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Mermaids of Japan, a Japanese Reader: Learn Japanese with Yokai!
By Clay Boutwell and Yumi Boutwell
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About this ebook
★For Upper Beginners Learning Japanese ★
Living in shadows and the in-between world of dreams and reality, yokai thrive in Japanese imagination. What are yokai? They are monsters, ghosts, unnatural beings, and even sentient household items. Yokai can be harmless and amusing, or they can be terrifying.
Now you can learn about yokai and read stories of them while polishing your Japanese. ♥
ABOUT THIS VOLUME
Mermaids in Japanese are called ningyo, but unlike the Western image of a beautiful and seductive creature, the Japanese ningyo can be quite grotesque even. Sometimes the "human" part of the creature looks more bird-like or even ape-like.
Ningyo usually appear at night and come from the sea. They often have amazing abilities, and eating their flesh may result in a very long, long life.
FEATURES
Includes three essays or stories
Each story is presented in three formats:
1) Sentence-by-Sentence with definition and commentary below
2) Japanese only (to test your reading ability)
3) English translation (to confirm your understanding)
The Sentence-by Sentence section of each story presents a small chunk of the Japanese with furigana over the kanji and a complete glossary of all the words; important grammatical patterns are pointed out and explained in plain English
A link to download sound files for the stories is provided (for no extra charge) on the last page of the book
Each story has a slow and normal speed recording of the Japanese read by Yumi
STORIES INCLUDED
① The Nihon Shoki and Mummies
② The 800-Year-Old Nun
③ Amabie
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This book is designed so that both those fairly new to Japanese and those in the intermediate stages can equally find value. The ideal level, however, is for the upper beginner, somewhere around the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N4.
If you are learning Japanese and are fascinated by yokai and traditional tales of old Japan, click the Buy Now button to begin studying now.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherKotoba Inc
Release dateMay 30, 2025
ISBN9798683818852
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Mermaids of Japan, a Japanese Reader - Clay Boutwell
Makoto Monthly E-Zine for Learners of Japanese
image1.jpegJapanese lessons and stories with sound files.
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INTRODUCTION
What’s the key to learning vocabulary? Honestly, it’s no big mystery: reading. The more you read, the more words stick. Especially if those words actually interest you—and who wouldn’t be intrigued by 妖怪ようかい yokai, those delightfully weird creatures from Japanese folklore. But we’re not just throwing spooky stories at you and yelling がんばって！
Nope—we’re giving you audio, too. That means you’ll be improving your listening comprehension while also leveling up your kanji kung-fu, vocab arsenal, and reading stamina.
FORMAT OF THIS READER
Jumping into a full Japanese story can feel like being thrown into the river by a mischievous kappa. So we broke it all down.
You’ll find:
Bite-sized stories, each one split line-by-line
Vocabulary and grammar explained clearly (no mysterious grammar ghosts here!)
Full Japanese version (so you can flex those reading muscles)
English translation (use it as a safety net, not a crutch)
Basically, we’ve built this so you’ll feel like a Japanese-reading superhero. One page at a time..
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This book is perfect for upper beginners—think JLPT N4-ish—but don’t worry if you’re not quite there yet. Even ambitious newer learners can get a lot out of it (just take it slow and enjoy the ride).
On the flip side, intermediate learners will still find plenty of challenge—especially with the grammar dives and cultural bits sprinkled in.
If you’re just starting your Japanese journey, you might want to check out our beginner digital toolkit, Beri-Beri Shoshinsha, over at TheJapanShop.com (look under Instant Downloads > Money-Saving Bundles). It’s packed with goodies to help you get your footing.
FEATURES
Here’s what you’ll find inside—and how it’ll help you tackle Japanese without breaking into a cold sweat.
Line-by-Line Breakdown:
We slice the story up line-by-line and define just about every word. It’s like having a friendly guide whispering, Hey, this particle? Here’s what it’s doing.
Grammatical Notes:
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