Upon enrolling in the local middle school, Kokoro loses the courage to actually attend. While isolating herself in her room, her bedroom mirror begins to glow, allowing her access to the mirror castle, where she meets six other children who are supposed to be in school and a younger girl in a wolf mask.
Thumbelina is born from a flower her mother received from a witch, but she is no taller than a thumb (jp: 親指(おやゆび))! The animals of the forest are fascinated by her and take her along to live with them. This fairy tale was originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish writer. It was… Continue reading [N3] 親指姫（おやゆびひめ）
This version of the fairy tale of Princess Kaguya for learners with N3 abilities was written by Takahashi Sōko for a graded reader series by ask and NPO Tagengo Tadoku. I've introduced it already during the #letsreadkaguyahime reading challenge. Kaguya is found inside fresh cut bamboo as a child and grows up to become a… Continue reading [N3] かぐや姫（ひめ）
This post is part of the #letsreadakazukinchan reading challenge. I've read the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood in fairy tale database hukumusume's version. This retelling was the longest of all versions I've put together for the challenge. This was mostly because there was a lot of dialog added while also keeping the descriptions.… Continue reading [N3] 赤ずきんちゃん
Little Red Riding Hood is one of the most well known fairy tales collected by Brothers Grimm. While not a Japanese story in origin, because of its popularity it of course has many versions and retellings in Japanese as well. Since many of you are probably already very familiar with the story's plot, 赤(あか)ずきんちゃん is… Continue reading Let’s read 「赤ずきんちゃん」
The fairy tale "Hänsel und Gretel" is a famous German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm: Siblings Hansel and Gretel are left in the woods by their parents and encounter a wicked witch. This version is a retelling in simple Japanese by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku. I grew up with Grimm's fairy tales as… Continue reading [N4] ヘンゼルとグレーテル
This post is part of the #letsreadkaguyahime challenge. The fairy tale of Princess Kaguya for learners with N5 abilities was written by Yoshida Noriko for the Malaysia Books Tadoku project. What makes this retelling so special are the handmade origami figures by Ishibashi Naoko as well as the fact, that this story features no kanji.… Continue reading [N5] かぐやひめ
Are you interested in reading Japanese fairy tales? "Princess Kaguya" or "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" tells the story of an otherwordly beautiful young woman, who was found inside bamboo as a baby. It is said to be the oldest fairy tale romance in Japan (about 900 AD). Let's read this story together! Whether… Continue reading Let’s read 「かぐやひめ」
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