Because of their self-contained plot and, of course, their brevity, short stories are very popular with language learners โ and rightly so. There are several approaches that aim at introducing intermediate and advanced learners to Japanese short stories of which I will highlight three and recommend matching short story collections for each.
In 1937, the Japanese mystery writer Edogawa Ranpo published the serial novel "Detective Boys" in a youth magazine. In this story, his already established private detective Akechi Kogoro is teaming up with a gang of curious boys.
In "Rainbow Bridge" two girls, Otฤchan and Okฤซchan, 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.
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