Kintaro - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Once upon a time there was a boy who lived with his mother on Mt. Ashigara. His name was Kintaro, and he was very strong from the day he was born.

Kasajizo - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
This is a Japanese folk tale beginning: A long time ago in a small village in Japan there lived a poor old man and his wife. One day, as New Year's drew near, the wife looked in her rice chest and found that there was hardly any rice left.

Kaguya Hime - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Long, long ago in Japan, there lived a poor woodsman. One day, he was cutting bamboo in a grove when he came upon one stalk of bamboo glowing a bright, golden color. Finding this mysterious, he approached it for a closer look.

Kachikachi-yama - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Long long ago there lived a kind-hearted old farmer and his wife. The two made friends with a rabbit that lived in the mountains nearby, and came to love it as if it were their own daughter.

Issun-boshi - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Long, long ago there lived a sweet old couple. Having no children but desiring one very much, they went to the shrine and prayed, "Please, please let us have a child, no matter how small." Eventually, a son was born to them. But small indeed was the child--no larger than a grown man's fingertip.

Hanasaka Jiisan - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Once upon a time in a remote mountain village in Japan there lived an honest old man and his wife. The old man was out plowing his field one day when a little white puppy came fleeing toward him, crying.

Bunbuku Chagama - Folk Legends - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
One day, Jinbei the junkman was on his way home from town as usual with a cart full of junk he had bought that day. Suddenly, he heard loud, jeering voices, and he turned around to see several boys chasing around and bullying a girl. "Hey, boys! Stop being mean to her!" shouted Jinbei.

Haiku: World’s Shortest Form of Poetry 2 - What's Cool - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Haiku is a short poem, consisting of just three lines, but it can capture natural scenery or scenes from our daily lives and can tell a story. It is popular around the world as a style of literature in which anyone, both adults and children, can freely express themselves and enjoy creating poems.

Haiku: World’s Shortest Form of Poetry 1 - What's Cool - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Haiku is a short poem, consisting of just three lines, but it can capture natural scenery or scenes from our daily lives and can tell a story. It is popular around the world as a style of literature in which anyone, both adults and children, can freely express themselves and enjoy creating poems.

Japan Links:Culture:Literature:Literature
Literature Literature About This Site Web Japan > Japan Links > Culture > Literature Literature Association of Haiku Poets Inc. Haijin Kyokai

One Thousand Years of Genji | Pop Culture | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Trends in Japan | Web Japan One Thousand Years of Genji World's Oldest Novel Continues To Inspire This site uses JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings. 中文 search Go to

School Ghost Stories - What's Cool in Japan - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
During the summer, ghost stories are shared by students at elementary and middle schools throughout Japan. Many of these stories use schools as the backdrop, and this sometimes causes a small panic to erupt in the classroom. School ghost stories have been around for quite some time, but they show no signs of falling out of fashion.

Miyazawa - Monthly News - Archives - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan
Exhibitions and events marking the centennial of the birth of the poetic and literary giant Kenji Miyazawa were attended by many Japanese over the summer. Born on August 27, 1896, in rural Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, Miyazawa produced many poems and children's stories while teaching at Hanamaki Agricultural High School.

Comic Essays Offer Glimpses of Otaku Life | Pop Culture | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Trends in Japan | Web Japan Comic Essays Offer Glimpses of Otaku Life New Manga Format a Hit with Readers of Both Genders This site uses JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settin

Enough to Make You Cry | Lifestyle | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Tearjerkers, whether they be movies, TV series, or novels, are nothing new. What is new, however, is Japan's current "crying boom" - a fashion for shedding tears.

Reading On The Move | Business and Economy | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
A growing number of people are reading novels and other books on their mobile phones and computers. Easy to access and a cinch to carry around, these electronic books are convenient and, thanks to plans offering unlimited data transmissions at a fixed rate, reasonably priced as well.

1 | Episode 11 | Super Figure Kanako | Tokyo Tales | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Nakano Broadway: a shopping mall stocked with a vast array of capsule figures and anime-related merchandise, and a regular destination for capsule-figure enthusiast Tomoya. One day a figure named Kanako suddenly appears, and, speaking like a veritable human being, demands that he find her right arm. They find themselves at odds, but amid the squabbling a much deeper sort of interaction emerges. Will Kanako's arm ever be found? What does fate hold in store for these two?

2 | Episode 11 | Super Figure Kanako | Tokyo Tales | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Nakano Broadway: a shopping mall stocked with a vast array of capsule figures and anime-related merchandise, and a regular destination for capsule-figure enthusiast Tomoya. One day a figure named Kanako suddenly appears, and, speaking like a veritable human being, demands that he find her right arm. They find themselves at odds, but amid the squabbling a much deeper sort of interaction emerges. Will Kanako's arm ever be found? What does fate hold in store for these two?

1 | Episode 12 | Super Figure Kanako | Tokyo Tales | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Nakano Broadway: a shopping mall stocked with a vast array of capsule figures and anime-related merchandise, and a regular destination for capsule-figure enthusiast Tomoya. One day a figure named Kanako suddenly appears, and, speaking like a veritable human being, demands that he find her right arm. They find themselves at odds, but amid the squabbling a much deeper sort of interaction emerges. Will Kanako's arm ever be found? What does fate hold in store for these two?

2 | Episode 12 | Super Figure Kanako | Tokyo Tales | Trends in Japan | Web Japan
Nakano Broadway: a shopping mall stocked with a vast array of capsule figures and anime-related merchandise, and a regular destination for capsule-figure enthusiast Tomoya. One day a figure named Kanako suddenly appears, and, speaking like a veritable human being, demands that he find her right arm. They find themselves at odds, but amid the squabbling a much deeper sort of interaction emerges. Will Kanako's arm ever be found? What does fate hold in store for these two?