A two-volume introduction to written and spoken Japanese, comprising fifty-two lessons with exercises and vocabularies.

My First Book of Japanese Words is a beautifully illustrated book that introduces young children to Japanese language and culture through everyday words. The words profiled in this book are all commonly used in the Japanese language and are both informative and fun for English-speaking children to learn. The goals of My First Book of Japanese Words are multiple: to familiarize children with the sounds and structure of Japanese speech, to introduce core elements of Japanese culture, to illustrate the ways in which languages differ in their treatment of everyday sounds and to show how, through cultural importation, a single word can be shared between languages. Both teachers and parents will welcome the book's cultural and linguistic notes and appreciate how the book is organized in a familiar ABC structure. Each word is presented in Kanji (when applicable), Kana, and Romanized form (Romaji). With the help of this book, we hope more children (and adults) will soon be a part of the 125 million people worldwide that speak Japanese!

This is an extensive beginning level Japanese textbook and Japanese language learning package. Elementary Japanese is designed for students who are just beginning their study of Japanese at the first–:year college level or on their own. The author and contributors have created a highly structured approach to leaning Japanese that is based on learning the fundamental patters and constructions of the language as well as the writing system including basic kanji. Systematic grammatical explanations are provided in enough detail for this book to be used as a reference work as well as an introductory textbook. The accompanying MP3 audio CD is a great way to learn Japanese and ensures correct pronunciation and helps to build listening comprehension. After completing this course, you will be able to: Describe yourself, your family and your friends. Talk about daily events using basic vocabulary and grammatical constructions. Understand conversations on these topics as well as classroom activities. Read Japanese articles and write short and simple compositions and letters.

This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin. These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore. Grateful acknowledgment is due to Mr. Y. Yasuoka, Miss Fusa Okamoto, my brother Nobumori Ozaki, Dr. Yoshihiro Takaki, and Miss Kameko Yamao, who have helped me with translations. The story which I have named “The Story of the Man who did not Wish to Die” is taken from a little book written a hundred years ago by one Shinsui Tamenaga. It is named Chosei Furo, or “Longevity.” “The Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-child” is taken from the classic “Taketari Monogatari,” and is NOT classed by the Japanese among their fairy tales, though it really belongs to this class of literature. The pictures were drawn by Mr. Kakuzo Fujiyama, a Tokio artist. In telling these stories in English I have followed my fancy in adding such touches of local color or description as they seemed to need or as pleased me, and in one or two instances I have gathered in an incident from another version. At all times, among my friends, both young and old, English or American, I have always found eager listeners to the beautiful legends and fairy tales of Japan, and in telling them I have also found that they were still unknown to the vast majority, and this has encouraged me to write them for the children of the West...FROM THE BOOKS.

From the bestselling author of Kafka on the Shore: A magnificent coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, “a masterly novel” (The New York Times Book Review) blending the music, the mood, and the ethos that were the sixties with a young man’s hopeless and heroic first love. Now with a new introduction by the author. Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene.

From the authors of the best-selling Japanese for Busy People series comes a must have for intermediate and advanced learners who want to focus on building business Japanese language skills. The Association for Japanese-Language Teaching (AJALT), renowned for its Japanese for Busy People series, has developed a comprehensive course for students who need to use Japanese in a real-life business environment. Almost a decade after its first edition, Japanese for Professionals has been revised and updated to reflect current business scenes. Moreover, learners can now practice their listening skills with the newly added audio for the dialogues and exercises from the text. Eight lessons introduce common business situations with the emphasis on how to communicate with Japanese colleagues and clients. Each lesson is consisted with two parts: Part 1 is set to observe the dialogue and Part 2 is set to further enhance comprehension of the dialogue with exercises. Precise definitions for all new vocabulary and lucid explanations of grammar, idioms, and cultural differences provide the reader with powerful communication tools for the office. Exercises and quizzes have been included to help students check their progress. Busy professionals will find the bilingual glossaries a useful reference even after completing all the lessons in this clear and extremely helpful textbook. Japanese for Professionals is specially designed for learners who are familiar with basic Japanese and ideally be at level N2 or N3 of JLPT, Japanese-Language Proficiency Test.

A juicy tutoring gig falls in the lap of poor high school second-year Futaro Uesugi…but it turns out his prospective pupils are his classmates?! And they’re quintuplets?! All five are gorgeous, but they’re problem students who hate to study and are on the verge of failing! Can Futaro help these idiosyncratic sisters make it to graduation? Futaro was hired to guide a set of beautiful quintuplets who hate studying and are on the verge of flunking through graduation. Now, the final event of their high school careers, the school festival, is reaching its conclusion. Whose feelings will be requited, and whose hearts will be broken?! The story of the carefree, vibrant schooldays of Futaro and the quintuplets finally reaches its final volume!!