Learn Japanese with Yokai! The Kappa

Unlock your Japanese with the help of a cucumber-loving river goblin.

Written for upper beginners (around JLPT N4) and up. This edition has been completely revised and expanded.

NEW IN THIS EDITION

Furigana over every kanji, so nothing stops you mid-sentence.

A rebuilt Kanji in Focus section. Forty-two characters, one per page, each with stroke-order diagrams, readings, meanings, a breakdown of its parts, and a memory hook.

Before You Read notes that set up each story without spoiling it.

Review and Practice exercises after every story, with a full answer key.

Classic ukiyo-e woodblock prints, with notes on the artist, the scene, and the history behind them.

QR codes on every story page for instant audio.

Revised vocabulary and grammar notes throughout, and a new layout built for easier reading.

ALSO INCLUDED, FREE

PDF and ePub versions, plus a Stories Only edition with furigana for clean reading practice.

Audio recordings at slow and natural speed, narrated by Yumi. (Direct download inside)

An Anki flashcard deck with pitch accents and example sentences.

The same stories in our Makoto Japanese Explorer app. The unlock code inside the book adds this volume to your app library, so you can study the same sentences on your phone.

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Meet the kappa, one of Japan's most iconic yokai. With a shell on its back and a dish of water on its head, this river creature is equal parts mischievous and mysterious. It might teach you medicine, or it might try to drag you into a river. (Kappa are like that.)

Three stories:

What is the Kappa? An introduction to the creature and its lore.

A Kappa Mummy. A curious tale of a real discovery in Kyushu.

A Kappa Repays a Debt. A classic story of kindness and gratitude.

Each story appears three ways:

Line-by-line Japanese with furigana and full vocabulary and grammar breakdowns.

A Japanese-only version, to read without the training wheels.

A full English translation for backup. We recommend using it last, not first.

WHY LEARN JAPANESE WITH YOKAI?

Because textbooks are fine, but yokai are memorable. And some of them lick ceilings. (There really is one that does--not the kappa, though.)

These readers are built to be friendly to learners without watering down the Japanese. Whether you are studying alone or just want something better than grammar drills, you get plain-English grammar explanations, full sentence breakdowns that show how the pieces fit together, professional audio, and a flashcard deck that does the drilling for you.

IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Upper beginners around JLPT N4 who want real reading practice with support.

Intermediate learners who want to deepen their grammar and cultural knowledge.

Anyone curious about yokai, Japanese folklore, or cucumbers.

If you are ready to meet a talking turtle-thing that might save your life or steal your lunch, this is your book.

For the audio, PDFs, Anki deck, and app unlock code, see the download page listed inside the book. Some features require a free Makoto+ account to activate, but all bonus material is completely free of charge (once you buy this book).