go by, he never opens any of them, and she starts to wonder where they have all gone. On the seventh morning the rain finally comes, and so does he.
Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| かさ | umbrella |
|---|---|
| 店 (みせ) | shop, store |
| 江戸 (えど) | Edo, the old name for Tokyo |
| 侍 (さむらい) | samurai, a swordsman of the old warrior class |
| 一本 (いっぽん) | one (counter for long thin things, such as umbrellas) |
| 川 (かわ) | river |
| 雨 (あめ) | rain |
| ぬれた | got wet, soaked |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～があります N5Says that a thing exists or is there. あります is used for objects; います is the version for people and animals.江戸に、父の小さいかさの店があります。
- ～ている N5The て-form plus いる gives an action in progress, or a state that is still true. 出かけています means he went out and is still out.父は出かけています。
- に/へ N5Both particles mark where something is heading. へ leans on the direction rather than the destination, so 川のほうへ is off toward the river, not all the way to it.侍はいつも川のほうへ行きます。
- ～ないで N4The ない-form plus で means without doing something. 開かないで here is without opening it, not a request to stop.かさを開かないで、川のほうへ歩いて行きました。
- でしょう N5Turns a statement into a guess. 来ないでしょう is he probably will not come, with the speaker not certain.今日は来ないでしょう。
- ～んです N5Frames a sentence as an explanation, or asks for one. 一本でいいんですか asks whether one really is enough.一本でいいんですか
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- Edo, before it was TokyoEdo is the name Tokyo carried until 1868. It was a city of canals and rivers, and a small family shop on a street near the water is an ordinary place for a story like this to start.
- A samurai in a shopA samurai belonged to the warrior class and ranked well above a shopkeeper, which is why the narrator speaks to him politely and calls him お侍さま rather than by any name. Young samurai were often poor despite the rank.
- Umbrellas of paper and bambooAn Edo umbrella, a 和傘, was oiled paper stretched over bamboo ribs. Each one was made by hand and cost real money, so a shop sold nothing else, and buying one every single morning is not a small thing to do.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipかさ stays in kana the whole way through, though the dictionary spelling is 傘. Its counter is 本, and the sound shifts: 一本 is いっぽん, 六本 is ろっぽん, 七本目 is ななほんめ.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japanese江戸に、父の小さいかさの店があります。父は出かけています。店にいるのはわたしです。晴れた朝でした。「かさを一本ください」わかい侍でした。侍はかさを一本買いました。かさを開かないで、川のほうへ歩いて行きました。つぎの朝も、かさを一本。毎朝、一本です。侍はいつも川のほうへ行きます。六日目の朝、わたしは言いました。「雨がふりませんね」侍はそらを見て、わらいました。何も言いません。六本。侍が買ったかさの数です。かさは、どこにあるのでしょう。七日目の朝。雨がふりました。店の外は、雨のおとだけです。かさの店にはいい日ですが、だれも来ません。戸のそばで、雨を見ていました。今日は来ないでしょう。でも、侍は来ました。かさはありません。ぬれた顔で、わらっています。「かさを一本ください」「一本でいいんですか」「はい」侍はかさを一本買いました。七本目です。そのかさも開かないで、雨の中へ出て行きました。
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Topics & grammar
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