N1 Japanese Reading Practice: Unopened Score
This free JLPT N1 reading practice is a short reflective scene about a music score that was never opened. Furigana is available, but expect denser nouns and quiet leftover time. Check the notes and questions, then continue with advanced short passages in Yomigi.
開かれなかった楽譜
押し入れの奥から、一度も開かれなかった楽譜が出てきた。母が若い頃に買ったものだという。最初のページには日付だけが書いてあり、その先は空白のままだった。触れずに戻すこともできたが、なぜか机の端に置いた。
押し入れの奥から、一度も開かれなかった楽譜が出てきた。母が若い頃に買ったものだという。最初のページには日付だけが書いてあり、その先は空白のままだった。触れずに戻すこともできたが、なぜか机の端に置いた。In English. From the back of a closet comes a music score that was never opened. It was apparently bought when the narrator’s mother was young. The first page has only a date; the rest stays blank. They could have put it back untouched—but somehow leave it on the edge of the desk.
Key vocabulary
押し入れ おしいれ
closet (traditional Japanese storage alcove)
楽譜 がくふ
sheet music / musical score
若い頃 わかいころ
when (someone) was young
空白 くうはく
blank space / emptiness on the page
触れずに ふれずに
without touching
机の端 つくえのはし
the edge of the desk
Grammar notes
〜だという for reported origin
買ったものだという attributes the story to what the narrator has been told, not to witnessed fact.
〜ずに
触れずに戻すこともできた: they had the option of returning it without engaging. The も marks that unused option.
なぜか for an unexplained choice
なぜか机の端に置いた withholds motive. The lingering object is the point, not a stated reason.
Comprehension
Where was the score found?
From the back of a closet (押し入れの奥).
What was written in it?
Only a date on the first page. The rest was still blank.
What did the narrator do with it?
They could have put it back untouched, but left it on the edge of the desk.
Why this level
- Unopened time, reported origin, and an unexplained choice fit an N1 practice lane.
- Sentences stack hearsay (という) and unused options (ずに…こともできた) without becoming academic.
- Comprehension depends on what is withheld as much as on plot facts.