What JLPT level is かさを一本?

かさを一本 is suitable for JLPT N5 level readers (estimated JLPT N5).

Who wrote かさを一本?

かさを一本 is an original short story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 learners.

How long does かさを一本 take to read?

かさを一本 takes about 12 minutes (around 425 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

かさを一本One Umbrella, Please

by Yomimaru

JLPT N5Original storyShort StoryQuiz ready

A young samurai buys an umbrella every clear morning and never opens a single one.

About this 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.

An original story written by Yomimaru for JLPT N5 readers.

Read a sample in Japanese

江戸えどに、父ちちの小ちいさいかさの店みせがあります。父ちちは出でかけています。店みせにいるのはわたしです。晴はれた朝あさでした。「かさを一いち本ほんください」わかい侍さむらいでした。侍さむらいはかさを一いち本ほん買かいました。かさを開ひらかないで、川かわのほうへ歩あるいて行いきました。つぎの朝あさも、かさを一いち本ほん。毎朝まいあさ、一いち本ほんです。侍さむらいはいつも川かわのほうへ行いきます。六ろく日にち目めの朝あさ、わたしは言いいました。「雨あめがふりませんね」侍さむらいはそらを見みて、わらいました。何なにも言いいません。六ろく本ほん。侍さむらいが買かったかさの数かずです。かさは、どこにあるのでしょう。七なな日にち目めの朝あさ。雨あめがふりました。店みせの外そとは、雨あめのおとだけです。かさの店みせにはいい日ひですが、だれも来きません。戸とのそばで、雨あめを見みていました。今日きょうは来こないでしょう。でも、侍さむらいは来きました。かさはありません。ぬれた顔かおで、わらっています。「かさを一いち本ほんください」「一いち本ほんでいいんですか」「はい」侍さむらいはかさを一いち本ほん買かいました。七なな本ほん目めです。そのかさも開ひらかないで、雨あめの中なかへ出でて行いきました。

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What you'll learn

In 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

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

～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.
江戸えどに、父ちちの小ちいさいかさの店みせがあります。
～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.
父ちちは出でかけています。
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.
侍さむらいはいつも川かわのほうへ行いきます。
～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.
かさを開ひらかないで、川かわのほうへ歩あるいて行いきました。
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.
今日きょうは来こないでしょう。
～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.
一いち本ほんでいいんですか

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

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.