Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers

Read Real Japanese

by Janet Ashby (Editor), Banana Yoshimoto, Haruki Murakami

There is a world of difference between reading Japanese that has been especially concocted for students and reading real Japanese-that is, Japanese written for native speakers. The concocted variety might be called schoolmarm Japanese: standard to the point of insipidity, controlled to the point of domestication, restricted to the point of impoverishment. Read Real Japanese provides the real thing-essays written by lively authors, meant to be enjoyed or pondered over.

Here are essays informed by the writer's personality, transformed by the message, moving with the flow of the whole, and shifting with the rhythm of paragraph and sentence. For students needing help, this has been provided in vocabulary lists and notes on usage. The vocabulary contains the English equivalents of the Japanese text. The notes deal with subtler matters: with grammar, nuance, idiomatic usage, and the tricky little things that particles do. Whether for pleasure or for serious study, you are sure to find something of interest and value as you read real Japanese.

Genres: Japanese Literature, Nonfiction, Language, Reference

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jonathan Peto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The receipt was stuck between some pages. I bought it about a week before Sept. 11, 2001. It was way too hard for me then. I pulled it out of a drawer last March. I still can’t understand a lot of the text without the notes. I was able to “read” a lot of it though, make the right sounds, I mean, without being able to string together the meaning. Some sentences are so long and complex. Dang.

There are eight essays. As a reader, I enjoyed some more than others, but the practice is what really mattered. Funny though that the Haruki Murakami was one of the best. I also like Yoko Mori’s (The Fish that Got Away), Machi Tawara’s (Words which Strike at the Heart), Momoko Sakura’s (A Woman for Party Use), and Banana Yoshimoto’s (Moments of Happiness) quite a bit.

No more texts with notes. Gonna have to keep the internet and other resources close by for now on…

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice selection of essays, with distinct variation in style between writers. The tone varies greatly between pieces -- something I think is very valuable to students of Japanese language, especially those exposed only to "textbook" Japanese (which is frequently stiff and unnatural). It is easy to compare the differences in voice between authors, which is valuable indeed for a student delving into authentic texts for the first time, or for those lingering about the boundary between upper-intermediate and advanced competency. My only complaint on the content is that I wish there had been more!

As for the English language aspect: The formatting of the footnotes can take some getting used to, and I feel the layout could have been executed better; it was not uncommon for me to get lost trying to find the corresponding note for each portion of text. The translations can be jarring at times with the occasional occurrence of Japanese-exclusive expressions being replaced with English-exclusive expressions (many of which I wasn't familiar with), but overall, they do their job just fine. Note that translations are given segment-by-segment as opposed to as whole sentences, meaning you must have a decent grasp of grammar in order to be able to piece things together.

I'd definitely recommend this title for anyone wanting to delve into authentic Japanese texts. It's never too early to do this, in my opinion, as long as you're ready to overcome the hurdle; there's only so much dumbed-down textbook prose can do for you.

[Sean Stalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is perfect for those that want to get a start into reading Japanese texts. Very intuitive format though at a times a little difficult (the author usually "translates" rather than giving a definition). Overall a fantastic resource for the Japanese learner to get acquainted with not only more advanced Japanese but also with various artists and authors in modern literature.

[kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

日本語勉強してる私にめちゃくちゃ役たった。

[Butsuri]

Japanese