Read two more sub chapters so 4 in total today. I’m done X_X
21 Likes
1 月 15 日
Sadly could not keep up with the challenge the last two days because travel plans got in the way. By the end of the day, i was just too tired i could barely even get WK reviews and lessons done! 
Today on the plane and on the bus ride, i just read through Hikaru Utada’s lyrics for First Love and 初恋 (a bunch of times). If that even counts as reading… 
I am surprised how much kanji i can read though with just the spotify lyrics.
27 Likes
Jan 16
かがみの孤城 40% → 42%
I haven’t posted in a few days. It’s 1am and my eyes keep closing, so I’ll leave longer reading to tomorrow.
26 Likes
The Tanuki Kotatsu Reading Den 
January 15th
新書太閣記 progress: 01.89% // Volume I: 21.95% 
Short read today!
Words found under the kotatsu
密接「みっせつ」ー Intimate; close; near
攀じ登る「よじのぼる」ー To climb/clamber up/over; to scramble; to scale; to claw your way up
火縄「ひなわ」ー Fuse; cord
物蔭「ものかげ」ー Place hidden from view; cover; shelter; hiding place
Forms
辷る ＝ 滑る「すべる」(to slide; to glide; to slip)
(Not seen this one before, it looks a lot cooler than the 滑る version)
Character Name List
for easy referencing later, because these will take some remembering
Also probably some spoilers, but this is a historic novel, so can spoilers really exist for things that have (for the most part) actually happened 
Main
Hideyoshi: 豊臣秀吉「とよとみ ひでよし」
– – – Childhood name: 日吉「ひよし」
– – – Childhood nickname: 猿「さる」
Volume I: 1534 - 15??
日吉「ひよし」- Hideyoshi (as child)
Nickname: 猿「さる」
Family
木下弥右衛門「きのした やえもん」- Father
筑阿弥「ちくあみ」ー Step-father
大政所「おおまんどころ」// also お奈加「おなか」ー Mother
おつみ - Older sister
小竹「こちく」- Baby brother
加藤清正「かとう きよまさ」// also 弾正「だんじょう」- Ojisan (only distantly related (before marriage))
– Married to: おえつ (sister of お奈加)
Friends & Acquaintances
仁王「におう」- Big kid friend
於福「おふく」(Nickname - full name: 福太郎「ふくたろ」) // 楊景福「ようけいふく」(Chinese name/birth name) - Timid kid friend (older than Hideyoshi)
– 五郎大夫 「ごろ だゆう」// 祥瑞「しょうずい」(Chinese name) - Father
– 梨琴「りきん」- Mother
捨次郎「すてじろう」- Previous servant to 五郎, later the adoptive father of 於福, and owner of a tea ware shop - and employer of, and master to, Hideyoshi
Others
織田信秀「おだ のぶひで」- Daimyo
– 織田与三郎「おだ よさぶろう」- Younger brother
今川義元「いまがわ よしもと」- Daimyo
斯波義統「しば よしむね」- Daimyo (head of the Shiba clan) at Kiyosu castle
Historical People
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阿倍仲麻呂「あべ の なかまろ」ー Japanese scholar & poet (around 700AD)
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白楽天「はく きょい」ー Late 700s Chinese poet (Bai Juyi / Bo Juyi) also known as: 白楽天「はく らくてん」in Japan.
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道元「どうげん」(or 道元禅師「どうげん ぜんじ」ー Japanese Buddhist Priest, writer & poet (Early to mid 1200s) (also known as 栄西禅師「えいさい ぜんじ」)
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空海「くうかい」ー The one and only Kukai or Kobo Daishi - a Buddhist monk. Posthumously given the title of: 弘法大師「こうぼう だいし」born as: 佐伯 眞魚「さえき の まお」(late 700s to early 800s)
Replies
Congrats, great going!! 
This is great, congrats!
It’s awesome to see how many people these threads have been helping!
22 Likes
January 15th (Day 15) 
I wanted to take a break today - read a little less. But I couldn’t help myself, I had to have a look at チュベローズで待ってる AGE32 
Read the first chapter, then skimmed through the first page of the second chapter - and I had to stop myself there because I would’ve just kept reading 
Man, I’m really looking forward to the discussions.
