作品Free Graded Reading
女の膝A Woman's Knee
Onna no Hiza
by 小山内 薫 · Osanai Kaoru
A man is haunted by a ghostly woman's knee beside his lamp in the dead of night.
About this story
About this storyA man recalls a terrifying night when a mysterious woman appeared beside his bed.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in JapaneseSource
SourceThis 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): 「文豪怪談傑作選・特別篇 百物語怪談会」ちくま文庫、筑摩書房
2007（平成19）年7月10日第1刷発行
Typed in by 門田裕志. Proofread by noriko saito.
Yomimaru changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji, and replaced classical grammar and some archaic words with modern ones.
The furigana are Yomimaru's.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnThe narrator describes his terrifying experience in a haunted house in Kojimachi. He sees a ghostly woman twice, unable to move or speak. He later learns from neighbors that the woman was the abused wife of a previous resident who died cursing her husband.
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 実見 (じっけん) | actual witness |
|---|---|
| 頗る (すこぶる) | extremely |
| 鬼気 (きき) | eerie or ghostly presence |
| 痩躯 (そうく) | thin body |
| 鼡地 (ねずみじ) | mouse-gray pattern |
| 馬乗 (うまのり) | astride (like riding a horse) |
| 主計官 (しゅけいかん) | accounting officer (military) |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～ともつかず N1Indicating that something is neither one thing nor another, or ambiguous.廊下ともつかず座敷ともつかぬ
- ～が最後 N1Emphasizes that once an action is done, something irreversible happens.跳起きようとしたが、躯一躰が嘛痺れたようになって、起きる力も出ない
- ～といって N2Introducing a quote or reason, here showing the wife's dying words.口惜い口惜いといって遂に死んだ
- ～やがて N3Meaning 'before long' or 'eventually'.やがて吻という息を吐いてみると
- ～てみる N4Indicates trying to do something.少し字に書いてみようなら
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- 麹町A historic district in Tokyo (now part of Chiyoda), known for its samurai residences and literary connections.
- お召縮緬A type of silk crepe (縮緬) used for formal or semi-formal kimonos. 'お召' indicates it's a superior quality.
- 紫繻子A purple satin obi (sash), often associated with elegance or formality. The color purple was historically high-status.
Try a comprehension question
Try a comprehension questionWhat color was the ghost's obi (sash)?
- Red
- Purple
- Gray
- Blue
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipLook for archaic verb endings like ～ぬ (e.g., ～つかぬ) and ～ざる (e.g., ～ならざる) which indicate old-fashioned written style.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammar
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