20th Century Japanese Stories: The Easy Way to Read, Listen, and Learn from Japanese History and Essays

A dog who waited nine years. A man in a backyard shed who changed how the world eats. A director who reshaped cinema itself.

You already know pieces of these stories. Now read them in Japanese.

20th Century Japanese Stories gives upper-beginner and intermediate learners three true essays from Japan's remarkable century:

The Loyal Dog, Hachiko — The real dog behind the statue at Shibuya Station, and why Japan never forgot him.
The Japanese Man who Invented Instant Ramen — Ando Momofuku, a small shed, and years of failed noodles that ended in Chicken Ramen and Cup Noodle.
World-Renowned Kurosawa — How Kurosawa Akira's films crossed every border and changed filmmaking far beyond Japan.

Fully rebuilt and expanded edition. This volume has been redesigned from the ground up as part of our Japanese History & Essays series:

Before You Read primers — historical background and grammar patterns to watch for, so you start each essay oriented

One sentence per page — furigana on every kanji, complete vocabulary underneath, grammar and culture notes right where you need them

Maps of Japan showing where events took place

NEW: Review & Practice — true-or-false, comprehension, particle, and translation exercises for every story, with a complete answer key

Expanded Kanji in Focus — one full page per key kanji: stroke-order diagram, readings, component parts, and a memory hook

Full Japanese text of each essay for straight-through reading, no training wheels

English summaries for checking your comprehension

NEW: Makoto+ Sentence Explorer — every sentence in this book is also in our interactive web and mobile app for word-by-word practice (unlock code inside)

Free bonus downloads (links in the back of the book): native-speaker audio at two speeds — natural pace and slow & clear — with no sign-up required, plus Anki flashcard decks covering all the vocabulary, and PDF and EPUB editions of the book.

Questions while you read? Our contact information is in the book. We answer.

Read real stories. Learn real Japanese.