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レベル別日本語多読ライブラリー (Japanese Graded Readers)
レベル別日本語多読ライブラリー (Japanese Graded Readers): Level 2, Volume 1
The Japanese Graded Reader series meets the need of the learners of Japanese who want to learn and enjoy reading/listening in Japanese. Each reader is written and edited with care to every detail so you can enjoy reading and absorb tons of Japanese without a dictionary. -Five levels for the beginning to intermediate learners. Ranges from folk tales, fiction, biographies, history, and culture. -Every kanji has its reading printed next to it, and also every katakana up to Level 3. -Vocabulary and grammar are controlled throughout. -Vocabulary outside the control list are made clear through paraphrasing and/or illustrations. -CD recording with sound effects makes reading, listening and shadowing much fun. This is the second half of our beginner level textbook series featuring 1,500 to 2,500 characters and 500 vocabulary words per volume. Level 2 offers more challenging vocabulary and grammar and longer reading passages. (Includes 5 volum
- GenresJapanese LiteratureJapan
111 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2006
4 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Nihongo Tadoku Kenkyūkai
16 books14 followersNihongo Tadoku Kenkyūkai (日本語多読研究会) is an organization devoted to producing accessible reading material for Japanese learners at any level.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 12, 2021
This set has five booklets each consisting of around 20 pages. The set is ideal for beginners in Japanese with knowledge of kana and elementary skills in grammar. It’s perfect for young children studying but also for foreigners who whish to read original texts that aren’t too hard and repeat certain grammatical patterns and vocabulary.
There are kanji in the texts but everything is accompanied by furigana, perfect for those wishing to train their kanji knowledge without having to fear to stuck on a word because you don’t know how to pronounce it.
Every story is accompanied by pictures making it easier to understand what’s going on and breaking the monotony of the simplistic writing style.
The first story is E sugata oku-san (The Wife’s Portrait or The Portrait Wife). It’s about a peasant in feudal Japan who neglects his fields because he prefers staring at his beautiful wife (which I assume is the child friendly version of “they shagged every day”). She draws him her face on a piece of paper, which he then hangs on a tree near the fields so he goes back to work. One day the paper gets swept away by the wind and is found by a daimyō (feudal lord) who lets his footmen get her so he can marry her. Before they take her with them, she gives her husband the seed of a peach tree. She tells him to grow it and it’ll bear fruits in three years. Sad and crying he does as she said and plants the seed. Three years later the peaches are ripe. The peasant goes to town to sell them and loudly screams “Delicious peaches!”. Upon hearing this, the peasant’s wife, now the daimyō’s wife, laughs. The daimyō is surprise because until then she had never laughed. He lets the peasant into the castle and exchanges clothes with him, making his wife laugh by imitating the peach seller (aka peasant). For whatever reason, the daimyō walks out of the castle and the guard won’t let him back in because he thinks the daimyō is the peasant and he hates that “dirty” lot. The peasant and his wife live happily ever after in the daimyō’s castle.
This story amused me for two reasons. The first one being the fact that the peasant stopped working because his wife is so beautiful which I read as a euphemism for “they had sex all the time”.
The second reason is the daimyō. Of course it’s almost impossible for the daimyō NOT to be recognized by his people and sooner or later his closest advisers would have realized that the guy in the daimyō’s clothes is an impostor.
So instead of doubting the fable-like story I decided to assume that everyone knew the new guy was NOT the daimyō because the former one just sucked or one of the advisers seized the opportunity to use the peasant as a puppet to control the lands. Suddenly we have an interesting story of intrigues, betrayal, and political power.
The second story is Momotarō, one of the child friendly versions. I’ll copy/paste the story from Wikipedia because it’s a well-known tale from Japan.
I once wrote a paper on Japanese World War II propaganda and one recurring topos is Momotarō as the ideal war hero defeating the demonic enemy. Because the story is so well known and meant for children it was a piece of cake to integrate it into propaganda. A simple image was enough for the viewer to know: “We are meant to be Momotarō and kill the demons.” Of course, the Westerners were the demons.
There are hundreds of images depicting the Western forces via Churchill and Roosevelt as demons.
Churchill and Roosevelt as demons feasting on human remains. No, the pictures weren’t subtle at all.
