Many books for getting started in reading Japanese do a lot of hand-holding: writing furigana above every kanji, adding in romaji, and even providing a bilingual glossary in the back or even on the same page. That's where Short Stories in Japanese stands out. It instead challenges the reader to put in some work and really start reading like a Japanese native speaker. Furigana is extremely limited (only appearing above the first instance of a kanji character), there is no romaji, and no glossary. It does, however, provide direct English translations on a separate page, along with translation notes elsewhere in the book. The amount of stories in this reader is also larger than most. There are eight contemporary stories, some with English translations found nowhere else:
- "Concerning the Sound of a Train Whistle in the Night" or "Efficacy on Fiction" by Murakami Haruki
- "A Little Darkness" by Yoshimoto Banana
- "Genjitsu House" by Koike Masayo
- "The Silent Traders" Tsushima Yūko
- "Mogera Wogura" by Kawakami Hiromi
- "The Maiden in the Manger" by Abe Kazushige
- "Where the Bowling Pins Stand" by Ishii Shinji
- "Love Suicide at Kamaara" by Yoshida Sueko
Note that some of these stories contain adult themes. But if you're fine with that, then read on! The vertical Japanese text and limited help will serve as an excellent challenge for any intermediate to advanced learner. Check out the full review here.