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

Janet Ashby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2003

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.

The featured writers are Yoko Mori, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Machi Tawara, Shoichi Nejime, Momoko Sakura, Seiko Ito, Banana Yoshimoto, and Haruki Murakami.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JANET ASHBY is a freelance writer and translator who has lived in Japan since 1975. She has written a column in the Japan Times for several years on Japanese books and has a particular interest in Japanese popular culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha USA; 2 edition (March 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770029365
• ISBN-13: 978-4770029362
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #516,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Making the leap to authentic text, April 30, 2006

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers (Paperback)

The leap to authentic text is a challenging hurdle, but a necessary one to achieve. Text books are usually made of carefully calculated dialogs and passages, designed to teach a grammar point rather than transfer information. However, once you have reached a certain level you want to go beyond that and into the real thing. That is, after all, why you are studying the language.

"Read Real Japanese" can help ease this transition, providing a guided tour through a few short stories of some of Japan's most prominent modern authors. Murakami Haruki ("Wind-Up Bird Chronicle") and Yoshimoto Banana ("Kitchen") are familiar with most students of Japanese, and it is a true pleasure to read their writings in the language in which they were written.

Janet Ashby has provided translations of the text, piece by piece, allowing you to check your personal translation against her professional work, as well as being a quick reference to unknown kanji, vocabulary and grammar. This is an excellent resource, not only for comprehension but also for seeing how some tricky Japanese grammar can be properly ordered into English.

The only drawback of "Read Real Japanese" is that Ashby has unfortunately chosen to give her translations in romaji rather than hiragana. Quality Japanese learning aids always reinforce hiragana rather than romaji, and anyone at the level necessary to tackle authentic text should have no trouble with kana.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent intermediate - advanced text, September 27, 2004

By 

Andrew Urquhart "Metal Guru" (West Japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers (Paperback)

Another fine title from Kodansha's bilingual series (also check out the wonderfully titled 'How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese') - this is indeed better for intermediate readers, and features an intriguing selection of essays by contemporary Japanese writers/ culture vultures.

This is an excellent stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of reading written Japanese quickly and effectively. Even advanced students will probably find many of the concepts and phrases contained within of great benefit. It is also useful for people who are looking for stimulating Japanese writers, to get a taste of some of the best contemporary authors, before exploring in depth.

The explanations and translations are uniformly excellent - this is a must-have for anyone serious about reading Japanese fiction in the original language.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection for Upper-Intermediate Japanese Student, March 9, 2011

By 

M. C. Maier (Seattle, Wa USa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Read Real Japanese: All You Need to Enjoy Eight Contemporary Writers (Paperback)

I have only made my way through the first three of the essays in this volume but must say that I am highly delighted. Ashby does a fine job of annotation here, and although this volume lacks parallel text translation, it more than compensates for this through superb explanation of the syntactical forms encountered.

The selections seem well-chosen and relevant to modern Japan, and indeed a tremendous satisfaction is afforded to even an intermediate student like myself by reading these texts in the original.

Five Stars without reservation!