The Kappa of Tōno: The River that Remembers
The ferry slid across the dark waters of Kinjōfutō. Fifteen-year-old Haruto, tired of the noise and heat of Nagoya, stood alone on deck, watching the mist rise from the sea. He was bound for Tōno, a place whispered about in old storybooks — where mountains spoke and rivers carried memories.
From Sendai, he took a local train northward, watching the scenery shift from crowded neighborhoods to endless green fields. At Hanamaki, he boarded a small bus bound for the valley. The road wound through cedar forests and mossy bridges — a landscape that seemed older than time itself. The passengers were few: an old couple, a student in uniform, and a grandmother holding a basket of cucumbers.
By the time Haruto arrived, dusk had settled across the town. The air smelled of rain and earth, and a thin mist clung to the fields. At the edge of the village stood a ryokan, its wooden roof sagging with age, lanterns swaying gently under the eaves. A weathered sign read Minamoto Ryokan, its paint nearly gone.
Haruto stepped inside. The corridor floors creaked softly. The scent of tatami, incense, and cedar hung in the air. Faded calligraphy scrolls lined the walls, and beyond the sliding doors, the dim glow of lanterns revealed a garden pond where carp swam lazily beneath the moonlight.
The okami — an elderly woman with neatly tied silver hair and quiet dignity — welcomed him. Her kimono was immaculate, her voice calm yet resonant, like someone used to holding the attention of a room.
“You must be the boy from Nagoya,” she said with a faint smile. “Tōno doesn’t get many travelers your age. The spirits must have called you.”
After dinner — mountain herbs, miso soup, and river fish grilled over charcoal — Haruto wandered outside. The air was cool, the night silent except for the murmur of the stream behind the ryokan. Beneath a flickering lantern, he saw an old man fishing.
But instead of a worm, a cucumber dangled from the hook.
“You won’t catch much that way,” Haruto said.
The man chuckled without turning.
“It’s not fish I’m after,” he murmured. “It’s peace.”
The words hung in the air like mist.
When Haruto returned, the okami was waiting by the irori, the sunken hearth in the common room. The embers glowed faintly, casting soft orange light that danced on beams blackened by years of smoke. She poured him tea and gestured for him to sit.
“So you met the cucumber man,” she said, her tone half amusement, half gravity. “He offers them to the river — to the Kappa, the children who never grew up.”
Her voice grew lower, steadier, like someone reciting something sacred.
“Long ago,” she said, “a famine struck these valleys. Crops withered, and hunger hollowed the hearts of good people. Some parents, in their despair, placed their hands over their children’s mouths to quiet their cries… and let them drift away into the river. The water carried them off, but their souls remained. They became the Kappa — spirits of the drowned and forgotten, tricksters who pull, laugh, and remember. They hunger not for food, but for memory.”
Haruto said nothing. Outside, the rain began to fall softly on the roof tiles, pattering along the wooden eaves of the engawa before dripping into the garden pond. The sound was steady, rhythmic — like distant whispering voices.
The okami’s eyes glimmered in the firelight.
“In Tōno, we teach our children to tell these stories,” she continued. “They practice before the elders, learning not just to speak, but to hold the hearts of their listeners. We do it so the stories live on — so the river remembers its own tears.”
When Haruto finally walked back to his room, the hallway seemed longer than before. The lantern outside his shōji swayed in the wind, and its dim glow rippled across the tatami like moonlight on moving water. Somewhere beyond the engawa, he thought he heard laughter — soft, distant, and childlike.
He paused, listening. It came again, just at the edge of hearing — not quite human, not quite wind.
Haruto slid the door shut behind him and sat on the futon, his heart still uneasy. He tried to tell himself it was only the rain, only the wind. But the okami’s words would not leave him:
“The river remembers what people forget.”
He pictured the misty bank, the cucumber on the hook, and the small pale face that looked so much like his own.
He blew out the lantern. Darkness folded over him like water closing above the surface.
That night, Haruto didn’t sleep. He lay awake, listening to the quiet breath of the old inn — and to the faint trickle of the unseen river outside, whispering as if telling stories meant only for those who would never return.
When morning came, the air was clear and still. Sunlight spilled through the shōji, warm and golden.
Haruto stepped outside and found the river sparkling under the dawn. The water murmured softly, gentle now — almost kind.
He bowed toward it, smiling faintly.
Perhaps, he thought, some stories live on not to frighten, but to remind us — that what’s forgotten still watches over us, quietly, like the rivers of Tōno
関係代名詞 what1. 基本の意味
what = the thing(s) which（または that which）
つまり、「～すること」「～なもの」 という意味になります。
例：
I know what he said.
