Additional narrators include Geoffrey Palmer O.B.E., Sir Donald Sinden, and Elaine Stritch. Music: 'Reverie De Sebastian' by Steve Davies.

    In Toscanelli's map, used by Columbus as the basis of his voyages, “Cipango” occupies a prominent place to the east of Asia, with no American continent between it and Europe. It was the aim of Columbus, and of many subsequent explorers, to find a route to this reputedly rich island and to the eastern shores of Asia. The latitude of the most northern point of Yezo is 45° 35', and the latitude of the most southern point of Kyushu is 31°. The longitude of the most eastern point of Yezo is 146° 17', and the longitude of the most western point of Kyushu is 130° 31'. The four principal islands therefore extend through 14° 35' of latitude and 15° 46' of longitude. The empire consists of four large islands and not less than three thousand small ones. Some of these small islands are large enough to constitute distinct provinces, but the greater part are too small to have a separate political existence, and are attached for administrative purposes to the parts of the large islands opposite to which they lie. The principal island is situated between Yezo on the north and Kyushu on the south. From Omasaki, the northern extremity at the Tsugaru straits, to Tokyo, the capital, the island runs nearly north and south a distance of about 590 miles, and from Tokyo to the Shimonoseki straits the greatest extension of the island is nearly east and west, a distance of about 540 miles. That is, measuring in the direction of the greatest extension, the island is about 1130 miles long. The width of the island is nowhere greater than two hundred miles and for much of its length not more than one hundred miles. The second largest island is Yezo, lying northeast from the Main island and separated from it by the Tsugaru straits. Its longest line is from Cape Shiretoko at its northeast extremity to Cape Shira-kami on Tsugaru straits, about 350 miles; and from its northern point, Cape Soya on the La Perouse straits to Yerimosaki, it measures about 270 miles. The centre of the island is an elevated peak, from which rivers flow in all directions to the ocean. Hakodate the principal port is situated on Tsugaru straits and possesses one of the most commodious harbors of the empire

    A translation, grammar commentary book in conformity with Minna no Nihongo II Main Textbook - Second Edition.

    

    The co mpanion will interest tourists, students and business travel lers to Japan. '

    In this new edition, numerous revisions and additions have been made, taking into account the comments and responses of both students and teachers who have been using the course. In Book I, the revisions are directed at making the grammatical explanations easier to understand, while adding further explanations of points that students have difficulty with. Changes have also been made in favor of more natural practice sentences and dialogues. In addition, new appendices list the particles, interrogatives, and sentence patterns in the book, as well as the kanji introduced. More fundamental revisions have been made to Book II, which has been expanded and divided into two volumes, Book II and Book Ill. The changes result in a smoother transition from Book I, make new grammatical elements clearer, and present more natural practice dialogues and exercise sentences. THE JAPANESE FOR BUSY PEOPLE COURSE This concise course in natural Japanese is ideal for such students as businessmen whose aim is a working knowledge of the spoken language in everyday life. Survival Japanese for Adults, ' as it might be called, gets to the heart of the language without recourse to childish or classroom-only Japanese. Book II consists of twenty lessons in the same format as Book I, with dialogues, notes on grammar, and vocabulary, exercises and quizzes. The dialogues introduce the daily language and life of adult Japanese and, compared with Book I, conversations are more natural and include abbreviated expressions and suitable responses. In this revised Book II, kanji are introduced systematically, and alternate readings, stroke order and associated kanji are given for the characters appearing in each chapter.

     Also, if you have an older (1st or 2nd gen) Kindle, please confirm it will display Japanese before buying. If you bought the Kindle version and the Japanese show as boxes, please contact me for an image version. Perfect for beginning and upper beginning students of Japanese. This affordable Japanese reader contains four complete stories of a clever and mischievous young man, Hikoichi. Get FREE MP3s of the stories read by a native Japanese speaker. Listen while reading. The link to the MP3s is found on the last page. Read--in Japanese--how the wise and young Hikoichi shows his smarts with these four short stories in Japanese. Yes, you can read real Japanese—even if you are just starting out in Japanese. • All Japanese have furigana (printed version) and romaji for those starting out. • Four full traditional Japanese stories about Hikoichi. • Every sentence is broken down word-for-word and with explanation of the grammar. • The full story in Japanese only (without the running gloss) is also provided so you can practice reading without interruption. • Finally, we have included a simple and mostly literal English translation for you to check your understanding (Don’t cheat! Work through the Japanese first!). • Download the FREE MP3s to listen while you study. The first story has the lord of the castle testing Hikoichi in a Solomon-esque question—which young lord is the true young lord? The second story shows choosing the first and most favorable isn't always best. In the end, only Hikoichi can enjoy the cherry blossoms. The third story is about a mysterious, but living umbrella. Some things are just too good to be true. We wrap things up with Hikoichi’s encounter with a Tengu—a mythical creature whose straw raincoat renders its wearer invisible. While beginners to Japanese can get a lot from this, hiragana knowledge is required. Finally, we invite the reader to contact us with questions or requests for future Japanese readers. You will find our personal email addresses in the book. To your Japanese!

