Japanese English

Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told by his boss, "It makes no difference whether you’re here or not," and that his presence contributed nothing to the company. Morimoto began to wonder whether a person who "does nothing" could still have actual value and a place in the world. Perhaps he could turn "doing nothing" into a service? With one tweet, Rental Person was born.

This history will be of interest to people who know nothing about Japan, but also full of insights for those who do. Lesley Downer takes the listener through the great sweep of Japanese history, focusing on the dramatic stories of larger-than-life individuals—from emperors descended from the Sun Goddess to warlords, samurai, merchants, court ladies, women warriors, geisha, and businessmen who shaped this extraordinary modern society.

After botching a suicide attempt, salaryman Hanio Yamada decides to put his life up for sale in the classifieds section of a Tokyo newspaper. Soon interested parties come calling with increasingly bizarre requests and what follows is a madcap comedy of errors, involving a jealous husband, a drug-addled heiress, poisoned carrots - even a vampire. For someone who just wants to die, Hanio can't seem to catch a break, as he finds himself enmeshed in a continent-wide conspiracy that puts him in the crosshairs of both his own government and a powerful organized-crime syndicate.

After a brief respite, Kirito and Eugeo set off again to climb Central Cathedral--but the powerful Integrity Knights are not about to let them reach the top. Meanwhile, Kirito has learned the dark history of the Underworld and the true stakes of the battle they're fighting, and every step toward Alice brings him closer to an impossible decision...

Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the 11th century to entertain the other women in the court. It follows the romantic exploits of the title character, an emperor’s son, as he navigates life within aristocratic society and eventually outside of it. Praised for its psychological insight into the characters’ motivations, the book greatly influenced Japanese culture and is widely considered the world’s first novel. In 1882, Suematsu Kencho translated a condensed version of the text into English, allowing this classic tale to reach a wider audience.

From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.

I've lived in this world killing slimes for 300 years...so when did I turn into a little kid?! I bet it was those mushrooms Halkara cooked... And now everyone in my family is trying to coddle me! Please, cut it out!

An end to the endless war—the possibility of stopping the Legion once and for all. Such is humanity’s most fervent desire. But in the war-free world of tomorrow, what will become of the Eighty-Six? Many have gained renewed faith in the future. Some have found love; others, new aspirations. But what of those who have yet to dream? The warm rays of hope have bent their iron wills and distorted their realities. For those tragic few, the worst is yet to come.

In an immersive, exciting narrative nonfiction format, this powerful book follows a selection of people who experienced the 2011 Japan Tsunami.

Naofumi and his friends defeat the Spirit Tortoise after it rampages across the country. They leave in search of the other missing heroes and meet Ost along the way, who says she is one of the Spirit Tortoise's servants. She tells Naofumi that the Spirit Tortoise is still alive and that someone is pulling the strings to use the tortoise to destroy the world! Can Naofumi protect those he loves from this new danger?

How have Japanese companies become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries, among others? What is the secret of their success? Two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi, are the first to tie the success of Japanese companies to their ability to create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies.

Start speaking Japanese in minutes, and grasp the language, culture, and customs in just minutes more with Lower Beginner Japanese, a completely new way to learn Japanese with ease! Lower Beginner Japanese will have you speaking with proper pronunciation from the very first lesson and arm you with cultural insight and other information to utterly shock and amaze your Japanese friends.

In a voice both haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri describes her life as a geisha. Taken from her home at the age of nine, she is sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Witness her transformation as you enter a world where appearances are paramount, virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder, women beguile powerful men, and love is scorned as illusion.

Yahoo's lead baseball columnist offers an in-depth look at the most valuable commodity in sports - the pitching arm - and how its vulnerability to injury is hurting players and the game, from Little League to the majors.

There's a catfish under Japan, and when it rolls, the land rises and falls. At least, that's what Sora was told after she lost her mother to an earthquake so powerful that it cracked time itself. Sora and her father are some of the few who still live near the most powerful of these "zones"—the places where time has been irrevocably sped up, or slowed down.

Dive into the mystical world of ancient Japan and uncover its incredible deities, mythical creatures, and heroic tales, even if you're new to folklore! Are you fascinated by Japan's rich culture and history?Discover captivating tales of Shinto gods, Yōkai, and legendary heroes that shape Japan's cultural heritage.

On a clear spring day in 1995, five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas on the Tokyo subway system. In attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakmi talks to the people who lived through the catastrophe, and in so doing lays bare the Japanese psyche. As he discerns the fundamental issues that led to the attack, Murakami paints a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere.

16 years of peace and prosperity have passed since Lord Otori Takeo united the Three Countries. Takeo and his beloved consort, Kaede, have three daughters and a happy family life. Their success has attracted the attention of the distant Emperor and his general, the warlord Saga Hideki, who covet the wealth of the Countries. Meanwhile, the violent acts and betrayals of the past will not lie buried, and other secrets will not stay hidden. Everything that Takeo and Kaede have achieved is threatened.

Two years after waking up in a mysterious fantasy world, Kirito and his oddly human NPC friend, Eugeo, continue their quest to become Integrity Knights—and find Alice, who disappeared so long ago and yet has somehow lingered in the back of Kirito's mind. Their journey takes them to the Imperial Swordcraft Academy, where they must train to become two of the top twelve seats in the class to have even a hope of seeing Alice again. Meanwhile, as Asuna desperately searches for Kazuto Kirigaya, she stumbles across the deeper secret of his new world.

Hearing rumors of a "leg bone of the wolf" being used as an artifact of the Church to showcase its power, Lawrence and Holo head to the site to gather more information. Holo can't just turn away from what might be a relic of her own kind, after all. Of course, upon arrival, the travelers find that the town is the center of a giant trade dispute! Seems that Col will be getting a lesson in microeconomics!