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Flex Your Japanese Reading Muscles Over the Internet

compiled by Sharon Domier
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
last updated June. 2003
Some other organized links:  [Keiko Schneider]  [Reading Tutor] [Rikai]

No Japanese Capability on your computer? Use Shodouka
Want Japanese capability? Follow the links

Dictionaries  Ž«“T

Whether you normally use a printed or electronic dictionary in your studies, there are times when it is handy to copy and paste terms into an web-based dictionary.  Here are a few for you to try out:

Goo Dictionaries
Offers you the choice of using Exceed Ei-Wa Jiten ‰p˜aŽ«“T, Exceed Wa-Ei Jiten ˜a‰pŽ«“T, or Daijirin ‘εŽ«—Ρ.

Jim Breen's WWWJDIC  U. of Virginia Mirror Site

Rikai
Rikai is interesting because it uses Java technology to provide dictionary definitions as you move the mouse over words you don't understand.  The Rikai site includes a lot of newspaper articles that are set up to use the mouse-powered dictionary. If you don't see anything you like, open up a second window, find a website that you are interested in, and paste the URL into the Rikai converter to invoke the dictionary.
 

Literature@•ΆŠw

If you are studying at a university with a small Japanese collection or do not have access to a Japanese collection at all, there are still a number of ways to gain access to classical and contemporary Japanese literature.  Some of these offerings are particularly well-suited to language learners because they include glosses to difficult words or provide audio selections so that you can back up your reading practice with hearing practice too.

Aozora Bunko Β‹σ•ΆŒΙ
This is one of my favorite sites to visit when I am looking for online texts to read.  All the materials that have been posted to this site are without copyright restrictions because of their age.  The site providers have done more than make the text available, however.  You can choose to download the text with or without rubi (readings for the kanji), view it using the T-Time software, or read it on the web.

Horagai  ‚Ω‚ηŠL
This site was set up by Japanese writers and includes works of literature, interviews, debates between authors, and reviews. Some sections may require Shockwave or QuickTime software.

Japanese Text Initiative  University of Virginia/University of Pittsburgh
A lot of work went into preparing this site, which is one of the few sites listed here to have been created for non-native Japanese readers.  If you are studying classical Japanese literature you should spend some time here.

Web Ehon  WEBŠG–{
Here are some pretty examples of online picture books for Japanese children. While it will test your reading ability (most of us don't learn children's Japanese in class), it wil also delight your visual senses.  This site requires Shockwave software to view the picture books.

Newspapers@V•·

All of the newspapers listed below offer both subscription services and a small amount of free access.  I have listed the top pages for each newspaper and on those pages you will find more information about subscription and database archives.  If you are interested in doing significant research using newspaper archives please see another page for more information.  This page focusses on free access pages that will support your Japanese language studies.

Asahi Shinbun  ’©“ϊV•·
This link takes you to the main Japanese page for Asahi Shinbun.  There is a table of contents for the free articles accessible on this site, so be sure to look for the sections that interest you: Society ŽΠ‰ο, Economics ŒoΟ, Politics ­Ž‘, International Affairs ‘Ϋ, Sports ƒXƒ|[ƒc, Obituaries ‚¨‚­‚β‚έ.
 

Mainichi Shinbun  –ˆ“ϊV•·
This link takes you to the main Japanese page for Mainichi Shinbun, and from here you can read about sports, current events, etc.  Please also note that there are links to other pages that will be helpful to you.

Mainichi Kids –ˆ“ϊKids
This "Kids" page is a great place to visit on a regular basis if you want to practice reading without a dictionary.  There are different sections for elementary school and junior high school students. Difficult kanji have their readings attached to them, so you don't have to sit there with your kanji dictionary.

Mainichi Daily News
This page is for the English version of the newspaper.  You may want to read the corresponding articles in English here after you have tested your skills in Japanese, or, you may want to try it the other way around.
 

Nikkei Shinbun  “ϊ–{ŒoΟV•·
If you are studying political science, international affairs, or economics, then you will want to read the Nikkei in both Japanese and English.  There isn't much available to the nonsubscriber however, so you will have to limit yourself to the stories on the top page.

"Seiron" Sankei Shinbun @ŽYŒoV•·
Seiron is the op-ed section of the Sankei Shinbun. Seiron has parallel text in English and Japanese.  Of particular interest, see the monthly column by the Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo.

Yahoo! Japan News
Yahoo is a search engine that also provides a nice interface for reading the daily news.  The articles that are indexed here are free of charge, and come from a variety of sources.  You can also build your own newspaper by signing up and registering the topics that interest you.
 

Yomiuri Shinbun  “Η”„V•·
This link takes you to the main Japanese page for Yomiuri Shinbun. Yomiuri does not offer a children's page, so you will have to work harder to read the articles. There is a section in the English language paper that provides Japanese language instruction for non-native speakers.  Please also check out the audio-visual offerings on both the Japanese and English pages of Yomiuri Stream.
 

Daily Yomiuriin English
See "Pera Pera Penguin's 5 Minute Japanese Class by Hiromi Hirayama."  If you haven't had enough of textbooks, or better yet, if you would have real stories supplemented by grammatical explanations this is a good place to visit on a regular basis.  These pages require that you have Adobe Acrobat software.

Daily Yomiuri Words in the News
This is a wonderful source of vocabulary for Japanese language learners. On the main page (this link) there is a list of terms in Japanese, romanization, and English explanation. If you click on the Japanese term you will go to another page, which provides context and background on the term and its usage.

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