Ninja, Ronin, and Daimyo Japanese Reader: The Easy Way to Read, Listen, and Learn from Japanese History and Stories

By Clay Boutwell and Yumi Boutwell

Embark on a Journey through Japanese History with the Ninja, Ronin, and Daimyo

Dive into the captivating world of Japanese history with our latest Japanese reader, perfectly tailored for upper beginner students. "Ninja, Ronin, and Daimyo Japanese Reader" offers a unique blend of engaging historical essays and accessible language learning.

What's Inside?

Intriguing Essays: Explore three meticulously crafted essays that bring to life the enigmatic Ninja, the poignant tale of the 47 Ronin, and the mighty Takeda Shingen.

Complementary Audio: Enhance your learning with FREE downloadable sound files, narrated by native speakers. Available in both slow and normal reading speeds, these MP3s are perfect for listening while reading.

Complementary Anki Flashcard Decks: Master all the vocabulary in the essays with the free Anki flashcard app. The decks include sound and pitch accents for most words. 

Features Designed for Learning

Furigana for Beginners: All Japanese kanji come with furigana to support those new to kanji.

Detailed Breakdowns: Each sentence is dissected for easy understanding, complete with word-by-word translations and grammar explanations.

Uninterrupted Japanese Texts: Challenge yourself with full-story Japanese texts, presented without gloss for immersive reading practice.

Kanji Insights: Delve into the "Kanji in Focus" sections, highlighting key kanji from each story.

Literal English Translations: Verify your comprehension with our simple, mostly literal English translations. Remember, challenge yourself first with the Japanese text!

Designed for Upper Beginners: While suitable for beginners, basic hiragana knowledge is necessary.

Engage with History, Enhance Your Japanese Quick! Think of Japan, and samurai warriors often come to mind. But there's so much more to explore. This book is your gateway to understanding not just the Japanese language but its rich historical tapestry.

We're Here to Support You Got questions? Need guidance? Find our personal contact details in the book. We're here to help you on your journey to mastering Japanese.

Join us on this enriching journey through Japan's warrior past, and elevate your Japanese reading skills along the way!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kotoba Inc
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 1728611989

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The key to learning vocabulary is, quite simply, reading. Not only are you more likely to pick up words that interest you, but you also learn them in context. The Japanese History Reader Series further assists with this by providing sound files of the Japanese and Anki flashcard decks of the vocabulary. Enhance your listening comprehension while simultaneously building your vocabulary, kanji, and reading skills.

FORMAT OF THIS READER

By opting for short essays, the intimidation factor is significantly reduced. We divide the stories into manageable, easy-to-digest segments with comprehensive explanations to boost your confidence as you read authentic Japanese page by page. The tales are carefully selected to illustrate certain key aspects of Japanese history. This series aims to do more than just improve your language skills; it endeavors to deepen your understanding of Japanese culture as well.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

This book is crafted so that both novices and intermediate learners of Japanese can derive substantial value from it. A solid grasp of hiragana is essential, and it's advisable to know a few hundred vocabulary words and basic grammar before diving into this reader. If you find the stories too challenging, we recommend spending time going through the vocabulary by reading the glossary notes and/or using the Anki flashcard deck before tackling the reading.

FEATURES

Line-by-line: Read the story broken down line-by-line with nearly every vocabulary word defined and explained.

Grammatical Notes: The line-by-line definitions also include grammatical explanations.

Full Japanese: Read the full story in real Japanese once you go through the line-by-line section.

English Version: Lastly, we are including a simple English translation. This should be avoided until you are sure you understand the story or find it too difficult to figure out on your own.

Kanji in Focus: This feature aids the daunting task of mastering those intricate Chinese characters. We spotlight many of the kanji found in the stories, presenting the readings, meanings, and an example vocabulary word:

Sound Files: Included at no extra charge are two sound files of each story. One is read at a normal speed and the other at a slow, easy-to-follow pace.

Anki Flashcard Decks: Also included are Anki flashcard decks. Anki is a flashcard program that’s free for your PC or Mac (https://apps.ankiweb.net/)

The download link for the sound files and Anki decks may be found on the page after this introduction and on the last page of the book. If you have ANY trouble downloading, please email us at [e-mail].

You may prefer to read the story in Japanese with furigana while listening to the audio files first. Alternatively, if you're a beginner, it might be more beneficial to peruse the line-by-line story before attempting the full Japanese text. Regardless of your approach, this book offers multiple methods to read, listen, and learn.

ABOUT Ninja, Ronin, and Daimyo

We are continuing our look at Japanese military history. Learn about the history of ninja, the tragic story of the 47 Ronin, and Takeda Shingen, the man who almost had it all.

ABOUT CLAY & YUMI