There are even some anime with Momotarō fighting and killing with his cute, furry animal friends the evil demons with machine guns and war airplanes, e.g.: Momotarō’s Devine Sea Warriors
While reading the book I couldn’t shake of the many propaganda images I had studied which made the experience all the more hilarious because the story in the book is so innocent and cutesy.
The third story – Christmas Present – is about a poor couple living in the 19s in New York. The wife cuts her hair to be able to afford a golden chain for her husband’s golden pocket watch, an heirloom of his deceased father. It’s no surprise when I tell you that he sold that watch to be able to buy her a silver comb and hair needle for her beautiful long hair.
This predictable and sad story was presented as a model for perfect love and happiness. I personally found it just sad and the irony made me want to punch the author.
Tonkii, the Elephant is the fourth story. Tonkii arrives at the Zoo in Tokyo in 1924 only 8 years old. The smart and kind animal quickly bonds with its care taker Shinichi. The story is told in different intervals showing the daily life of Tonkii. The ending is brutal.
It’s the year 1943 and politicians decide to kill all animals in the zoo as precaution, fearing that the bombings of Tokyo might demolish the zoo, making an escape possible. Nobody wants a loose tiger in the city.
The zoo director and his employees have no other option but to poison all animals. But Tonkii refuses to eat the poisoned food, so its caretaker Shinichi visits the poor thing every day, while Tonkii performs her tricks every day to get rewarded with food. But Shinichi isn’t allowed to feed her. Slowly and painfully Tonkii starves to death and dies at the age of 27.
Two years later Japan lost the war.
Yes, that’s how the story ends: the elephant is dead and the war is over.
Honestly, this story was incredibly sad, even if it was simplistically written. Shinichi took care of her for 19 years and had to see her die, begging for food and love (elephants are herd animals and create loving bonds for live), was horrible. They drew her begging for attention and food, as well as her skeletal dead body. Honestly heart-braking.
The last book is called Ikkyū-san. It’s about the monk Ikkyū-san’s early years as an apprentice outsmarting his abbot and the shogun. Funny and cute anecdotes.
On the whole, I like the set. The stories were easy to understand, yet entertained perfectly. The pictures were cute and drawn differently in each story. The repetition of kanji, phrases, and grammatical sets helped memorizing them.
There are five different levels – zero to four – and this one is level 2, the intermediate one. I might check out if our library has the other sets as well, maybe even volume two of this level. Theoretically the set has also a CD but the librarian forgot to put it back in, which is a pity. I would’ve liked to listen to the story after reading. Japanese audio stories are fantastic and listening to it would have helped repeating grammar and vocabulary. Listening to natives talking is also great for practicing the rhythm of a language.
If you’re looking for easy stories to practice your Japanese but don’t want to get bored or read an overly long text, this set is for you.
There are kanji in the texts but everything is accompanied by furigana, perfect for those wishing to train their kanji knowledge without having to fear to stuck on a word because you don’t know how to pronounce it.
Every story is accompanied by pictures making it easier to understand what’s going on and breaking the monotony of the simplistic writing style.
The first story is E sugata oku-san (The Wife’s Portrait or The Portrait Wife). It’s about a peasant in feudal Japan who neglects his fields because he prefers staring at his beautiful wife (which I assume is the child friendly version of “they shagged every day”). She draws him her face on a piece of paper, which he then hangs on a tree near the fields so he goes back to work. One day the paper gets swept away by the wind and is found by a daimyō (feudal lord) who lets his footmen get her so he can marry her. Before they take her with them, she gives her husband the seed of a peach tree. She tells him to grow it and it’ll bear fruits in three years. Sad and crying he does as she said and plants the seed. Three years later the peaches are ripe. The peasant goes to town to sell them and loudly screams “Delicious peaches!”. Upon hearing this, the peasant’s wife, now the daimyō’s wife, laughs. The daimyō is surprise because until then she had never laughed. He lets the peasant into the castle and exchanges clothes with him, making his wife laugh by imitating the peach seller (aka peasant). For whatever reason, the daimyō walks out of the castle and the guard won’t let him back in because he thinks the daimyō is the peasant and he hates that “dirty” lot. The peasant and his wife live happily ever after in the daimyō’s castle.
This story amused me for two reasons. The first one being the fact that the peasant stopped working because his wife is so beautiful which I read as a euphemism for “they had sex all the time”.
