Three short Japanese folktales -- each over in a few minutes, every sentence broken down for upper-beginner readers.

An old man drinks from a hidden spring and walks home young. A group of friends tell one hundred ghost stories long into the night, and after the last candle is blown out, something is left in the room with them. A village child meets a clever stranger and turns his own riddle around.

Three short tales from Japan's regional storytelling traditions -- the kind of story told around a hearth, in a few minutes, to make a point or raise a laugh. Each one is a complete miniature: a puzzle, a twist, a quietly memorable last line.

New in the 2026 edition:

• Bonus unlock code inside the book -- redeem at Makotoplus.com to study every sentence from this book interactively, on the web or in the mobile app (search the App or Play store for "Makoto Japanese Explorer")

• New illustrations and audio QR codes on every story's opening page

• Before-You-Read section for each story, pointing you toward the grammar and vocabulary patterns to watch for

• Full Exercises section for each story: Comprehension Questions, Particle Fill-in, Grammar Pattern Hunt, Translation Comparison, and Answer Key

• Resized furigana -- ruby now sits closer to the base text, the way good Japanese typography should

• Running headers, page numbers, and section ornaments throughout

What's inside:

• Three folktales, each presented three ways: with line-by-line vocabulary, in plain Japanese (no furigana, for real reading practice), and in English summary

• Word-by-word breakdowns with furigana over every kanji

• A "Kanji in Focus" appendix after each story

• Grammar spotlights, cultural notes, and reading tips throughout

• Free MP3 audio downloads -- natural speed and slowed down -- recorded by a native speaker

• Free Anki deck for pre-study

• Bonus unlock code for Makoto+ Sentence Explorer and our mobile app

• No sign-up required to access the audio

The three stories:

• The Fountain of Youth -- An old man drinks from a hidden spring and becomes young again. When his old wife hears of it, she rushes off to drink -- and drinks rather too deeply.

• The Hundred Tales Game -- On a long, dark night, a group of friends gather to tell one hundred ghost stories. After the last candle goes out, something is left in the room with them.

• The Wise Child -- A village child confronts a clever stranger and turns the stranger's own riddle back on him.

Who this is for: Upper-beginner to lower-intermediate learners. You'll need solid kana and a working sense of basic grammar. (New to hiragana? Take our free two-week crash course at TheJapanesePage.com/hiragana.)

Questions or requests for future readers? The authors' personal email addresses are inside the book.

• We started tracking this book on February 17, 2019.
• This book was $4.49 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 3 times in the past 2,662 days.
• The current price of this book is FREE last checked 3 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was FREE last reached on June 1, 2026.
• This book has been FREE one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $6.99 last reached on September 23, 2025.
• This book has been $6.99 one time since we started tracking it.
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• ReferenceLanguage Study & ReferenceLanguage InstructionJapanese
• FranceForeign Language Study & ReferenceLanguage InstructionJapanese
• Reference

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 144 Pages
• File Size: 23 KB