What you get
5 eBooks + audio + Anki flashcards + app access
It's a digital bundle, so nothing is shipped. Right after checkout we email you a link to download:
How each book works
Read, listen, read it through, check
- ReadEach sentence on its own page, with furigana and every word explained.
- ListenHear the essay slowly, then at natural speed.
- Read it throughThe whole essay without furigana, as a Japanese reader sees it.
- CheckThen the English translation, to see how much you understood.
Each essay comes with photos of the real places and objects it describes.
JLPT N4 to N3, CEFR A2 to B1 · Best after Genki II
What's inside
5 eBooks, 10 eras of Japanese history
Two eras to a book, in order, so you read how Japan became Japan.
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Step 1
Jōmon and Yayoi
縄文・弥生: cord-marked pottery, the arrival of rice farming, and Queen Himiko.
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Step 2
Kofun and Asuka
古墳・飛鳥: giant tombs like the 486-meter Daisenryō Kofun, then Empress Suiko, Japan's first female emperor, and Prince Shōtoku.
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Step 3
Nara and Heian
奈良・平安: the Great Buddha, a new capital, and the court of The Tale of Genji.
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Step 4
Kamakura and Muromachi
鎌倉・室町: the samurai take power, and the age of the Golden Pavilion.
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Step 5
Sengoku and Edo
戦国・江戸: warring lords, then two and a half centuries of peace, until the black ships arrive.
- Volume 6, Taishō and Shōwa, comes to you free
Look inside
One sentence, taken apart
古墳というのは、土を盛り上げて造った大きな有力者のお墓です。
古墳というのは、土を盛り上げて造った大きな有力者のお墓です。
“Kofun are large tombs of influential people built on piles of soil.”
From Volume 2. On its own page, the book explains every word: 盛り上げて (by piling up, the て-form of 盛り上げる), 造った (built), 有力者 (an influential person) and お墓 (a tomb).
In the app too
Read and listen in the Makoto+ app
All 5 books unlock in the Makoto+ Japanese Explorer app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and on the web. Here is Volume 2 in the app, and the Kofun essay with each word's JLPT level and pitch accent. One link in your download adds them all.
- Hear any sentence at normal or slow speed
- Turn furigana on or off
- Every word with its JLPT level and pitch accent
- Save words to review
- Pick up where you left off
Who it's for
- Pay once, keep them forever
- Free updates forever
- Instant download
- 60-day money-back guarantee
Questions
What do I get?
5 eBooks as PDF, ePub and Kobo files, MP3s of all ten essays at slow and natural speed, 10 Anki decks, a vocabulary cheat sheet for each book sorted by JLPT level, and app access for all five.
How do I download it?
Right after checkout we email you a download link. Download everything at once on a computer, or open single books on your phone or tablet. You don't need Dropbox or any other account.
Can I read them on my phone or Kindle?
Yes. The ePub files work in Apple Books, Google Play Books and most reading apps, and the PDFs open anywhere. Our eBook guide walks you through each device.
Which books unlock in the Makoto+ app?
All five, both essays in each. Your download includes one link that adds them all to the app and the website.
What level is it?
Upper beginner to intermediate, about JLPT N4 to N3. On the line-by-line pages every kanji has furigana and every word is explained. Brand new to Japanese? Start with Beri-Beri Shoshinsha.
Will there be more books?
Yes. Volume 6, on the Taishō and Shōwa periods, is on the way, and every new volume is added to your bundle free.
Is a printed version included?
No, this is the digital bundle, but the PDFs print well if you like paper.
What if it isn't right for me?
Tell us within 60 days and we'll swap it for a better-fitting bundle or refund you in full.
TheJapanShop.com bundles are books you own. Makoto+ is a library you join. See how they compare
We run two main sites: TheJapanShop.com and MakotoPlus.com. Here's the gist:
Books you own
TheJapanShop.com bundles
- Pay once and keep it forever
- Download every book: PDF, ePub and MP3 audio, plus Anki decks with many bundles
- Free updates forever, including new volumes we add to the bundle
- Most bundles also unlock in the Makoto app by themselves, as the full eBook plus interactive sentences
- 60-day money-back guarantee
A library you join
Makoto+ membership
- Free, monthly or yearly plans
- Interactive stories in the Makoto app: about a dozen free, dozens with Samurai, up to 200 with Shogun
- Stories in the membership rotate monthly
- A new Makoto magazine issue every month to download and keep (Samurai and Shogun)
- Members save 10% (Samurai) or 20% (Shogun) on bundles
Join once, for good
Makoto+ Lifetime
- Shogun membership for life, with one payment
- Everything we add to Makoto+ later is included
- Bundle downloads are not included, but your 20% member discount works on them
- Sold only during limited-time windows
Many learners do both. The free Makoto+ Japanese Explorer App (iPhone/iPad and Android) puts them side by side: the books you own and the stories in your membership, in one library.
Try before you buy
Read a Kofun sample free
Flip through pages from Volume 2: The Kofun and Asuka Periods, exactly as they appear in the book: the start of the Kofun essay line by line, then the essay in Japanese and in English. Then hear the whole essay read at slow and natural speed.
Trouble viewing? Open the sample PDF in a new tab.
古墳時代 (the Kofun essay) Slow speed
古墳時代 (the Kofun essay) Natural speed
Every era in the bundle comes the same way: line by line, then the whole essay, then in English, with audio at both speeds.
