Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N4

[N4] Japanese Short Stories for Beginners

Short stories in Japanese seem to be very popular with language students, given the number of short story collections published for this target group. This collection features 20 original stories written for language students and all they could ask for to study them.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N2

[N2] 君と花火

Yashiro sits next to new girl Yoshikawa in class and looks forward to seeing her every day. Although he seems to be completely content with their very platonic classroom relationship of him picking up her dropped eraser once and them occasionally doing partner exercises together in class, he eventually asks her out to enjoy the summer festival's fireworks with him...

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N5, Non-Fiction

[N5] 招き猫(まねきねこ)

You have probably seen these white and red cat figures somewhere as decoration. They generally have one paw raised or sometimes it’s moving back and forth. Also, they usually either hold a sign with calligraphic characters or it’s hanging from their collar. They are called manekineko and this book tells a legend of their possible origin.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N3

[N3] 虹(にじ)の橋(はし)

In "Rainbow Bridge" two girls, Otāchan and Okīchan, go out to collect special shoots near the local lake, which is said to be home to a water god. The rainbow that spans the lake every summer will become an important symbol for the pair.

Book Review, Fiction, graded reader, N4

[N4] 老人(ろうじん)の町(まち)

A man falls asleep on the train and wakes up in the mysterious town of Shin-Izumino, where everyone is much older than him. While he is still trying to figure out how to get back home, he runs into more and more situations that leave him thoroughly bewildered.

Book Review, graded reader, N2, Non-Fiction

[N2] 辞典編集者(じてんへんしゅうしゃ)から見た日本語

If you are interested in Japanese linguistics or want to have a bit more insight into how Japanese works, this series of short articles for upper intermediate learners is absolutely invaluable.