Learn Japanese Through the Strange and Fascinating World of Yokai - Volume 4: Kitsune Fox
Fox spirits, nine tails, mysterious stones, secret weddings-and a lot of Japanese along the way.
For centuries, the kitsune has been one of Japan's most fascinating supernatural creatures. Foxes can be clever or dangerous, helpful or deceptive. They transform into beautiful women, create illusions, trick unsuspecting humans, and sometimes leave behind legends that survive to this day.
In this completely revised and expanded edition of Learn Japanese with Yokai! Volume 4, you'll explore three famous pieces of Japanese fox folklore while building your reading, vocabulary, grammar, kanji, and listening skills.
Designed primarily for upper beginners around JLPT N4 and intermediate learners, the Japanese is challenging enough to be interesting but thoroughly supported so you can work through it one sentence at a time.
THREE READINGS FROM THE WORLD OF THE KITSUNE
The Nine-Tailed Fox
Where did Japan's belief in magical, shapeshifting foxes come from? Follow the legend from an ancient Chinese text to the brilliant and mysterious Lady Tamamo-no-Mae at the court of Retired Emperor Toba.
The Legend of the Killing Stone
The story continues as the nine-tailed fox escapes to Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, where soldiers, a Buddhist monk, a deadly stone, and poisonous volcanic gases become tangled together in one of Japan's best-known fox legends.
The Fox's Wedding
Why does Japanese call a sunshower-rain falling while the sun is shining-a kitsune no yomeiri, or "fox's wedding"? This short folktale provides one delightfully fox-like explanation.
BUILT FOR JAPANESE LEARNERS
Each reading takes you through several stages so that you gradually remove the training wheels:
Before You Read
Get essential cultural background and preview important vocabulary and grammar patterns before beginning.
Sentence-by-Sentence Japanese
Work through the story one sentence at a time, with furigana on every kanji, complete vocabulary breakdowns, and clear grammar and cultural notes.
Japanese-Only Reading
Once you've studied the breakdowns, read the complete story again without the explanations.
Review & Practice
Test yourself with true-or-false questions, Japanese comprehension questions, particle exercises, and translation challenges. Complete answer keys are included.
English Summary
Check your comprehension only after giving the Japanese a serious try.
Kanji in Focus
Important kanji receive dedicated study pages with meanings, readings, stroke order, component breakdowns, example words, and memory aids.
FREE AUDIO, DIGITAL EXTRAS, AND APP ACCESS
Every story includes native-speaker audio at two speeds: slow and clear for careful listening practice and natural speed for training your ear.
Your purchase also unlocks bonus learning materials, including Anki vocabulary decks, PDF and EPUB editions, and other updates and extras. Audio can be downloaded without creating an account.
Even better, every sentence in the book is available in the Makoto+ Japanese Explorer, on the web and in the free Makoto app for iOS and Android. Listen to individual sentences, explore word-by-word breakdowns, review vocabulary, and reinforce what you have learned with quizzes and games. Your book includes free unlimited access to the material from this volume.
Read the Japanese. Understand how it works. Listen to it. Test yourself. Then read it again on your own.
And along the way, discover why Japan's foxes have been causing trouble for centuries.
