What JLPT level is 白いいと?

白いいと is suitable for JLPT N5 level readers (estimated JLPT N5).

How long does 白いいと take to read?

白いいと takes about 14 minutes (around 497 words) to read at a learner's pace.

作品さくひんFree Graded Reading

白いいとThe First Day of Summer

by Yomimaru

JLPT N5Short Story

Three classmates walk into the sea of trees below the mountain on the first day of summer break, following tape that other people tied to the trunks. There are no birds. Mika says she has been here before, and she keeps walking past where the tape ends.

What you'll learn

Boku, Kenta and Mika go into the sea of trees below the mountain on the first day of the summer holidays. No birds can be heard, white tape from earlier visitors is tied to the trunks, and Kenta repeats a local story about the jorogumo while Mika walks on ahead.

Language difficultyBeginner · 20/100

Key vocabulary

樹海 (じゅかい)	jukai — a sea of trees; a forest so thick that from above it looks like water
女郎蜘蛛 (じょろうぐも)	jorogumo — a spider that takes the shape of a woman
テープ	plastic tape, the kind tied to a branch to mark a route
いと	thread; a single strand
森 (もり)	forest, woods
くつ	shoes
鳥 (とり)	bird
あいだ	the space between two things

Grammar points you'll meet

と N5と marks quoted or reported speech: the words or the thought come first, then と, then the verb of saying or thinking.
行こうと言ったのはケンタだ。
～んです N5～んだ (casual) and ～んです (polite) turn a statement into an explanation — not just 'he waits', but 'the thing is, he waits'.
おんなの人になって、男をまつんだ。
～く/ ～になる N5An i-adjective drops い and takes く before なる to say something became that way: くらい → くらくなった, 'it got dark'.
森は、だんだんくらくなった。
～から N5から after a plain clause gives the reason. Here it is the whole answer: the reason is offered and nothing else is said.
前に来たから
～ないで N4The negative て-form, verb + ないで, means 'without doing it' — the action that is skipped, then the action that happens.
ミカは木も見ないで、下も見ないで、「こっち」と言った。
～ていた (V-te ita) N4～ていた is the past of ～ている: a state that was already there when someone looked. Not 'it stuck' but 'it was stuck to her hand'.
ミカの手に、白いいとがついていた。

Cultural notes

樹海 — the sea of treesA 樹海 is a forest so dense that from a mountainside the canopy looks like water. The best known one in Japan lies at the foot of Mount Fuji. Underfoot it is uneven volcanic rock rather than soil, there are no proper paths away from the marked trail, and one stretch of it looks much like the next.
White tape on the treesWalkers who leave a marked trail in a Japanese forest tie strips of plastic tape to branches so they can find the way back. Tape left by other people is a double signal: someone came this way before, and they were worried enough about getting out to mark it.
女郎蜘蛛 — the jorogumoThe 女郎蜘蛛 is a creature from old Japanese tales: a spider that can take the shape of a woman. The same name belongs to a real golden orb-weaver, common in Japan from late summer, which strings its web high between two trees.

Sensei's reading tip

Nearly everything here is written in kana, including words you may already know in kanji: いと is 糸 (thread), みち is 道 (road), くつ is 靴 (shoes), そら is 空 (sky). If a kana word looks like nothing, say it out loud — the sound usually gives it away faster than the spelling.

Read a sample in Japanese

山の下の樹海に入って、三十ぷん。森の中はしずかだった。鳥の声がしない。一つもしない。聞こえるのは、ぼくたちのくつだけだった。なつやすみのはじめの日だった。行こうと言ったのはケンタだ。ぼくは行きたくなかった。でも、行かないとは言えなかった。木に、白いテープがあった。前に来た人たちのテープだ。一本ではない。二本、三本、四本。だれかが、ここでまよったのだ。木と木のあいだに、白いいとがあった。ケンタがそれを手でとって、わらった。「この樹海には、女郎蜘蛛が出るんだって」「女郎蜘蛛？」「おんなの人になって、男をまつんだ。ミカ、おまえのことだな」ケンタがわらった。ミカもわらった。ぼくはわらわなかった。でも、なにも言わなかった。ミカが、先に行った。森は、だんだんくらくなった。テープがなくなった。どの木にも、もうテープはなかった。「みちがないよ」下は、やわらかかった。くつのおとが、もう聞こえなかった。

Read the full text with furigana + instant lookups in Yomimaru →