The second reason is the daimyō. Of course it’s almost impossible for the daimyō NOT to be recognized by his people and sooner or later his closest advisers would have realized that the guy in the daimyō’s clothes is an impostor.
So instead of doubting the fable-like story I decided to assume that everyone knew the new guy was NOT the daimyō because the former one just sucked or one of the advisers seized the opportunity to use the peasant as a puppet to control the lands. Suddenly we have an interesting story of intrigues, betrayal, and political power.
The second story is Momotarō, one of the child friendly versions. I’ll copy/paste the story from Wikipedia because it’s a well-known tale from Japan.
According to the present form of the tale (dating to the Edo period), Momotarō came to Earth inside a giant peach, which was found floating down a river by an old, childless woman who was washing clothes there. The woman and her husband discovered the child when they tried to open the peach to eat it. The child explained that he had been sent by Heaven to be their son. The couple named him Momotarō, from momo (peach) and tarō (eldest son in the family).
Years later, Momotarō left his parents to fight a band of marauding oni (demons or ogres) on a distant island. En route, Momotarō met and befriended a talking dog, monkey, and pheasant, who agreed to help him in his quest. At the island, Momotarō and his animal friends penetrated the demons' fort and beat the band of demons into surrendering. Momotarō and his new friends returned home with the demons' plundered treasure and the demon chief as a captive. Momotarō and his family lived comfortably from then on.
1885 English Momotaro published by Hasegawa Takejirō.
Momotarō is strongly associated with Okayama, and his tale may have its origins there. The demon island (Onigashima (鬼ヶ島?)) of the story is sometimes associated with Megijima Island, an island in the Seto Inland Sea near Takamatsu, due to the vast manmade caves found on that island.
I once wrote a paper on Japanese World War II propaganda and one recurring topos is Momotarō as the ideal war hero defeating the demonic enemy. Because the story is so well known and meant for children it was a piece of cake to integrate it into propaganda. A simple image was enough for the viewer to know: “We are meant to be Momotarō and kill the demons.” Of course, the Westerners were the demons.
There are hundreds of images depicting the Western forces via Churchill and Roosevelt as demons.
Churchill and Roosevelt as demons feasting on human remains. No, the pictures weren’t subtle at all.
There are even some anime with Momotarō fighting and killing with his cute, furry animal friends the evil demons with machine guns and war airplanes, e.g.: Momotarō’s Devine Sea Warriors
While reading the book I couldn’t shake of the many propaganda images I had studied which made the experience all the more hilarious because the story in the book is so innocent and cutesy.
The third story – Christmas Present – is about a poor couple living in the 19s in New York. The wife cuts her hair to be able to afford a golden chain for her husband’s golden pocket watch, an heirloom of his deceased father. It’s no surprise when I tell you that he sold that watch to be able to buy her a silver comb and hair needle for her beautiful long hair.
This predictable and sad story was presented as a model for perfect love and happiness. I personally found it just sad and the irony made me want to punch the author.
Tonkii, the Elephant is the fourth story. Tonkii arrives at the Zoo in Tokyo in 1924 only 8 years old. The smart and kind animal quickly bonds with its care taker Shinichi. The story is told in different intervals showing the daily life of Tonkii. The ending is brutal.
It’s the year 1943 and politicians decide to kill all animals in the zoo as precaution, fearing that the bombings of Tokyo might demolish the zoo, making an escape possible. Nobody wants a loose tiger in the city.
The zoo director and his employees have no other option but to poison all animals. But Tonkii refuses to eat the poisoned food, so its caretaker Shinichi visits the poor thing every day, while Tonkii performs her tricks every day to get rewarded with food. But Shinichi isn’t allowed to feed her. Slowly and painfully Tonkii starves to death and dies at the age of 27.
Two years later Japan lost the war.
Yes, that’s how the story ends: the elephant is dead and the war is over.
Honestly, this story was incredibly sad, even if it was simplistically written. Shinichi took care of her for 19 years and had to see her die, begging for food and love (elephants are herd animals and create loving bonds for live), was horrible. They drew her begging for attention and food, as well as her skeletal dead body. Honestly heart-braking.
The last book is called Ikkyū-san. It’s about the monk Ikkyū-san’s early years as an apprentice outsmarting his abbot and the shogun. Funny and cute anecdotes.
