Book Review, Fiction, N2

[N2] かがみの孤城(こじょう)

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.

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Top Japanese Books of 2022: My Highlights

In 2022, I read more books in Japanese than ever before and with all that progress in reading comprehension was also able to finally enjoy reading some truly exceptional Japanese novels. In this post, I'll be sharing my personal highlights of this year and I'll also provide links to each book in case you want… Continue reading Top Japanese Books of 2022: My Highlights

Book Review, Fiction, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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.