Since I spent less time on my Japanese reading, I decided to do some Russian (which I’ve been neglecting this past week). Read the first part of Морфий, almost finished the second part, too - but then my eyes said no. Just when things were starting to get interesting!
I am still shocked at just how much of the content I understand :3 Though I really need to sort out my reading skills. Every now and then my brain decides to read a random letter as it would be in the latin alphabet, and then words stop making sense 
Ah, how did I miss your post earlier? Congrats to you too! 
27 Likes
January 15th
Home Post
Reading 僕だけがいない街 Vol. 1
Started reading 僕だけがいない街 and in about an hour i read 26 pages so it’s not a bad start. This part was full of N3 grammar or so which is the level I stopped at back then so it was great to see all these grammar in the wild and revise them that way. Vocab is a lot tougher compared to yotsuba and had to look up lots of things but thats what I’m here for, real challenge starts now 
Btw I was wondering is there any meaning behind the use of other forms of kanji? 十分 means enough or sufficient etc… and has another form which is 充分, encountered its other form in the manga and I was wondering if there is a reason behind using the other form or not…
Few Vocab I found interesting
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違和感 = uncomfortable feeling, sense of discomfort
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踏み込む = to break into, to step into (e.g. someone else’s territory), to get to the core of
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掘り下げる = to dig down, to dig into (a matter), to investigate or get to the bottom of
27 Likes
Home post // Jan 15 
・ 本好きの下克上 16 (63% → 66%)
Ah, it was a nice weekend. I hope everyone had a nice weekend too 
28 Likes
Home post
Week 2 - Jan 9th to 15th
I skipped Tuesday and Thursday this week as I’ve been busy/tired and I’ve started reminding myself that sustainable study habits involve being kind to yourself too 
I’m still only reading an episode in Satori Reader per day (I’ve caught up with ジャム屋さん and started on the one about the mice), but I’ve ordered some manga !
I meant to order のんのんびより, ヨコハマ買い出し紀行, and にわにはににん but I forgot to add のんのん to my order and the last two had to be shipped separately (Amazon.co.jp) and just the additional shipping cost equaled the total cost of what I actually ordered - shipping included So I’ll save those for another time 
Sorry @Greya - it would have been fun to both read the same manga:/ But thanks for the reply and the recommendations!
27 Likes
January 15
Home Post
BU$TAFELLOWS 
Novel in English
Am I the only one who still types December XX but have so far managed to catch it each time? 
And now I can finally reveal I have been traveling. Yes, that mysterious busy period have been travels. I don’t like to announce when I’ll be away from my home for a longer period of time. So…
It was partly a work trip, so the more common busy definition does apply. So I had a trip to the US. Las Vegas more specifically. With 1-2 night layover in London each way. (Friend’s parents live in London so I could stay with them. Very, very nice people.) Those days where I only read English? Yeah, those were the busy work days, basically. I also missed completely one day during that.
But now I’m home. I read some Bustafellows at my 5 hour layover in Stockholm. And then I read some novel in English on the last flight.
Might or might not read more today, but dang. I’m so done with travel. Two trips less than a month apart? Cannot recommend. -.-’
Also jetlag always hits me on the way back from America, so while my two nights in London have dealt with that a little. (There was literally no planes between Stockholm and my local airport yesterday, so I had to stay two nights.) First night in London I went to bed exhausted at 10 pm, woke up at 2 am, still tired but basically couldn’t get anymore sleep. Last night I thankfully got a full 8 hours.
But I’d forgotten my local grocery store closes at 20:00 on weekends, so I couldn’t get fresh food. Suddenly I can’t put off a grocery store visit for a few days. Merp. 
Enough about me! Now replies!
Well done you both!
29 Likes
Week 2
I missed one day this week. I read another couple of pages in yotsubato, played more pokemon in japanese, and because physical books are harder for me to be consistent with leading to me not really touching yotsubato very often, i stated reading the free stories on satori reader. I’m two episode into Sakara and Suzuki’s long distance relationship. I’m reading both the easy and hard versions of the story and it’s going well so far. I also bought the book the abbc is reading next so I’m ready for that when it starts.