    Shop and dine in Shinjuku, catch a sumo tournament, get a bird's-eye view from the Tokyo Sky Tree and day-trip to majestic Mt Fuji; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of the best of Tokyo and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet's Pocket Tokyo:Full-colour maps and images throughoutHighlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interestsInsider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - including eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, and hidden gems that most guidebooks missFree, convenient pull-out Tokyo map (included in print version), plus over 20 colour neighbourhood mapsUser-friendly layout with helpful icons, and organised by neighbourhood to help you determine the best spots to spend your timeUseful features - including Best for Kids, Walking Tours, and Don't Miss (quick glance at must-sees)Coverage of Ginza, Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Asakusa, Mt Fuji and moreThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Pocket Tokyo is a handy guide that literally fits in your pocket, providing on-the-go assistance to travellers who seek only the can't-miss experiences. Colourful and easy-to-use, this neighbourhood-focused guide includes unique local recommendations to maximise your quick-trip experience.Looking for a comprehensive guide that recommends a wide range of experiences, both popular and offbeat, and extensively covers all of Tokyo's neighbourhoods? Check out Lonely Planet's Tokyo guide, a photo-rich guide to all of the city's most popular attractions.Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Japan guide for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer, or Lonely Planet's Discover Japan, a photo-rich guide to the country's most popular attractions.Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet and Rebecca Milner.About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in.TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - The New York Times'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)

    From Omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), Kirei (cleanliness and organisation) and Mottainai (reducing waste) to Zakka (finding beauty in the mundane) and Senbazuru (the origami art of folding one thousand paper cranes), there are so many different ways that the Japanese emphasise the importance of community and helping others.With practical and actionable advice throughout, you can learn how to incorporate Japanese culture and the art of compassion into your daily life, because even the smallest of considerate actions can make a world of difference.

    His missteps, his violent rebellions, his tiny victories. But he is not a passive loser, content to accept all that fate hands him. He attempts one last escape to the edges of the city, holding the only safety net he has known – his dreams.Filled with lyrical longing and humour, Slow Boat captures perfectly the urge to get away and the necessity of finding yourself in a world which might never even be looking for you.

    This whimsical look at “the language of no language” will teach you to hurl insults, flirt, agree, excuse yourself, cross the street, and even make promises—wordlessly! (And who is that stoic guy wearing a suit in all the photos?) Finally, a way to tell someone at a loud party, “Your underwear is showing,” in four easy hand motions. This is a book for the serious student, the class clown, and the crazy guy at Akihabara Station hoping to communicate with Godzilla.Hamiru-aqui is a Japanese artist based in Tokyo.

    Simple in its fundamentals, infinitely complex in its execution, Go is an essential expression of the Japanese spirit. And in his fictional chronicle of a match played between a revered and heretofore invincible Master and a younger and more modern challenger, Yasunari Kawabata captured the moment in which the immutable traditions of imperial Japan met the onslaught of the twentieth century.

    Today it is thought of mainly as a children's story, and Kaguya-hime, the heroine, looks in the illustrations as lovable as Snow-White or Cinderella; there is no suggestions of the heartlessness that is perhaps her most memorable feature. Elements in the narrative recall similar tales from other parts of the world. The tests to which the suitors are subjected resemble the riddles asked by the icy Princess Turandot, or we may recall the three caskets among which the suitors had to choose in The Merchant of Venice. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the tests Kaguya-hime imposes is the humor with which they are related. The second suitor's lyrical description of the magical island of Horai, where he allegedly found the jeweled branch, is interrupted by the mundane demands of the artisans who actually made it. Again, the fourth suitor, at the end of his unsuccessful quest, urges his men to stay away from the vicinity of the house of "that thief of a Kaguya-hime." Such a characterization of the heroine takes us from the realm of the children's story.About thirty-five years ago I first published a translation of The Tales of the Bamboo Cutter in the journal Monumenta Nipponica. A few years later-in the summer of 1965-a Japanese publisher conceived the plan of a book that would incorporate my translation, the translation into modern Japanese by the great novelist Yasunari Kawabata, and illustrations by one of the outstanding contemporary Japanese painters. I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to revise my translation.About this time, I visited an exhibition of kirie (paper-cut pictures) by Masayuki Miyata, and discovered that he had actually completed series of works illustrating The Tale if the Bamboo Cutter. I was delighted that at last it would be possible to realize the project first conceived so many years before. There were still further delays, but at last the book has materialized. [This work] combines the work of unknown Japanese writer of over a thousand years ago, the translation by a master of modern Japanese, illustrations by an outstanding artist, and a translation by an American who has devoted his life to the study of Japanese literature.

    There are over 50,000 entries, including the most common meanings. Japanese terms are shown in romanized Japanese and standard Japanese characters. The romanized entries are listed in alphabetical order, so no knowledge of Japanese is required.

    Also instantly learn the alphabet order. Trying to learn Korean using English letters is not just a waste of time, it can cause you a great deal of embarrassment! Learn to read, write and pronounce Korean the right way. Save yourself the time and possible embarrassment by getting it right. If you're interested in Taekwondo, Korean drama, or Korean pop singers, or a student of Korean language, this is the place to start. This book is a system that uses mnemonics to teach you the sounds so you can easily remember the Korean alphabet. You'll get sample vocabulary to both re-enforce and remember each character, and samples of each character as they appear both typed and handwritten. You'll also get complete, stroke-by-stroke, diagrams on how to write each letter.