(Click here to jump right to the Kantan series)
Trying to figure out which book projects to give priority to at Arigatai Books can be a challenge: it’s a balance between translation difficulty, length, personal interest, chances of it being popular in the community, and a bunch of other factors. But after putting in a little thought, I realized that making a new volume in our bilingual reader series “Kantan! Read Japanese Stories Like a Native” was the perfect next project.
This time, I decided to go with a children’s story from Hayashi Fumiko (林芙美子), an important woman Japanese author that I had translated previously. Telling a story about a giant rock who yearns to travel to a new place, “The Mysterious Rock”（ふしぎな岩） uses pretty straightforward Japanese, plus has a good message.
As with the other volumes in this series, readings and meanings are given for all words the first time they appear, so even Japanese students with very little experience can go through the text. This time I also included a quiz which tests understanding of some words/expressions. The story is included in JP/EN (w/ explanations), JP/EN, JP, and EN versions (plus there is a link to a recommended JP audio narration), so you can explore the story however you like. In addition, I think easy stories like this are a good way for budding translators to experiment.
I’d like to thank Kaimai Mizuhiro (開米瑞浩) for helping confirm some of the meanings of a passages. Also thanks to Priya Singh for helping proofread.
You can find it on Amazon here for only US $0.99 or equivalent, or also check it out below. Or you can see the entire 3-book series here.
I’m always open to ideas for stories to translate (whether as part of the Kantan series, or stand-alone), so if you have any ideas please feel free to leave a comment or email me.