27 Likes
January 15 
死体は眠らない, 19-24%
I almost didn’t read today, I didn’t feel like it for the longest time. Then I decided to resume 死体は眠らない which had been put on hold due to the various book clubs. It’s a light, fun read, perfect for unmotivated days like this. I feel I should have been reading it faster, but then again I left it for late in the day, and I’m getting sleepy.
27 Likes
Day 13
Just some more Monogatari vol.2 manga. The conversation in the manga are pretty realistic, japanese people really talk like in the manga.
1253 pages read 18747 to go
20 Likes
Day 15: January 15th
What did I read?: マグメル深海水族館 Vol 1
How much did I read?: 21 pages
How long did it take me?: 43 min
Wow this chapter was a lot shorter xD But also felt harder for some reason Today I learned the phrase 偕老同穴 (かいろうどうけつ) - happy life partnership; living faithfully together till death. It’s also the name of a sea sponge xD The sponge is so named because one male shrimp and one female shrimp live together inside the sponge for their entire lives (because they literally can’t get out, they get in when they’re larvae and then grow too big to leave While the implication is supposed to be romantic and the sponge is considered a symbol of undying love/sometimes given as an engagement or wedding gift, I don’t know how romantic it sounds when I think about that part of it 
). They are very pretty sponges though xD In English, the sponge is called a Venus’s flower basket 
31 Likes
January 15th!
Today I read chapter 54 of Mitsuboshi Colors.
It was a fun silly chapter that made me smile.
25 Likes
Jan 15, Sun of Week 3 of Winter Q1 2023 
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Super Doctor K Vol.2 Ch.4-5
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うたわれるもの
Interesting words
- まがい = sham; imitation. Kanji form is 紛い, but not written with Kanji here.
- 言いそびれる = to miss a chance to say. ～そびれる itself is to miss a chance.
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駆け落ち = running away with a lover / also, just running away from places to places
- 家出 = running away from home / also, going outside home (not running away, will probably come back)
- 逃避行, 出奔, and 逃亡 are simply running away from places to places.
- 無理強い = pushing to do. From 強いる.
- 手練れ = skillfulness. Second Kanji’s reading is exceptional. Also, 手足れ. Personally I think of more hanging (垂れる) or spicy paste (タレ).
- 歯向かう = to rise against; to defy; to bite back at
- 屯する = to gather in a large group of people
- 板ばさみ = being in a dilemma. From 板挟み, so being stuck between two slabs.
- 結紮 = ligation. Second Kanji is a tag (札) to bind, but with a thread (糸); and seems to much limited to this word.
- 併発 = complication of a disease. Another word is 合併症.
- 根治 = complete cure. From the root (根). The other word is 完治, and I don’t know whether to expect Rendaku or not.
- 健康体 = a healthy body; a healthy condition
- うり二つ = as alike as two pea in a pod = exactly look-alike. Another form is 瓜二つ, which is about a gourd / melon (瓜, Level 53). The うり is also used in 胡瓜 (sound change from 黄瓜).
- 元来 = originally
- 雄叫び = a valiant war cry. Exceptional reading of 叫び. Has Furigana in context (context about 狼)
- 断面図 = cross-sectional view
- 肌身離さず = carrying close to one’s skin and body
- 身も蓋もない = straight to the point = にべもない. What? No lid is OK, but also no content?
- 人目につく = to be conspicuous. So, 人目につかない = being inconspicuous
SFX
- ぞっこん = madly in love
- しゅるしゅる = rustling sound (e.g. of silk)
- メキメキ = sound of breaking, creaking
- わらわら = bustling; scattering; creeping in (like of a gang of people)
- オメオメ = being shameless; resigned to disgrace
Kanji
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屯 (Level 59)
- 屯, 屯する
23 Likes
Jan 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th update 
very brief rundown for future prosperity
8th - はたらく細胞 5 pages
9th - はたらく細胞 3 pages
10th - はたらく細胞 2 pages
11th - 好きっていいなよ 5 pages
12th - はたらく細胞 4 pages
13th - spyxfamily 1 page
14th - ばらかもん 5 pages
notes:
The 13th was the day I dicided Spyxfamily was a bit too much at my current level, combined with how much more enjoyable ばらかもん was the next day, was really the final indication I needed to drop it. Super sad because I love it so much but that will just make it all the sweeter when I finally do get around to reading it 
Really excited to join abbc with the next はたらく細胞 chapter. Going on a train ride tomorrow so I should have time to bust out my books including はたらく細胞!!!
