Let's read the story "The Mysterious Drum"! / Japanese Learning Support LLC
Let's read the story The Mysterious Drum!
This time, we will introduce a story about a mysterious Japanese drum.
It's not a famous story like "Momotaro" or "Urashima Taro," so many people may not know it, but it's very interesting, so I encourage you to read it to the end.
There is just a little over a month left until the JLPT exam in July.
For those of you who are planning to take the exam, are your studies going well?
You may be worried about finding kanji difficult or being unable to remember vocabulary, so if that's the case, why not read the story series on the JLS blog and learn kanji, vocabulary and grammar along with the stories!
"Mysterious drum"
Once upon a time, there was a young man named Gengoro.
Gengoro had a mysterious drum.
When Gengorō beats the drum and says, "Make your nose higher," his nose really does get higher, and when he says, "Make your nose lower," his nose gets lower.
Using this mysterious drum, Gengorou would always make the villagers' noses higher or lower.
Gengoro: "Your nose should be taller! Taller!"
Boom, boom, boom!
Gengoro: "Your nose, get it lower! Get it lower!"
Boom, boom, boom!
Villager: "Thank you, Gengoro!"
The villagers who had their noses changed were very happy and gave Gengoro money.
One day, Gengoro, who had become rich, was lying down in a field.
Gengoro: "Your nose should be taller. Taller."
he said, playing alone with the drums.
Gengorou wanted to see how high his nose could become, so he beat the drum over and over again.
Gengoro's nose flew over the trees, past the flying birds, and quickly reached the clouds.
Above the clouds is heaven.
Meanwhile, in heaven, carpenters were building a bridge.
The carpenters were surprised when a rod-like object suddenly appeared from underneath.
The carpenters, unaware that it was Gengoro's nose, thought it was a piece of wood and tied it to the bridge.
Gengoro: "Huh? It doesn't seem to be getting any higher. Let's lower it now and get it back to its original height."
Gengorou tried to keep his nose down.
Gengoro: "Your nose, lower it! Lower it!"
Bang bang!
However, since his nose was firmly attached to the Bridge of Heaven, Gengorou's body rose up to Heaven.
Gengoro: "Why is my body rising up?!"
Gengorou hurriedly beat the drum several times and quickly reached heaven.
The carpenters in heaven were on break and there was no one near the bridge.
Gengoro: "Why is the nose tied to the bridge? Did you mistake it for wood?"
As he said this, Gengorou was thinking about how to return to his original world.
Suddenly a strong wind blew and I could see the world below through the clouds.
Gengoro: "Wow! It's really beautiful from above."
As Gengoro was engrossed in the scenery, a huge wind blew by, and he fell to the ground.
Gengoro: "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!"
Just like that, he fell into the lake with a bang!
Gengorou swam frantically, but suddenly realized his body had transformed into a fish called crucian carp.
In the end, Gengorou was unable to return to being human and was forced to live the rest of his life as a crucian carp in the lake.
The lake is Lake Biwa. Even now, if you go to Lake Biwa, you can meet Gengoro.
How was it.
Do you know Lake Biwa?
It is the largest lake in Japan and is located in Shiga Prefecture.
In fact, there really is a fish called "Gengorobuna" in Lake Biwa.
What's more, this crucian carp is a fish that is originally only found in Lake Biwa.
Nowadays, it seems that they can be found in other areas as well, as people often raise fish to sell, a practice known as aquaculture.
Since it is a rare fish that is only found in Lake Biwa, there seem to be several legends about the Gengorobuna.
Now, let me introduce some of the grammar that appears in the text.
Today's grammar is "~zu".
The text reads, "In the end, Gengoro was unable to return to being human, and was forced to live the rest of his life in the lake as a crucian carp."
It was used in the sentence.
What does "~zu" mean?
Let's take a look.
●How to use "～zu(ni)"●
Sample1 I overslept this morning and didn't have time, so I went to school without eating breakfast.
Sample 2: Walk, don't run, in the hallways.
Sample3 I stayed up all night watching the soccer game.
Sample4 This dish can be made easily without using a knife.
"~zu, ~" means doing ~ without doing that, and has the same meaning as "~naide~".
"~zu" is a more formal way of saying it than "~naide" and is also often used in written language.
To conjugate, simply remove the verb-less form "nai" and add "zu," but be careful because "shinai" changes to "zuzu."
It is also common to say "without...".
Exercise: Complete the sentences using "~zu".
The answer is provided at the bottom of this blog.
① Oh, it's raining! It was sunny in the morning, so I brought an umbrella!
② Did you break a bone? Please take a rest from work.
③ I was so tired last night that I fell asleep in the bath.
How was it.
Today, we introduced the story of "The Mysterious Drum" and the grammar "~zu(ni)."
I would be happy if you all think that Japanese is interesting!
There are many more stories on our blog, so be sure to find one that interests you.
That's all for today!
Sample answers to practice questions
① without having ② without worrying ③ without entering
