Japanese English

This is introducing Japanese traditional culture such as "SUMO," "KABUKI," and "ZAZEN."

Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads, or exposure to sunlight. By the year AD 12,090, vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world. But what happens when those rules no longer apply?

A decade ago, Tokyo Police Detective Kyoichiro Kaga went to collect the ashes of his recently deceased mother. Years before, she ran away from her husband and son without explanation or any further contact, leaving her estranged son with many unanswered questions. Now in Tokyo, Michiko Oshitani is found dead many miles from home. Strangled to death, left in the bare apartment rented under a false name by a man who has disappeared without a trace. Oshitani lived far away in Sendai, with no known connection to Tokyo—and neither her family nor friends have any idea why she would have gone there.

Hinduism is an ancient religion, philosophy and way of life. Unlike other great religions that are based on a small set of books, there are hundreds of texts in Hinduism, most of which are very voluminous. They span not merely centuries, but millennia. And most importantly, these ancient...

In this “riveting” (Los Angeles Times) account of the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Twomey “infuses a well-known story with suspense” (The New York Times Book Review), offering a poignant new perspective on the most infamous day in...

Have you ever wanted to create beautiful, practical pieces of art in minutes? With origins dating back to the 6th century, origami has delighted and intrigued people from around the world for millennia! Perfect for beginners of all ages, this guide is a great introduction to the simplicity and beauty of the technique with practical instructions to create your own works of art! Origami Book for Beginners is exactly the book for you! You’ll discover many types of origami folding, including step-by-step guides to multiple techniques!

Start speaking Japanese in minutes, and grasp the language, culture and customs in just minutes more with Gengo - Japanese, a completely new way to learn Japanese with ease! Gengo - Japanese will have you speaking with proper pronunciation from the very first lesson and arm you with cultural insight and other information to utterly shock and amaze your Japanese friends.

Portraying himself as a failure, the protagonist of Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human narrates a seemingly normal life even while he feels himself incapable of understanding human beings. Oba Yozo's attempts to reconcile himself to the world around him begin in early childhood, continue through high...

From the bestselling author of the Japanese sensation The Full Moon Coffee Shop, this charming and heartfelt novel showcases the magic of Christmas as lost souls find themselves—with a little help from an enchanted café run by cats. Welcome back to the Full Moon Coffee Shop, serving up...

Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185 CE), wrote The Tale of Genji - widely considered the world’s first novel - during the early years of the 11th century. Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki’s tale came to occupy a central place in Japan’s remarkable history of artistic achievement and is now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature.

Learn and improve your English with the BBC. Collected here for the first time are 12 episodes from BBC Learning English's popular 6 Minute English series. Aimed at intermediate-level learners of English, each programme examines a different topic which is discussed and explained to help learners...

It’s been a year since Yuki Hirano left home - or more precisely, was booted from it—to study forestry in the remote mountain village of Kamusari. Being a woodsman is not the future he imagined, but his name means “courage,” and Yuki hopes to live up to it. He’s adapting to his job and learning constantly. In between, he records local legends—tales pulsing with life, passion, and wondrous gods. Kamusari has other charms as well. One of them is Nao.

A humble clerk and his loving wife scrape out a quiet existence on the margins of Tokyo. Resigned, following years of exile and misfortune, to the bitter consequences of having married without their families' consent, and unable to have children of their own, Sosuke and Oyone find the delicate equilibrium of their household upset by a new obligation to meet the educational expenses of Sosuke's brash younger brother. While an unlikely new friendship appears to offer a way out of this bind, it also soon threatens to dredge up a past that could once again force them to flee the capital.

Combining the whimsy and possibility of The Midnight Library with the mystery and revelatory power of The Secret, Come along for the ride of a lifetime in this heartwarming Japanese bestseller, a story about recognizing opportunities, embracing happiness, and discovering what true fulfillment...

Four years ago, five kids started a game. Not all of them survived. Now, at the end of their senior year of high school, the survivors—Owen, Madeline, Emerson, and Dax—have reunited for one strange and terrible reason: they’ve been summoned by the ghost of Ian, the friend they left for dead. Together they return to the place where their friendship ended with one goal: find Ian and bring him home. So they restart the deadly game they never finished—an innocent card-matching challenge called Meido. A game without instructions.

The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured—and transformed—the world’s imagination. “A masterful book driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.”—W. David Marx, author of Ametora: How Japan...

Masuo Yasui arrived in America in 1903 with big dreams and empty pockets. He worked on the railroads, in a cannery, and as a houseboy before settling in Oregon to open a store, raise a large family, and become one of the area's most successful orchardists. But his family's life changed forever on December 7, 1941, when they were forced from their homes into vast inland camps. Although shamed and broken, the Yasui family would yet endure to claim their place as Americans.

During the National High School Cultural Festival ceremony, Yoshiyuki Shimizu - the current Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and a literary giant - was fatally stabbed by a man who rushed out from backstage. The arrested suspect, 37-year-old Akatsuki Nagase, began publishing his memoirs in a weekly magazine following his arrest.

In 1890, the first Japanese diplomatic delegation arrives in London to open an embassy. Cyrus Barker, private enquiry agent and occasional agent for the Foreign Service Office, is enlisted to display his personal Japanese garden to the visiting dignitaries. Later that night, Ambassador Toda is shot and killed in his office and Cyrus Barker is discovered across the street, watching the very same office, in possession of a revolver with one spent cartridge.

This history will be of interest to people who know nothing about Japan, but also full of insights for those who do. Lesley Downer takes the listener through the great sweep of Japanese history, focusing on the dramatic stories of larger-than-life individuals—from emperors descended from the Sun Goddess to warlords, samurai, merchants, court ladies, women warriors, geisha, and businessmen who shaped this extraordinary modern society.