homepost
26 Likes
1 月 16 日
コナの大冒険 第24話 
Just a little more than halfway through Kona’s adventures! Although nothing much has happened! We end the episode with a hawk circling from above. And I wonder if it’s eyeing Kona as its prey…
Words learned:
- 恐る恐る with trepidation, trembling with fear, fearfully, timidly
- 優雅 elegance, grace, refinement
- タカ falcon, hawk
Replies
I really like this SFX part of your interesting words! I think I should start noting those down too to prepare for reading more manga!
My goodness that story behind the etymology of the name of the sea sponge sounds so morbid but I love it! Thanks for sharing! One more trivia/fun fact I can collect about sea creatures! The secrets of the ocean always amaze me!
25 Likes
Woo congrats!
I uh…slept 12 hours last night. My crazy busy week with low sleep finally caught up to me, but my book club reading has suffered recently. I’m sure I’ll get caught up but reading lately has been a ‘cram in where I can’ chore rather than its usual fun even though all the books I’m reading are so good!
I’m traveling this week so maybe I’ll catch up in the airport…
So uh, I will post why shortly in the listening thread, but I’m starting 正欲 and you’re welcome to join if you want! It was in a ton of the booktuber best-of lists and it didn’t seem like my style at a glance, but there’s an audiobook and I was starting to stack credits so grabbed it on a whim.
Also I read part of the ユージニア assignment today and I’m aiming to finish the assigned reading tonight 
22 Likes
Home 
January 15th
ジョジョの奇妙な冒険6
90 - 120
flagging this part of the manga for unnecessary references to shittler. Like it was a good history lesson I suppose, but if you’re going to talk about the nazi master race idea, then maybe add something about the horrible things they did and why they’re bad?
“Oh Berry, you’re overreacting, it’s just fiction after all!” Nah. Several Japanese JoJo fans do nazi salutes without understanding the meaning and you’d be pretty hard pressed to find Japanese people on the street who can say what the Holocaust was and why it was bad.
On the bright side, Joseph was unnecessarily stupid and extra which was a bit uplifting. I would have read more, but I was so busy cleaning during the day that I ran out of time to read at night. I’m surprised I’m doing alright now tbh. My body tried to wake up at a normal wake up time for me (but with only 4.5h sleep) and then later, the apartment kids being noisy before going to school helped wake me a few minutes before my alarm. While unpleasant on the surface, it gave me enough wiggle room to look at the photos my friend sent of their adorable kitty.
24 Likes
January 15th
What did I read?: にわにはににん
How much did I read?: 7 sentences + 4 pages 庭かるね
(Finished あとがき, Started & Finished Epilogue: 庭かるね)
How long did it take me?: 1 h 29 min
The epilogue was a sequel to the third story. Turns out that Emma remarries, has 2 adorable children, and builds herself a beautiful garden room! 
This was honestly pretty nice to read since the ending of that third story made it seem like she could have committed suicide. So I’m glad that wasn’t the case!
In other news, today I finished my first volume of manga in Japanese!!!
Here are my ratings for all the stories:
- Prologue: 庭師の仕事 : 6/10
- 水槽屋敷 : 7/10
- ユーレカの庭 : 8/10
- ワタシのお庭 : 4/10
- にわにはににん : 9/10
- 庭師の休日 : 7/10
- Epilogue: 庭かるね : 8/10
Which averages out to an overall of 7/10 
. So yes, I did enjoy this manga. Not a favourite or anything like that, but enjoyable none the less!
The mysterious nature of the stories may not have made them the best first-reading material, since then you get situations of, "Am I confused because my Japanese isn’t good enough, or is it supposed to be a little confusing? " But because I was interested in the material, I persevered through the moments of confusion. I started reading this book with the goal of achieving 100% comprehension, and if I had to guess, I think I understood around 90% of it? Maybe a little more than that. But I’m satisfied with that level for now!
28 Likes