Go to any bookstore in Japan these days and you are likely to see a number of different books that deal with the Japanese language. These are not, however, textbooks designed for children or foreign students; they are aimed at demonstrating the beauty and charm of the language and teaching the proper use of vocabulary to ordinary Japanese that already speak and read it every day. One of these books has sold upwards of 1.2 million copies since it was published last September.

Self-Improvement
Major bookstores have been setting up Japanese corners in response to this demand. In March major retalier Books Sanseido set up in its store in Tokyo's Kanda district, an area famous for its concentration of bookstores, a corner filled with 35 books related to the Japanese language. Yaesu Book Center, located in the business district around Tokyo Station, opened its own corner in May, stocked with 30 different books on the subject.

Takeshi Shibata is a scholar of Japanese, and his book Joshiki toshite shitte okitai Nihongo (Common-sense Japanese) was written with young people in mind. According to the editor, many young people do not read books and are unable to understand orthodox Japanese words and phrases. The majority of the people buying Shibata's book, however, are middle-aged and older. A spokesperson for the publisher explains its popularity, saying, "Middle-aged and older people feel a sense of uncertainty about their own level of knowledge, and this is a generation that wants to continue learning. They feel uncertain even about their mother tongue, so they purchase this book."

Another book that is proving to be quite popular is Nihongo kansatsu noto (Observations on Japanese), written by author Hisashi Inoue. Inoue offers his observations on the interesting words that are used in newspapers, on the radio and TV, and on the street. Some feel that his analysis of words can be read as commentary on the changing times. Explaining the popularity of his book and books on the Japanese language in general, Inoue says, "When uncertainty builds in society, people consider whether something is wrong with themselves and seek answers. People want to examine history and language to be able to get a new perspective on themselves."

Feeling the Words
The book that sparked the boom, having sold more than 1.2 million copies since its release in September 2001, is Koe ni dashite yomitai Nihongo (Japanese you'll want to read aloud), written by educator Takashi Saito. Saito stresses the necessity of reading aloud as he points out flaws in the way Japanese has been taught in schools recently. He says, "The subject matter and the ideas are taught, but what is not imparted to students is the style that could be called the life of the words. . . . The way the words are written is the breath of the author, and the true meaning cannot be understood without reading them aloud."

Saito wanted to put together a book that would be useful in reviving the practice of reading aloud, so he set out to collect passages from old writings, novels from the recent past, and folk tales that would be appropriate. Included in the book is the poem "Take" (Bamboo) by the famous early-twentieth-century poet Sakutaro Hagiwara. Some readers have said that they actually experienced cold shivers while reading the poem, and at the end of the book Saito described Hagiwara's style as a type of "eroticism." Many readers agreed with this description and experienced the power of the words by speaking them. This book and its unique perspective have impressed a large number of readers.

The Japanese language boom underway now is not an entirely new phenomenon. Nihongo renshucho (Japanese exercise book), which was written by Japanese linguist Susumu Ohno, was published in 1999 and sold hundreds of thousands of copies. This book demonstrates to readers how to get into the right frame of mind and what kind of training to pursue in order to improve one's ability to read and write Japanese. And even before this volume was released, there have been scores of books that teach people how to write better. The current boom, though, is taking place on an unprecedented scale and shows no sign of slowing down.