作品Free Graded Reading
水草Waterweed
Mizukusa
by 久生 十蘭 · Hisao Jūran
A duck's stomach contains a girl's earring and hair, a murder clue!
About this story
About this storyA man's friend arrives with beer to discuss draining a pond and catching ducks, but a complex love affair lies beneath.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in JapaneseSource
SourceThis text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko
Base edition (底本): 「日本探偵小説全集8 久生十蘭集」創元推理文庫、東京創元社
1986（昭和61）年10月31日第1刷発行
1989（平成元）年3月31日4版
Typed in by 川山隆. Proofread by 門田裕志、小林繁雄.
Yomimaru has not changed the spelling or the wording.
The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnThe narrator recounts a visit from his haiku poet friend Isseki, who reveals disturbing evidence from a duck's stomach that suggests a murder, implicating the stepmother of a missing girl.
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 俳友 | haiku poet friend |
|---|---|
| ひねる | to twist (neck); to kill |
| 翡翠 | jade (gemstone) |
| 亜砒酸 | arsenious acid |
| 幽艶 | ethereal beauty |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～そうです（伝聞） N4Hearsay: 'I hear that...'
池を乾して畑にするんだそうです
- ～かどうか N4Whether or not
あひるが人間を食うかどうか
- ～てしまう N4To do something completely; to finish; regrettably
その場で手術刀で処理してしまうんです。
- ～らしい N3Seems; appears; I heard that (based on circumstantial evidence)
このごろ調子がおかしいと思っていたがだいぶいけないらしい
- ～たところへ N3Just when ... (something else happened)
かんがえているところへ、石亭がへんにぶらりとしたようすで帰ってきて
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- Haiku PoetryThe story revolves around a haiku poet (石亭) and references a haiku: '水草の冷えたるままを夏枕'. Haiku is a traditional Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable structure, often capturing a moment in nature.
- Post-War Japan (1947)Published in 1947, the story reflects the post-World War II era in Japan, where items like beer and drugs (ポリモス錠) were part of daily life, and there was a sense of upheaval.
- Duck Farming and PondsIn rural Japan, ducks were kept in ponds. Draining a pond to convert to farmland was a common practice. The story uses this setting for a mystery.
Try a comprehension question
Try a comprehension questionWhat did Isseki bring with him when he visited?
- Green onions and beer
- A duck and a knife
- A haiku book and a jade earring
- A bottle of poison
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipPay attention to dialogue markers (e.g., という, そうです) to distinguish narrative from speech.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammar
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