終電車に乗る妖婆The Hag on the Last Train

Read a sample in Japanese

What you'll learn

The essay explains that ghost stories change with transportation. It tells a specific story about an old woman's ghost that appears on the last tram of the night in 1924 Tokyo, only to vanish between Daimon and Kanasugibashi. The ghost is believed to be the spirit of a geta shop owner's wife who died in a tram accident while carrying 30 yen, her lingering attachment to the money causing her haunting.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～によって変化する N3Indicates that something changes according to something else.
  怪談も生活様式の変化によって変化する。
• ～のである N3Explanatory or emphatic ending, often used in written narrative.
  怪しい者が乗るのである。
• ～てなくなる N4Means 'disappear' or 'vanish'.
  すうっと消えてなくなるのであった。

Cultural notes

• Taisho Era Ghost StoriesThis text mentions '大正十三年' (1924). Ghost stories (怪談) were popular in the Taisho period, often blending traditional folklore with modern urban settings like trams. The anecdote reflects a belief that the spirits of accident victims haunt the site of their death.
• Oracles and Money GhostsThe ghost is associated with money (三十円の金). In Japanese folklore, spirits of people who died with strong attachments (like money) can become vengeful ghosts (怨霊). The old woman's attachment to the money she was collecting is seen as the reason for her haunting.

Try a comprehension question

Topics & grammar

Short Storyghost storyfolkloreattachmentkarmaeeriesuspensefulaozora bunko〜んですn desu