True Japanese Language - Fostering Children Who Can Read Thoroughly and Develop as Individuals

Kototogakusha has been conveying its commitment to teaching children 'True Japanese Language' as a cram school and pursuing this through book publications, as previously announced in April Dream and regular news releases.

Our Japanese language teaching materials for 'True Japanese Language' include the 'Active Learning of Japanese: Reading Comprehension Cultivated Through Reading Aloud' series, published in six volumes from 2019 to 2024. We have also continued to publish the 'Super Reading' series since 2023.

This year, 2026 (Reiwa 8), we are diligently preparing to publish 'Super Reading: Rashomon' with a planned release in May. We believe that by reading this work, one of Ryunosuke Akutagawa's representative masterpieces that skillfully expresses the complexity of human psychology, many first-year high school students will transition from junior high school thinking to 'high school thinking methods.' This is likely why the work is included in first-year high school textbooks.

In this book, we have included Akutagawa's 'The Nose' to help 15-year-old high school students gain a deeper understanding of the psychological shifts of the 'servant.'

Super Reading: Rashomon Table of Contents

About the Structure of This Book

From 'Rashomon' to High School Japanese Language, to High School Thinking Methods

Original Text

Reading Chapter I: Explanation of Difficult Terms and Expressions

Reading Chapter II: Let's Read and Understand the Text

Konjaku Monogatarishu 'The Tale of a Thief Who Climbed to the Top of Rashomon Gate and Saw a Dead Body' - Original Text

Konjaku Monogatarishu 'The Tale of a Thief Who Climbed to the Top of Rashomon Gate and Saw a Dead Body' - Modern Japanese Translation

Reading Chapter III: Let's Read and Understand Through Comparison with 'Rashomon...'

Development Chapter I: The Servant's Sense of Justice and Hatred

Let's Read Akutagawa's 'The Nose'

Development Chapter II: Let's Delve Deeper into Human Psychology Through 'The Nose'

Development Chapter III: Let's Think Even Deeper

Afterword

'Super Reading: Rashomon' is scheduled for release around May 20, 2026.

It will be available at physical bookstores, online bookstores, and directly from Kototogakusha.

B5 size, 84 pages, list price 990 yen (900 yen excluding tax). *All are tentative.

◇Information on Previously Published 'Super Reading' Series

・Super Reading 'Maihime' (The Dancing Girl)

Published May 25, 2023

B5 size, 156 pages, list price 1320 yen (1200 yen excluding tax).

This book provides an accurate and easy-to-understand full modern Japanese translation of Mori Ogai's masterpiece 'Maihime,' written in classical Japanese. By reading about the astonishment of the young Ogai and Meiji intellectuals encountering Western civilization, readers can develop the ability to comprehend unknown content and also the ability to read argumentative essays. Furthermore, detailed questions are posed to allow for a close reading of Toyotaro's conflicting emotional movements and his being torn between Elise, Aizawa, and Count Amagata.

・Super Reading 'Sangetsuki' (A Moonlit Night)

Published June 20, 2025

B5 size, 96 pages, list price 990 yen (900 yen excluding tax).

This book is structured to allow readers to relate to the suffering of the talented Li Zheng, who transformed from a human into a tiger because he could not control his 'cowardly self-respect' and 'arrogant shame,' and to understand the anguish of the author, Atsushi Nakajima. Many adult readers have expressed empathy, saying, 'I also recognized that 'cowardly self-respect' and 'arrogant shame' in myself, and the content is deeply relatable.'

Similarly, 'Super Reading: Maihime' has also been well-received by adult readers, with comments such as, 'I was able to understand parts that I couldn't grasp in high school, which was very helpful.' Both titles receive incremental additional orders from distributors each year. They are also available for purchase on Amazon and other online bookstores.

These masterpieces have long been included in high school modern Japanese language textbooks ('Rashomon' in the first year, 'Sangetsuki' in the second year, and 'Maihime' in the third year). They are works that high school students should truly learn in Japanese language studies (Natsume Soseki's 'Kokoro' is also studied in the second year, and we consider it the final goal for the 'Super Reading' series). Engaging directly with difficult texts and grappling with them not only provides a sense of accomplishment upon completion (which is also important for adolescents) but also cultivates logical thinking skills, the stamina to think, and the 'strength as a person' to overcome challenges. People who cannot respond with empathy, who are uniform and mechanical, and who cannot feel the texture of words, likely lack the intellectual stamina developed through reading such texts and cannot see things from both sides.

The first two students who completed the fundamental series 'Active Learning of Japanese: Reading Comprehension Cultivated Through Reading Aloud' have graduated from elementary school this spring. One of them has passed the entrance examination for Keio Junior High School and will be advancing there. Their father commented, 'It is highly significant that true Japanese language learning, not just techniques, has led to solid results in the commercialized world of junior high school entrance exams.'

The other student did not take the entrance exam and will attend Bunkyo Ward Municipal Junior High School, continuing to attend Kototogakusha. Since around last autumn, they have had opportunities to solve past exam papers alongside students preparing for exams, and they achieved scores comparable to those who passed Keio Junior High School's past papers. Both students were initially good at Japanese, but we are proud that they were able to thoroughly read and understand novels and essays at the level of entrance examinations (past papers) due to the considerable contribution of 'Active Learning of Japanese: Reading Comprehension Cultivated Through Reading Aloud.'

With an increasing number of students completing both the 'Active Learning of Japanese' and 'Super Reading' series, we are confident that our 'True Japanese Language' materials foster solid comprehension and reading skills, leading to significant academic growth. Our dream for this year's April Dream is to continue teaching 'True Japanese Language' and to nurture children who can read thoroughly, grasp things deeply, and use heartfelt language, thereby cultivating rich humanity.