＝ I know the thing which he said.
（彼が言ったことを知っています。）
2. 他の関係代名詞との違い
普通の関係代名詞（who, which, thatなど）は、先行詞（＝前にある名詞）を受けて文をつなげます。
しかし、what は 先行詞を含んでいる ため、前に名詞を置かないのが特徴です。
比較してみましょう：
文の種類 例文 日本語訳 ポイント
通常の関係代名詞 I know the thing which he said. 彼が言ったことを知っています。 「the thing」が先行詞
what の文 I know what he said. 彼が言ったことを知っています。 「what」が「the thing which」の両方の役割をする
3. 文の中での働き
**what節（＝whatを含む節）**は、文の中で名詞のように働きます。
文中の働き 例文 日本語訳
主語 What you said is true. あなたが言ったことは本当です。
目的語 I don’t know what she wants. 彼女が何を欲しているのか分かりません。
補語 This is what I wanted. これは私が欲しかったものです。
⚠️ 4. よくある間違い
次のように 先行詞を重ねるのは間違いです。
❌ I know the thing what he said.
✅ I know what he said.
✅ I know the thing which he said.
「the thing」と「what」を同時に使わないように注意！
5. 応用的な使い方
You can take what you need.
（必要なものを持って行っていいよ。）
She didn’t get what she expected.
（彼女は期待していたものを得られなかった。）
What surprises me is his attitude.
（私を驚かせるのは彼の態度だ。）
🏁 まとめ
特徴 内容
意味 ～すること、～なもの
先行詞 含む（前に置かない）
品詞 名詞節をつくる（主語・目的語・補語になる）
対応表現 what = the thing(s) which / that which
問題
（ ）に入る適切な関係代名詞を選びなさい。
( ) you said made me happy.
She didn’t understand ( ) they were talking about.
This is ( ) I was looking for.
He can’t believe ( ) he just saw.
I don’t know ( ) he wants to do.
The teacher ( ) taught us English moved to Canada.
( ) you need is a good rest.
I’ll show you ( ) I bought at the store.
( ) she did was very kind.
Tell me ( ) happened yesterday.
We should remember ( ) our teacher told us.
I don’t know ( ) he said at the meeting.
The book ( ) you lent me was very interesting.
The girl ( ) is talking to Tom is my sister.
This is the movie ( ) I told you about yesterday.
( ) you did was really helpful.
The man ( ) lives next door is a doctor.
I can’t remember ( ) of these keys is mine.
The car ( ) he bought last week is very expensive.
She didn’t understand ( ) he meant by that word.
次の日本語を英語に直しなさい。
あなたが言ったことは本当です。
彼が欲しいものを私は知りません。
彼女がしたことは間違っていました。
私はあなたが作ったものが好きです。
彼が見たものを私にも見せてください。
あなたが必要としているものを教えてください。
彼らが聞いたことは信じられなかった。
私は彼が書いたことを覚えていません。
あなたが選んだものが一番良いです。
彼女は自分がしたことを後悔している。
Comprehension Questions:
What was another name for the Pleistocene Epoch?
a. The Stone Age
b. The Ice Age
c. The Bronze Age
d. The Modern Age
During the Ice Age, large parts of the Earth were:
a. Covered in forests
b. Covered in ice
c. Covered in deserts
d. Covered in oceans
What kind of animals lived during the Ice Age?
a. Dinosaurs
b. Lions and tigers
c. Woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats
d. Kangaroos and koalas
What skills did early humans learn during this time?
a. Writing stories and poems
b. Making stone tools and using fire
c. Building tall houses
d. Planting rice and wheat
How did early humans and animals get to Japan?
a. By sailing in boats
b. By flying
c. By walking across land bridges
d. By swimming across the sea
What kind of life did early people in Japan live?
a. They were farmers who grew rice
b. They were hunters and gatherers
c. They lived in cities and traded goods
d. They built castles and temples
Which of the following is a place where scientists found stone tools?
a. Tokyo
b. Kyoto
c. Iwajuku
d. Mount Fuji
What value from the Ice Age people still remains in Japanese culture today?
a. A love of nature and community
b. Building tall skyscrapers
c. Making new technology
d. Fighting for land
Part B: Short Writing Questions
In your own words, explain what the Ice Age was like.
(Write 2–3 sentences.)
Why were land bridges important for early humans coming to Japan?
What do you think early humans needed to survive in Japan during the Ice Age?
(Think about tools, food, or teamwork.)
How do you think the early people’s respect for nature influenced Japan’s culture today?
(Give your opinion with an example, like festivals, traditions, or art.)