作品Free Graded Reading
山の上のへやThe Room on the Mountain
by Yomimaru
JLPT N5Short Story
Lucas is nineteen and travelling Japan alone. The temple at the top of the mountain was not on his map. The monks give him a room for the night, and in the morning they hand him white clothes and walk him down to the water.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnLucas walks a mountain path all afternoon, finds a temple gate near the top, and is let in by a yamabushi called Oishi. He eats with the monks in silence, is given a thin white robe, and is told to be ready at four in the morning; over the next two dawns he goes down to the waterfall.
Language difficultyBeginner · 22/100
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 山伏 (やまぶし) | yamabushi — a monk who trains in the mountains |
|---|---|
| 出羽三山 (でわさんざん) | Dewa Sanzan — the three sacred mountains of Yamagata |
| お寺 (おてら) | a Buddhist temple |
| 門 (もん) | a gate |
| かばん | a bag, a piece of luggage |
| たき | a waterfall |
| 石 (いし) | a stone |
| 服 (ふく) | clothes; here, the white robe worn for training |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～があります N5Says that a thing exists or is there. The thing takes ga, and arimasu is used for objects and things that do not move.ゆうごはんまで、まだ時間があります。
- ～すぎる N5Added to an adjective stem or a verb stem to say it is too much. Ookii plus sugiru becomes ookisugiru, too big.へやのはしに、大きすぎるかばんがあります。
- Dictionary form+と N4Dictionary form plus to means when you do this, that follows. The story uses it twice for the moment of arriving somewhere.上に出ると、しらないお寺の門がありました。
- で N5De marks the cause or the means. Here the sound of the waterfall is the reason the voice cannot be heard.たきの音で、大石さんの声は聞こえません。
- ～ている N5The te form plus iru describes an action going on now, or a state that continues. Ugoite imasu is it is moving.手の中で、おちゃがうごいています。
- ～く/ ～になる N5An i adjective drops i and takes ku before naru to say something is becoming that way. Shiroi becomes shiroku naru, to turn white.そらが、すこし白くなっています。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- YamabushiYamabushi are monks who train in the mountains rather than in a city temple. Their practice mixes Buddhism with older mountain worship, and it is physical: long walks, cold water, little food. A yamabushi may live an ordinary life the rest of the year, so the man who opens the gate is both a host and a teacher.
- Dewa SanzanDewa Sanzan means the three mountains of Dewa, an old name for Yamagata in northern Japan. Haguro, Gassan and Yudono are climbed as a set, and pilgrims have walked them for over a thousand years. Saying you have been to one of them is not the same as saying you have done the three.
- Standing under the waterfallTakigyo is training done by standing under a cold waterfall, usually before sunrise and in a thin white robe. The point is not endurance for its own sake: the cold is loud and total, and what it interrupts is the ordinary chatter of the mind. Counting is a common way beginners get through it.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipThe monk's name 大石さん contains 石 (ishi, stone), the same word used for the stones in the waterfall. When you meet 石, check whether 大 comes before it and さん after — that combination is a person, not an object.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in Japaneseゆうごはんまで、まだ時間があります。わたしはへやに一人です。まどの外はもうくらくて、虫の声がします。へやのはしに、大きすぎるかばんがあります。今日の午後、この山のみちを三時間あるきましたが、だれにもあいませんでした。上に出ると、しらないお寺の門がありました。出羽三山の、山の一つです。門をあけたのは、大石さんでした。山伏です。「リュカです。フランスから来ました。」「リュカさん。」大石さんは、かばんを見てわらいました。六時に、下から声がしました。ひろいへやに十人の山伏がすわっていて、だれも話しません。一人に一つ、ごはんとやさい。にくはありません。みんな下を見て食べています。あとで、大石さんが白い服を持って来ました。「あしたの朝、四時です。」それだけ言って、へやを出ました。四時は、まだよるでした。へやで白い服を着ました。うすい服です。大石さんの後ろから、くらいみちを下ります。
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Topics & grammar
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