If you're fascinated by supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore, then you'll love this graded reader by the Japan Foundation Kansai. It features simple descriptions of popular Yūrei and Yōkai tales and includes pictures of old woodblock prints to illustrate this eerie world of Japanese ghost stories.
In a cold and snowy winter town, best friends Anna and Rhys are looking for some hot soup to warm them up. They meet a dog on their way.
On the border of two countries stands a monument with wild roses, where two opposing soldiers meet every day. They become friends but it's short-lived once war breaks out between their nations.
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.
In this story, a dog named ウィンリー goes on a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Camping in the mountains can be fun and exciting, but especially hot summer days can also carry some big hidden dangers.
In this short story we get to know Yui, who hurries to get to her Japanese class on time. Although this little writing project by Elaine Yan is rather short, I believe it's an amazing example how even a short essay for your Japanese class can become a valuable little reading resource for others. With… Continue reading [N5] ゆいさんの一日
donburi is the Japanese name for a large bowl of rice where the main dish (e.g. meat or fish) is served on top. Depending on these other ingredients on top of the rice, those dishes are called different names, but all of them end in ～どん. This text written by Kondo Maiko at the Japan… Continue reading [N5] どん、どん、どん
Iida Kunihiko was born in Manchuria in 1942, but was soon brought to Hiroshima by his mother. There he experiences and survives the atomic bombing in 1945… This story was created by the NPO 平和(へいわ)の大切(たいせつ)さを伝(つた)える日本語教材(にほんごきょうざい)をつくる会(かい) which I would translate as 'Association for the creation of Japanese language teaching materials to convey the importance of peace'.… Continue reading [N3] 飯田（いいだ）くん
This non-fiction text by McPherson Tanaka Naemi is about bento - what types of bento there are, when the food culture around it emerged and how the discussions around it are also socially linked. This was very interesting to read! The reflections on social issues around bento were particularly interesting for me and I was… Continue reading [N4] お弁当（べんとう）って面白い
In this indigenous story from Brazil the moon goddess chooses the most beautiful girls on earth to make them into stars. This version for readers about N4 was rewritten in easy Japanese by an exchange student named Antonio for the NPO Tagengo Tadoku's free graded readers. The title of this story is the katakana transcription… Continue reading [N4] ヴィトリアレジア
dokushoclub.com 