The kappa, the river creature every Japanese child knows, in a folklore reader for upper beginners who want to improve their reading, listening and cultural understanding, one strange creature at a time.
The 3 pieces in this book
- What is the Kappa?
- A Kappa Mummy
- A Kappa Repays a Debt
How each piece is laid out
- Line by line. Each sentence gets its own page, with furigana over every kanji and the vocabulary and grammar explained underneath.
- The whole piece again in Japanese, without the notes, so you can read it straight through.
- Native audio. Yumi reads every piece at normal speed and slowly. Scan the QR code on the page to listen.
- Exercises after every piece: comprehension questions, particle fill-ins and more, with an answer key.
- An English translation of every piece, close enough to the Japanese to check yourself against.
- Kanji in Focus. The key kanji with readings, meaning, parts and stroke order.
What you get
- The paperback, 2026 Revised Edition: 155 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches.
- The eBook and audio, right away. PDF, ePub, MP3 audio and an Anki flashcard deck, ready to download as soon as you order. No waiting for the mail.
- The book in the Makoto+ Japanese Explorer app (iPhone, iPad and Android). It unlocks automatically for the email you order with, and the unlock code is printed in the back of the book too.
This is Volume 1 of Learn Japanese with Yokai. Prefer to go all digital? The Learn Japanese with Yokai bundle has all six volumes as eBooks with audio.
Buy 3 Clay & Yumi paperbacks, get a 4th free. Mix any titles. The discount is applied automatically at checkout.
Ships from the US to anywhere in the world.
Learn Japanese with Yokai Volume 1: The Kappa is a 155-page paperback reader (2026 Revised Edition) in the Learn Japanese with Yokai series: Japanese with full furigana, line-by-line vocabulary and grammar notes, the text again without notes, an English translation, and native audio. The code printed in the back unlocks the book in the free Makoto+ Japanese Explorer app for iPhone, iPad and Android, where you can tap any word for its reading and meaning.
