What JLPT level is 手紙四?

手紙四 is suitable for JLPT N3 level readers (estimated JLPT N3).

How long does 手紙四 take to read?

手紙四 takes about 15 minutes (around 895 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

手紙　四The Fourth Letter

Q: What JLPT level is 手紙 四?

手紙 四 is suitable for JLPT N3 level readers (estimated JLPT N3).

Q: How long does 手紙 四 take to read?

手紙 四 takes about 15 minutes (around 895 words) to read at a learner's pace.

Tegami Yon

by 宮沢賢治 · Miyazawa Kenji

JLPT N3Short StoryQuiz ready

A cruel brother's guilt over his sister's death haunts him.

About this story

A letter asks about a sick girl named Pōse while her brother Chūnse struggles with guilt over his past cruelty.

Read a sample in Japanese

わたくしはあるひとから云いいつけられて、この手紙てがみを印刷いんさつしてあなたがたにおわたしします。どなたか、ポーセがほんとうにどうなったか、知しっているかたはありませんか。チュンセがさっぱりごはんもたべないで毎日まいにち考かんがえてばかりいるのです。ポーセはチュンセの小ちいさな妹いもうとですが、チュンセはいつもいじ悪わるばかりしました。ポーセがせっかく植うえて、水みずをかけた小ちいさな桃ももの木きになめくじをたけておいたり、ポーセの靴くつに甲虫こうちゅうを飼かって、二月にがつもそれをかくしておいたりしました。ある日ひなどはチュンセがくるみの木きにのぼって青あおい実みを落おとしていましたら、ポーセが小ちいさな卵たまご形がたのあたまをぬれたハンケチで包つつんで、「兄にいさん、くるみちょうだい。」なんて云いいながら大だいへんよろこんで出でて来きましたのに、チュンセは、「そら、とってごらん。」とまるで怒おこったような声こえで云ゆってわざと頭あたまに実みを投なげつけるようにして泣なかせて帰かえしました。

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Source

This 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): 「ポラーノの広場」角川文庫、角川書店
1996（平成8）年6月25日初版発行

Typed in by ゆうき. Proofread by noriko saito.

Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.

The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.

What you'll learn

The narrator prints and distributes a letter asking for information about Pose, a little girl. The letter recounts how her brother Chunse bullied her, then she fell ill and died. After her death, Chunse regrets his actions and searches for her, but a mysterious voice tells him he must seek the true happiness of all beings through the Lotus Sutra.

Language difficultyIntermediate · 60/100

Key vocabulary

なめくじ	slug
甲虫こうちゅう	beetle
雨雪あまゆき	sleet (rain and snow mixed)
げんこ	fist (childish term)
ナムサダルマプフンダリカサスートラ	Sanskrit: Namu Saddharma Pundarika Sutra (Lotus Sutra invocation)

Grammar points you'll meet

～てばかりいる N4Expresses that someone is always doing something (often negative nuance).
チュンセがさっぱりごはんもたべないで毎日まいにち考かんがえてばかりいるのです
～ておく N4Indicates an action is done in advance or leaves something in a state.
ポーセの靴くつに甲虫こうちゅうを飼かって、二月にがつもそれをかくしておいたり
～てしまう N4Indicates completion of an action, often with regret or finality.
学校がっこうも六ろく年ねんでさがってしまいました

Cultural notes

Lotus Sutra (ナムサダルマプフンダリカサスートラ)This is a Buddhist mantra from the Lotus Sutra, a key Mahayana Buddhist text. It emphasizes the possibility of enlightenment for all beings. Its mention here suggests the story has a Buddhist moral about universal compassion and interconnectedness.
Japanese Sibling DynamicsThe story depicts a classic sibling relationship with teasing and bullying (ijiiwaru). In Japanese culture, the older sibling (ani/onee-san) is expected to be protective, but here Chunse is mean to Pose. This contrast highlights his later regret and transformation.