さるのこしかけ宮沢賢治Upper intermediate · JLPT N2
さるのこしかけSarunokoshikake — Three Little Seats on the Chestnut Tree
- JLPT N2
- 3,991 characters
- 3 parts
- about 33 minutes
- 2 easier versions
This is a short fantasy for children by Miyazawa Kenji. One evening a boy named Narao notices three white bracket fungi on the chestnut tree behind his house. In Japanese these are called saru no koshikake, "monkey's seats", and he laughs at the idea of monkeys tiny enough to sit on them. Three little monkeys then appear, led by a uniformed general. The general is curt at first, then suddenly very polite, and he invites Narao somewhere nice. The invitation leads through a door in the tree, up a staircase inside the trunk and out into a sunlit grassland. The general's eager courtesy should make the reader a little suspicious. The narration is gentle and polite, and it is full of onomatopoeia. Much of the fun is in the voices: Narao's cheeky boy's talk against the general's barked orders and his oily keigo. That contrast is a good, concrete lesson in register. The story is short and divided into three parts. Its sentences stay manageable, but the mix of rough plain speech and exaggerated honorifics puts it around N2.
Contents
Easier versions
This story is also retold in simpler Japanese. Reading an easier version first makes the original much more approachable.
Before you read
- Track the general's two voices. He gives short plain-form commands when he is being a soldier, then switches to over-the-top keigo (〜ございます, お〜する / お〜になる) when he wants something from Narao. Ask yourself why he changes register at each switch.
- Narao speaks rough boy's plain speech: 僕, sentence-final 〜ぞ and 〜やい, and dismissive 〜なんて and 〜の癖に. These forms are cheeky rather than polite, so read them as a brash child talking.
- Learn the obligation patterns 〜ないといけない and 〜ないといかん before you start. Also learn 〜にちがいない ("must be") and いくら〜たって ("no matter how much..."). These come up repeatedly.
- Learn the title word first: さるのこしかけ means a bracket fungus, literally "monkey's seat". The whole opening joke depends on it. Other key words are 栗の木 (chestnut tree) and 階段 (staircase).
- Read the onomatopoeia aloud, for example kyakkya (monkey chatter) and yosshoi (a heave-ho chant). These sound words carry much of the action and mood, so don't skip them as noise.
Words to know
The most useful words from the notes across the story.
| Word | Meaning | JLPT |
|---|---|---|
| 号令ごうれい | command, order (shouted)号令をかける = to give an order, as in military drill. | — |
| 参ったまいる | to be worn out, to be beatendictionary form: 参るHere not the humble 'to go/come' but 'to be done in'; compare the exclamation 参った! 'I give up!' | N4 |
| 眺めてながめる | to gaze at, look at for a whiledictionary form: 眺めるSuggests looking steadily or taking in a view, not a quick glance. | N3 |
| とんでもないとんでもない | outrageous, unbelievableAlso a polite 'not at all!' in reply to thanks or praise. | N3 |
| 我慢がまん | patience, putting up with something我慢をする = to bear it, hold back. | N3 |
| 得意とくい | pride, triumph得意になる = to get proud of oneself; also means 'good at' something. | N3 |
| 覚悟かくご | readiness for the worst, resolve覚悟をきめる = to brace oneself, resign oneself. | N3 |
| 威張ったいばる | to swagger, act important, be bossydictionary form: 威張る | N2 |
| 煙突えんとつ | chimney | N2 |
| 生意気なまいき | cheeky, impertinent生意気にも = 'had the cheek to …'; used of someone acting above their rank. | N2 |
| 眩しいまぶしい | dazzling, glaringOften written in kana. | N2 |
| 却ってかえって | instead, on the contraryMarks something opposite to what was expected. | N2 |
| 縛ってしばる | to tie up, binddictionary form: 縛る | N2 |
| 呆れてあきれる | to be dumbfounded, astonisheddictionary form: 呆れるOften carries a sense of disbelief or exasperation. | N2 |
| 幹みき | tree trunk | N1 |
Plot summary
Show the full summary (contains spoilers)
One evening Narao mocks the tiny monkeys who might sit on the three bracket fungi on his chestnut tree. Three little monkeys appear, led by a general who questions him rudely. When Narao talks back, the general turns very polite and invites him somewhere nice. Narao crawls through a door at the foot of the tree and climbs a long staircase inside the hollow trunk. He bursts out into a bright midday meadow at Taneyamagahara, and the tunnel behind him vanishes. Crowds of monkeys gather, and the general announces a military drill. It is a trick. The monkeys tie Narao up, build a tower of monkeys standing on each other's shoulders and toss him higher and higher. When the order comes to drop him, a huge mountain man catches him. Narao finds himself back in front of his house at night, the fungi still on the tree, while his mother calls him to supper.
About the author
Miyazawa Kenji was a poet and writer of children's stories from Hanamaki in Iwate Prefecture. He studied agricultural science in Morioka and later taught at an agricultural school. He devoted much of his life to helping local farmers improve their methods and their cultural lives. He was a devout Buddhist, and his faith, love of nature and interest in science run through his writing. His fame came after his death, with works such as 銀河鉄道の夜, 風の又三郎 and the poem 雨ニモマケズ.