Let's read the story of Yoshishiro-san bringing the mountain! / Japanese Learning Support LLC | blog

Let's read Yoshiroku's story!

Today I would like to introduce a story called "Yoshishiro-san Brings a Mountain."

Reading is the best way to advance your Japanese studies!

Let's improve your Japanese by reading stories together!

"Kichishiro-san, bring me a mountain."

Once upon a time in a village, there was a clever man named Yoshiroku.

One day, a cruel village debtor said to the owner of a poor house,

Debt collector: "Hey, give me my money now or I'll burn your house down."

Poor husband: "Please, give me a break! You said you'd wait six months."

Yoshiroku, who was watching this, said:

Yoshiroku: "Hey, if it was only for six months, then you should wait until then."

Debt collector: "Shut up! You forgot that promise. Give it back now!"

Poor husband: "Even if you say that... we don't have any money right now."

Debt collector: So you can pay it?

The debt collector said to Yoshiroku.

Yoshiroku: "Oh, no. I don't have that kind of money either. But if you have any requests other than money, I'll do it!"

Debt Collector: "Oh, I see you. So, I see a big mountain over there. If you can bring that mountain over here overnight, I'll make you debt-free."

Yoshiroku: "Really?! Okay! Let's try it!"

Debt Collector: "But you know what will happen if you don't."

Poor owner: "Ahhh! Yoshiroku-san! Are you okay?"

Yoshiroku: "It's okay, it's okay. Just give me a little time to think it over."

And with that, Yoshiroku went off somewhere.

Debt collector: "You can't bring a mountain."

Poor master: "No, I'm sure Yoshiroku has an idea!"

Debt Collector: "Hahaha. I can't wait to see what happens."

Then Yoshiroku went around to all the houses in the village and placed firewood in front of their houses.

Firewood is small branches or pieces of wood used to make fire.

After he had placed firewood in all the houses in the village, Yoshiroku finally arrived at the debtor's house.

And then, in the same way, I dumped some firewood on the floor.

Yoshiroku: "Phew, now we're all set!"

He said.

Debt collector: "Ha ha ha, Kichiroku, what's this? I want a mountain, not firewood!"

Yoshiroku: "Yes, yes. I understand. I'll move the mountain here right now. But first we need to burn down all the houses in this village, otherwise we won't have anywhere to put the mountain."

So I lit the match.

Debt collector: "Hey, you want to burn my house down? That's bad. It's going to get cold, and I won't be able to survive the winter without a house."

Yoshiroku: "That's true. Of course, that husband would be in trouble if his house was burned down. What do you think? If you can make that husband's debts zero, I'll stop moving mountains and stop burning houses to do it."

Debt collector: "Hmm. I have no choice. I'll give up this time."

Yoshiroku: Thank you very much.

Debt Collector: "Oh no, I shouldn't have taken on Kisshiro."

In this way, the poor master's debt was made free and the debtor's house was not burned down.

How was it?

Today I introduced the story "Yoshiroku-san Brings a Mountain."

Yoshiroku is very smart.

He may also be similar to Ikkyu, a man who often appears in Japanese folk tales.

People who can solve problems with interesting ideas like them are called "witty people."

Now, let's learn some of the grammar that appears in the text.

What we will learn today is "because..."

In the main story, the poor husband said, "Even if you say that... we don't have any money right now."

In this case, "mon de dakara" and "mono de dakara" have the same grammar, but "mon" gives a more casual impression.

This grammar is used when talking about reasons or circumstances, such as "~no de".

It implies "I actually wanted to do this, but for some reason I couldn't," and is often used when apologizing or refusing something.

Sample1 Sorry. I don't have a beer... I came by car today.

Sample2 I'm sorry for the late reply. I was away on a business trip for a while.

Sample 3: Something came up suddenly so I won't be able to go to the drinking party next week.

Sample 4: My child has a fever, so I will be going home early today.

"Monono dakara" and "mondakara" are also used in the same way.

This grammar is also commonly used in conversation, so let's take a look at how it is actually used in conversation.

Sample5

A: Oh, did you walk here instead of riding your bike today?

B: Yeah, my bike had a flat tire.

Sample6

A: You came home early today.

B: Yes, it's my wife's birthday.

In this way, using "because that's what it is" when talking about reasons or circumstances in a conversation will make the conversation sound more natural.

How was it?

Today we introduced the story "Yoshishiro-san Moves Mountains" and the grammar "Because..."

On our JLS blog, we post Japanese reading material and grammar explanations that will be useful for your Japanese language studies.

If you are interested, please take a look at our other articles.

That's all for today!

See you in the next blog.