On the whole, I like the set. The stories were easy to understand, yet entertained perfectly. The pictures were cute and drawn differently in each story. The repetition of kanji, phrases, and grammatical sets helped memorizing them.
There are five different levels – zero to four – and this one is level 2, the intermediate one. I might check out if our library has the other sets as well, maybe even volume two of this level. Theoretically the set has also a CD but the librarian forgot to put it back in, which is a pity. I would’ve liked to listen to the story after reading. Japanese audio stories are fantastic and listening to it would have helped repeating grammar and vocabulary. Listening to natives talking is also great for practicing the rhythm of a language.
If you’re looking for easy stories to practice your Japanese but don’t want to get bored or read an overly long text, this set is for you.
June 9, 2020
This is Level 2 in a series of graded readers. These are intended for learners of Japanese. (But can work for kids as well!) They start at Level 0 and go up to Level 4, encompassing JLPT levels N5 to about N3/N2. The sets come with audio to read along with the stories, and for levels 0, 1, and 2 (haven't read the others yet), furigana for all kanji (and katakana).
The volumes in level two are rated at JLPT N4, with about 1500-2500 characters, and 500 vocabulary words. (Each story is about 20 pages.) I honestly feel like this book is still approachable for someone who is N5, transitioning to N4. Given how expensive these books are, if you're at a beginner level, I would recommend this set. There's a lot of free content out there for basic basic stuff in N5. Having something more professionally tailored, with a bit more of a challenge, I think could be a worthwhile investment. (More than level 0 and 1, if you could only buy one.) To be clear: these books aren't necessary to pass the JLPT, so if you are short on cash or on the fence, it's not a must-have--but they are still quite useful and entertaining!
In case you aren't aware: these do not come with translations! There is no English when it comes to these books. The point is to really immerse yourself.
I actually like the length of these stories best so far. The others are so short, it's hard to really get going before you stop. If you were looking to pick one of these to buy and use for studying, this one seems like a good place to start!
For the stories:
-The first story didn't go the direction I thought it was. A man and a woman were happily married. The man was so in love with the beauty of his wife, he could not work. So she painted him a portrait he could take with him to the field. Probably my favorite of the bunch.
-The second story is based off an old Japanese folktale. One day, an old woman finds a giant peach in the river. She takes it back home to cut it up and eat it, but there's a surprise inside! This one was quite cute.
-The third story is probably a well known one, or at least a predictable one if you haven't heard of it xD It's Christmas in New York. Problem is, Dela and Jim don't have any money for presents.
-The fourth story brought some tears, heads up. This having really happened hurts the most. A new elephant is brought to Tokyo Ueno Zoo. Everyone loved him, and it was great. But then the war began.
-The last story comprised of three short stories about Ikkyu, a young and quick-witted monk who lived during the Edo period. Just a few cute funny stories.
Like the previous ones, it was nice to have access to audio with these stories. As many resources for reading out there that there are, accompanying audio is a little rare.
The prices for these sets are quite expensive. More than I think they're worth, to be honest. (My only reason for 4/5 stars.) Like I've said, it's not a requirement to get these, and there are many other free or cheaper resources out there you can use. I was lucky that they offered this book and audio for free online for a short period, so I definitely took advantage of it. (You might be able to find or convince your local library to get them!) But don't feel pressured to get these just because they're popular.
Best of luck with your studies!
The volumes in level two are rated at JLPT N4, with about 1500-2500 characters, and 500 vocabulary words. (Each story is about 20 pages.) I honestly feel like this book is still approachable for someone who is N5, transitioning to N4. Given how expensive these books are, if you're at a beginner level, I would recommend this set. There's a lot of free content out there for basic basic stuff in N5. Having something more professionally tailored, with a bit more of a challenge, I think could be a worthwhile investment. (More than level 0 and 1, if you could only buy one.) To be clear: these books aren't necessary to pass the JLPT, so if you are short on cash or on the fence, it's not a must-have--but they are still quite useful and entertaining!
In case you aren't aware: these do not come with translations! There is no English when it comes to these books. The point is to really immerse yourself.
I actually like the length of these stories best so far. The others are so short, it's hard to really get going before you stop. If you were looking to pick one of these to buy and use for studying, this one seems like a good place to start!
For the stories:
-The first story didn't go the direction I thought it was. A man and a woman were happily married. The man was so in love with the beauty of his wife, he could not work. So she painted him a portrait he could take with him to the field. Probably my favorite of the bunch.
-The second story is based off an old Japanese folktale. One day, an old woman finds a giant peach in the river. She takes it back home to cut it up and eat it, but there's a surprise inside! This one was quite cute.
-The third story is probably a well known one, or at least a predictable one if you haven't heard of it xD It's Christmas in New York. Problem is, Dela and Jim don't have any money for presents.
-The fourth story brought some tears, heads up. This having really happened hurts the most. A new elephant is brought to Tokyo Ueno Zoo. Everyone loved him, and it was great. But then the war began.
-The last story comprised of three short stories about Ikkyu, a young and quick-witted monk who lived during the Edo period. Just a few cute funny stories.
Like the previous ones, it was nice to have access to audio with these stories. As many resources for reading out there that there are, accompanying audio is a little rare.
The prices for these sets are quite expensive. More than I think they're worth, to be honest. (My only reason for 4/5 stars.) Like I've said, it's not a requirement to get these, and there are many other free or cheaper resources out there you can use. I was lucky that they offered this book and audio for free online for a short period, so I definitely took advantage of it. (You might be able to find or convince your local library to get them!) But don't feel pressured to get these just because they're popular.
Best of luck with your studies!
November 26, 2016
Perfect 5 little stories for Japanese learners. They contain several grammatical rules and some new vocabulary. They are suitable for JLPT N4 level students (beginners).
The CD that comes with the books is an added bonus, you'd be able to hear the stories to know how any new words are pronounced properly.
The CD that comes with the books is an added bonus, you'd be able to hear the stories to know how any new words are pronounced properly.
April 30, 2022
The third story was really unnecessary. So that sucked. The rest were good though. I mean they're children stories
August 4, 2022
Love iiit
May 1, 2024
В целом всё в порядке, но рано или поздно надоедает читать разрозненные истории. Для аудирования хорошая штука.
June 16, 2019
終わり!
Fantastic collection of books for those looking for something easy to read, or to warmup in wait of the JLPT (N5/N4).
Something I've remarked is that my reading speed went up a grade, which you can't accomplish by simply studying kanji, or vocabulary and grammar.
I would love a Kindle version, since I don't know what to do with the physical books now...
Fantastic collection of books for those looking for something easy to read, or to warmup in wait of the JLPT (N5/N4).
Something I've remarked is that my reading speed went up a grade, which you can't accomplish by simply studying kanji, or vocabulary and grammar.
I would love a Kindle version, since I don't know what to do with the physical books now...
January 13, 2022
As the previous ones, great books to start reading if you have already mastered N5 grammar and you’re halfway through N4. However, I would expect less furigana in the second level, especially for N5 ones which you’re supposed to know. In my modest opinion, this would have been a better choice to train readers memory rather than keep using furigana for kanji like 何.
August 9, 2020
As I've been making my way through the graded readers, Levels 0 and 1 felt a bit easy for where I was at (although that is kind of the point of Tadoku, too). Anyway, I am really enjoying the difficulty level of Level 2. Can't wait to read the rest of them!
May 31, 2020
Simple enough for starters.
August 25, 2023
「象のトンキー」を読みながら、泣きました。とっても悲しかったです。
May 23, 2025
🌸 東京出張 ✦ 安心のデリバリー 🌸
店舗利用なし・ハズレなし・写真はすべて本人📷
女の子は全員、私が直接確認・手配しています。料金も明朗で安心。
✨ 初めての方でもご安心ください ✨
🔹 日本語・中国語・英語対応 🔹
📩 Telegram：@tom7115
📩Gleezy：ka7453
📅 出勤一覧：https://www.556jp.com/
店舗利用なし・ハズレなし・写真はすべて本人📷
女の子は全員、私が直接確認・手配しています。料金も明朗で安心。
✨ 初めての方でもご安心ください ✨
🔹 日本語・中国語・英語対応 🔹
📩 Telegram：@tom7115
📩Gleezy：ka7453
📅 出勤一覧：https://www.556jp.com/
January 2, 2026
fun and easy to read stories
the elephant one made me too sad tho
the elephant one made me too sad tho
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews