japan essay in english

Essays About Japan: Top 5 Examples and 5 Prompts

Japan is a beautiful country famous for its lush landscape, delicious food, and well-mannered people. Here are some examples of essays about Japan.

A developed country in Asia known as the “land of the rising sun,” Japan has become a hot commodity for tourism and business. Japan is truly a sight to behold, from its beautiful cherry blossoms, efficient public transportation system, and delicious food. 

Japan’s rich history has allowed it to develop into one of the most advanced nations in the world, and its technology is renowned worldwide. Moreover, its people are known for their discipline, hard work, and resilience, even in the face of severe natural disasters. Japan is, without a doubt, a country worth visiting. 

If you want to write essays about Japan, here are our best essay examples and writing prompts to help you begin. 

1. What Japan Taught Me About Life by Beth Louise

2. japan experience: reflection on japanese culture by rayan elhafiz abdalla, 3. what i learned about design from travel in japan by teo yu siang.

• 4.  The best time to visit Japan by Pat Kay

5. A Day Trip To Kobe by David Swanson

5 prompts for essays about japan, 1. what does japan mean to you , 2. misogyny in japanese society, 3. why visit japan, 4. japan’s history, 5. living in japan: what’s it like.

“In fact, there’s so much to see and do that it feels like a lifetime of exploring would never uncover all that’s on offer. It’s also a bright, buzzing lesson in living fast; just wandering around in the crowds is a massive adrenaline rush, and Monday nights are as mental as Fridays. But despite the intensity of a city so large, people are calm and quiet. It’s the most magical juxtaposition. Everything is moving at light-speed, but with such efficiency and thoughtfulness, that it feels like a well-oiled, intuitive machine, powering a ride that you never want to get off.”

In her essay, Louise writes about her experience traveling to Tokyo, Japan. She compares it to a machine, with all the people in the city playing their part. She is amazed by the people’s focus, discipline, manners, and sense of purpose, and she can better appreciate life’s simplicity. She is mesmerized by Japan and recommends booking a trip to Tokyo as soon as possible. 

You might also like these essays about being yourself and essays about college .

“People were very friendly, they will greet you even if they don’t know you. One shocking incident that I will not forgot, is when the cashier was trying to help me put all my coin money in my wallet with me. In America I am not used to having someone put my money inside my wallet, that is really invading personal space. However, I learned that in Japan it seems normal to just drop off someone’s coins in their wallet.”

Similar to Louise, Abdalla reflects on new things he discovered about Japan and its people during his time there. These range from trivial things such as the “Pokemon Go” rollout in the country to the Japanese’ sense of honor and discipline. He recounts an experience in which the cashier was helping him put his change into his wallet, something he is not used to back home. He provides excellent, although short, insight into Japan, its culture, and its people. 

“Everything around us is designed: from the smartphones we use every day to the tactile paving on a walkway. But it’s often hard to examine the designed environment around us with eyes as fresh as a tourist’s. So if you’ve made it to the end of this post, I’ve got a challenge for you: The next time you take a walk outside, try to become aware of the thousands of design decisions around you. What works, and what can be improved?”

Siang writes about the edge that Japanese cities and society in general have because they are well-designed. He cites innovations such as fast, automated cash register machines and aid for the visually impaired and recalls lessons such as the importance of accessibility when designing something. 

4.   The best time to visit Japan by Pat Kay

“When people ask me “When is the best time to visit Japan?”, I usually reply with “anytime”. Japan is always a good idea, at any time of year. It’s truly an all-year-round destination that provides vastly varied experiences throughout its distinct 4 seasons. Whether you’re a traveller who loves snow, or one who thrives in humidity; a traveller who wants to see beautiful nature changes, or wants to be thrown into crowds; whatever your style of travel, there’s a season and a time for that.”

Kay describes the weather and activities during the different seasons in Japan, giving readers an idea of when they would prefer to visit. Japan ranges from the ethereal but chaotic cherry blossom season to the calm, frigid snow season; however, each year’s season has its own charm. Kay’s essay gives good insight into the best times to visit Japan.

“When planning a visit to Kobe, consider the fact that the city has been completely rebuilt since 1995, following the great Hanshin earthquake that leveled much of the city. Except for a few memorials, you likely won’t be aware of the destruction at all. Instead, what you will discover is a cosmopolitan port city where foreign influences intermingle, museums are dedicated to sake, and a conveniently compact and walkable quarter showcases a robust nightlife scene that has featured jazz on the menu for nearly a century. Oh, and, of course, there is the beef.”

In this short write-up, Swanson lists the best things to do in Kobe, Japan, a place best known for its top-quality beef. However, there are many things to do in the city besides eating beef, such as viewing historical buildings, going to the hot springs, and visiting the botanical gardens. However, Swanson notes that eating is an integral part of a trip to Kobe, and one should not miss out on trying the beef. 

In your essay, you can write about the country’s significance to you. For example, are you from there, or do you have Japanese ancestry? Have you visited? Write about your connection to the country and why this connection exists in the first place. If Japan has a special place in your heart, this essay topic is for you. 

When editing for grammar, we also recommend taking the time to improve the readability score of a piece of writing before publishing or submitting

With all its glory and excellence, Japan is less evolved in gender equality. So how are women treated in Japan? First, delve into research about the treatment of women in Japanese society, and show how the culture differs from modern western gender equality ideologies. Then, discuss why Japan is behind in encouraging women’s equal rights. Make sure to cite research, statistics, and interviews to support your point. 

This topic is straightforward; whether you have been or not, try to persuade others to visit the country. Include highlights that others should visit and suggestions for places others can visit. If Japan was a bad experience for you, go the other way: why should you not visit Japan?

Japan has a dark history surrounding its role in World War II. In your essay, briefly explain these events and research their effects on Japan after the war. How did the war change Japan- for better or for worse? Elaborate on the impact and, as always, include references to strengthen your arguments. This is quite a broad topic, so you can focus on one element of Japanese society: values, city planning, relationships with tourists, race, inequality, and gender equality.

Based on reading articles and sample essays as well as any experiences in Japan, list the advantages and disadvantages of living in Japan and conclude whether it would be ideal for moving to Japan or not. Use anecdotes from travel writers or people who live in Japan to show why living in japan is enjoyable or not so enjoyable. Pick a stance for a compelling argumentative essay.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

If you’re stuck picking your next essay topic, check out our guide on how to write an essay about diversity .

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147 Japanese Culture Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Looking for interesting topics on Japan? Find them here! This list contains plenty of Japanese culture topics relating to the country’s traditions, art, and social phenomena. Check them out!

🔝 Top 10 Japanese Culture Topics to Write About

🔎 culture-related japan research topics, ✅ japanese topics for presentations, 🏆 best japanese culture topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good japanese culture essay topics, 💡 interesting japanese culture topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy japanese culture essay titles, ❓ research questions about japanese culture.

• The Cultural Impact of Anime
• The Mystique and Roles of Geisha
• Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts
• Tea Ceremony in Japanese Culture
• The Beauty of Japanese Gardens
• The Art of Japanese Floral Arrangement
• Festivals and Matsuri in Japanese Culture
• The Code of Bushido and Its Influence on Society
• Pop Culture Phenomena of J-Pop and Kawaii
• Sushi, Ramen, and Other Culinary Delights of Japan
• Environmental Sustainability in Japan
• Shintoism and Its Influence on Japanese Society
• Modernization and Transformation of Japan
• Challenges Related to Japan’s Aging Population
• Japanese Video Games and Their Global Appeal
• The Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
• The Role of Women in Modern Japanese Society
• Ways of Preserving and Revitalizing Traditional Japanese Arts
• The “Japanese Miracle” of Economic Growth and Technological Advancements
• Achievements, Critiques, and Reforms in the Japanese Education System
• Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
• Symbolism of the Iconic Mount Fuji
• The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan’s Ancient Temples and Urban Landscapes
• How Zen Buddhism Impacts Japanese Aesthetics
• The Beauty and Significance of Origami and Calligraphy
• Japanese Bullet Train and Other Transportation Advancements
• Traditional Japanese Performing Arts: Noh, Kabuki, and Gagaku
• Modern Japanese Literature: Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima
• Japanese Business Etiquette, Work Ethics, and Corporate Practices
• Ramen Culture as a Vital Part of the Traditions in Japan Studying the history of the transformation of ramen culture and the role it plays in modern Japanese popular culture helps to explore the uniqueness of the phenomenon and understand the origins of its immense popularity.
• Japanese Animations’ Effects on the Japanese Economy and Their Cultural Influence on Foreign Countries These artists incorporate the characteristic anime stylizations, gags and methodology in their piece of work to produce animations that are a bit similar to Japanese anime. The growing interest among foreign artists in anime is […]
• The Influence of Heavy Metal on Japanese Culture In Japan, the association involving the realm of heavy metal music and personal distinctions has been surveyed in a number of studies.
• Culture Comparison Between China and Japan In Japan, it can be proved by the fact that the name Japan is written in the Chinese Kanji and not the Japanese Katakana or Hiragana.
• Japanese Popular Culture: Anime, Video Games, and the Film Industry This report will investigate the growth and influence of Japanese pop culture through anime, video games, and the film industry. The game was created by a Japanese studio and is built on the concept of […]
• Western Pop Culture and Street Fashion of Japanese Youth The research of the topic needs to be preceded by the explanation of the key subjects and notions used in the current paper.
• Disneyland in American, Japanese, European Cultures Due to the popularity of the American culture, Disneyland’s representation of American culture that spreading a positive attitude about life has a significant impact on Disneyland in Asian countries, especially in Japan.
• Researching of the Culture of Japan As for me, I thought that the Arabic language is complicated but after I heard Japanese, I understood it was really hard to learn and speak it.
• Hip-Hop and the Japanese Culture The prevalence of soul dancing in Japan in the earlier years also formed the basis for the wide acceptance of the hip-hop culture into the Japanese culture because soul dancing was common in the streets […]
• Language and Culture: The Honorifics (Speech or System) of Japanese and Korean In Japan, honorific use is determined by the category of the addressee, that is, he/ she might be superior to the addresser, and this corresponds directly to the verb in use.
• Relationships in Japanese History and Culture The preparation of the obento is not easy, it demands some special skills, and, of course, deep knowledge of the traditions.
• Conflict Management in Japanese Culture Japan and its culture truly represent the cultural compromise that determines the development of the entire Japanese spiritual tradition.
• Process of Modernization and How It Affected the Cultures of China and Japan Among such countries, China and Japan were voted as the most affected nations by modernization process because of the emergent of simple and advanced technologies. This changed gradually with the spread of industrial revolution in […]
• Cultural Evaluation of Japan: Beliefs and Behavior Generally, the culture of Japan is characterized by collectiveness where individualism is not usually a key concept in various practices in different sectors of the economy such as the education system, health care, and politics.
• Issues of Japanese Cultural Identity The other way the anime productions deal with the issues of the Japanese and their cultural identity is by presenting the aspects and ideas that define the people of Japan.
• The Japanese Culture of Ukiyo-E and Ikebana Two areas of the Japanese culture that Mori talks about is Ukiyo-e and Ikebana which are Japanese words that are common to the pre-Meiji artistic works of the Japanese people.
• Culture and Customs of Japan After WWII It must be admitted, however, in the interests of truth, that the traditional mode of living and ways of thinking, both good and bad, are deeply rooted in the life of the Japanese people of […]
• Globalization and Japanese Cultures This map is in that book and this course because of demonstrating the movement of goods and people across the world from Afrique to Patagonia and Nouvelle-Guinee.
• Japan After Globalization: Culture and Ethnocentrism The isolated territorial position of the country, geographical and climatic features, frequent earthquakes, and typhoons had a significant influence on the culture and mentality of the Japanese people.
• Chinese Han Dynasty: Comparing to the Japanese Culture Changing the focus to that one of the daily lives of ordinary citizens, the art of the Chinese culture during the Han Dynasty era allowed introducing a significant amount of diversity into the artistic realm.
• The Japanese Culture and Ecological Interests Many Japanese practices have been adopted in the western world due to the popularity of the culture. Among the many cultural practices of Japan, karate is the most practiced one outside the state.
• Violence and War in Japanese Popular Culture 50 years after the end of the war, the effects of the war have continued to influence the Japanese culture and have also affected its relations with other countries.
• Comparing the USA, China, Japan and the United Kingdom Cultures This diversity is evident in their music, fashion, cuisine, visual arts, cinema and literature and due to the propagation of the same through the media; the American culture has today become the pedestal through which […]
• Comparing Japanese and Chinese Cultures The main difference between the Chinese and Japanese concept of loyalty is that the Chinese people emphasize their loyalty to their family as a top priority.
• Japanese and Southeast Asia Cultures The activities of the warrior were based on the principle of bushido. Human civilization is the main characteristic of the culture in the continent of Asia.
• Japanese Colonialism Impact on the Korean Culture For instance, Faker and Ryang consider the effects that the Japanese culture has had on the Korean one, while Schmidt and Lim deal with the ways in which Korea accepted colonialism and how the country […]
• Japanese Culture and Identity in the Modern Era I strongly believe that Japanese popular culture might lose its identity due to influence from other cultures, which may lead to a slight modification of the culture.
• Age in the American and the Japanese Cultures In the Japanese environment, elderly people are respected and appreciated, whereas in the environment of American society, old people are viewed as dead weight.
• American vs. Japanese Cultures as Adaptive Systems Since the analysis of these cultures will be done from the perspective of the cultural theory, the paper will also examine how each culture influences the development of people, identity, and personality within it.
• Japanese National and Organizational Cultures So it is mandatory for the organization to work out modalities of avoiding the feeling of one culture domineering the organization while making the other cultures seem inferior by promoting intercultural bonding and communicating the […]
• Zen Buddhism Religion in Japanese Culture The uniqueness of Zen is in rejecting the importance of doctrines and emphasizing the role of the spiritual growth of the person through the practice of meditation.
• Daoism Philosophy in the Cultures of the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese Besides, the treatise explores the orientations of the Daoist tradition and the concepts of sages, deities, hell and heaven, and Confucian discourse.
• General Aspects of Japanese Corporate Culture Analysing the corporate culture in Japan, the essay will classify the companies into two: the large and small companies The Japanese culture of management stands out clearly in large corporations.
• Japanese Culture Analysis: Values and Traditions For a manager working with a person from the Japanese culture, understanding how the cultural dimensions apply to the culture will help the manager to work well with the other individuals.
• Diversity Management and Japanese Culture This is because it requires a comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of both the native country and also that of the foreign country in which you are supposed to carry out your business activities.
• Influence of Japanese Culture in Hawaii From the census, it is clear that the culture and the cuisine Hawaii, which are known today, were created by the history of the migration of Japanese to Hawaii when they settled there to work […]
• An Aspect of Politics and Culture of Meiji in Japan In mid 1880’s there was a financial crisis in Japan due to the huge expenses on industrialization. The Sino-Japanese war between 1894and 1895 was due to divergence of interests in Korea involving China and Japan.
• Whaling in Japan: Justifiable by Culture? The gap in reasoning when it comes to utilizing the concept of “scientific research” as a means of justifying the hunting of various whale species by Japanese whalers is the obvious fact that you do […]
• Analysis of “Yuri” Manga as a Peculiarity of Japanese Popular Culture Conclusions of the analysis indicate that yuri manga is not limited to lesbian culture, moreover, it is a significant element of Japanese popular culture.
• Japanese Fascist Ideology and Culture In a fascist authority, the issue of taking control over the people is of great significance and fascist leaders know that for them to control the naivety of the people well then they have to […]
• Japanese Anime and Doujin Culture In the 1980’s the anime spread to other parts of the world including the western world where it has continued to grow in popularity.
• Traditional Culture No Longer Is Prevalent in Japanese Society However with the phasing of the government policies in to the adoption of the 1870s epoch, it was aimed to enhance the exports of lacquerware to Western countries.
• Cross-Cultural Management: Japanese Culture and Its Workplace Practices This is one of the strategies that can be adopted. This is one of the pitfalls that should be avoided.
• Influence of the Consumption Phenomenon on Japan’s Social Culture The present society in Japan is founded on the concepts of bettering the welfare of people. Another vital aspect that is worth noting is that the Japanese society is exceptional in because of the presence […]
• Political Economy and Culture in Japan A strong work ethic and management culture in the commerce and manufacturing industry has ensured the prosperity of the Japanese economy. A good example of the interaction of political economics and culture is the case […]
• Japanese Culture vs. Chinese Culture: The Loss of Patriotism
• Anime and Its Effects on Japanese Culture
• Impact of Buddhism on the Japanese Culture
• Chinese and Japanese Culture Comparison and Analysis
• Cultural Globalisation Through Japanese Culture
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture?
• Differences Between Korean and Japanese Culture
• Eating Disorders and Self-Harm in Japanese Culture
• Gender Roles in the Japanese Culture
• Hip-Hop Impact on the Japanese Culture
• How Does Sushi Reflect Japanese Culture?
• Overview of Japanese Culture and Communication Features
• Japanese Culture Views on Homosexuality
• How Japanese Culture Has Become So Popular
• Japanese Culture and Its Relation to Buddhism
• How Japanese Culture Affects the Economy
• The Parallels Between Japanese Culture and Military Conflict History
• The Relationships Between Japanese Culture and Politics
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture
• Linking Japanese and South African Culture
• Japanese Culture and the Misconceptions Associated With It
• American Culture and Japanese Culture: Comparative Analysis
• Japanese Culture and Western Influence on It
• The Role of Sexuality in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Art, History, and Society
• Japanese Culture and Role of Women in It
• Communication Guide Between America Business Culture and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Factors Influenced the Disclosure of Financial Information
• The Link Between Religions and Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: From Ancient to Modern Times
• Social and Geographical Aspects of the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture Places High Value on Privacy
• The Gender Problems in the Japanese Culture
• Japanese Culture: Producing Japan in the World
• Key Similarities and Differences Between the Japanese and the American Cultures
• Japanese Culture That Reflects Through Their Writing and Art Forms
• Motivation and Organizational Japanese Culture
• The Odd and Fascinating Japanese Culture
• Tracing Back the Japanese Culture to 10,000 BC
• Understanding the Japanese Culture Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido
• What Is the Influence of Anime on Japanese Culture?
• Are Chinese and Japanese Cultures Similar?
• How Is Cultural Globalization Through Japanese Culture?
• Did the Samurai Have a Significant Impact on Japanese Culture and Historical?
• What Are the Differences Between Korean and Japanese Cultures?
• Are Eating Disorders and Self-Harm Inherent in Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Cultural Assessment of Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Gender Roles in Japanese Culture?
• How Has Japanese Culture Become So Popular?
• How Dose Japanese Culture Affects the Economy Cultural?
• What Is the Attitude Towards Homosexuality in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Features of Communication in Japanese Culture?
• How Reliance Will Get Fit Into the Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Affect Japanese Business?
• What Are Some Misconceptions About Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Women in Japanese Culture?
• What Do You Need to Know About Japanese Culture Before Going to Japan?
• How Did Japanese Culture Change From Ancient Times to Modern Times?
• How Is Japan’s Culture Reflected in Their Writing and Art Forms?
• What Are the Differences Between American and Japanese Cultures?
• How Is Sexuality Interpreted in Japanese Culture?
• How Does Japanese Culture Spread Abroad?
• What Is the Place of Religion in Japanese Culture?
• What Are the Socio-Geographical Aspects of Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Place of Food in Japanese Culture?
• How Can Japanese Culture Be Understood Through the Warrior Codes of Bushido?
• What Is the Uniqueness of Japanese Culture?
• How Does the West Respond to Japanese Culture?
• What Is the Role of Buddhism in Japanese Culture?
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Essay on Japanese Culture

Students are often asked to write an essay on Japanese Culture in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Japanese Culture

Traditional clothing.

Japanese culture is famous for its traditional clothing. The kimono is the most well-known dress. People wear it on special occasions like festivals and weddings. It’s made of silk and comes in many colors and patterns. The obi is a wide belt tied around the kimono. It’s not just clothing; it’s a symbol of Japanese beauty.

Festivals are big in Japan. They celebrate the seasons, like cherry blossoms in spring. There’s music, dancing, and food stalls. Children and adults dress up and enjoy games. Lanterns light up the night. These events show Japan’s love for nature and community.

Japanese arts include delicate crafts and performances. Origami, paper folding, and calligraphy, beautiful writing, are popular. In theaters, you can see kabuki, a dramatic play style with colorful costumes. Their art is about detail and expressing feelings.

250 Words Essay on Japanese Culture

Japanese traditions.

Japan is known for its unique traditions. Tea ceremonies show the beauty of calm and respect. People sit on tatami mats and enjoy green tea. The host carefully prepares the tea, showing the importance of every step. This tradition helps people find peace and enjoy simple moments.

Festivals and Celebrations

Japanese festivals are colorful and exciting. They celebrate the seasons, like cherry blossoms in spring or leaf colors in autumn. People wear traditional clothes called yukata and enjoy street food. Fireworks light up the sky in summer, and everyone feels joy together.

Arts in Japan

Japanese art includes beautiful paintings, calligraphy, and pottery. Manga and anime are popular among kids. These are comic books and cartoons that tell all kinds of stories. Origami, the art of paper folding, is also famous. With just a paper, you can make animals, flowers, and more.

Japanese Food

Food in Japan is not just about taste but also how it looks. Sushi is a well-known dish made with rice and fish. It’s healthy and delicious. Japanese people also enjoy noodles like ramen and soba. Meals are often served with green tea, which is good for your health.

Respect and Manners

In Japan, people greet each other by bowing. This shows respect. Kids learn to be polite and listen carefully when others speak. Saying “thank you” and “please” is very important. In schools, students clean their classrooms to learn responsibility and respect for their environment.

500 Words Essay on Japanese Culture

Introduction to japanese culture.

Japanese culture is like a beautiful tapestry, woven with history, traditions, and modern life. It’s a unique blend that forms the way of life in Japan, a country in East Asia. The culture is known for its traditional arts, distinct foods, and strong sense of community. Let’s explore some key parts of this fascinating culture.

Traditional Arts

When you think of Japan, you might imagine delicate paper cranes or beautiful paintings of cherry blossoms. These are part of the traditional arts that have been passed down for generations. Origami, the art of paper folding, is not just a craft but a way for people to express creativity. Calligraphy, which is the art of writing with a brush and ink, is another important traditional art. It’s not just about writing words; it’s about making the writing look like a piece of art.

Food in Japan

Family and community.

Family is at the heart of Japanese society. Respect for elders and ancestors is very important. Many homes have a small altar called a ‘butsudan’, where they place pictures and offer food to remember family members who have passed away. Community is also key in Japan. People often work together to keep their neighborhoods clean and safe, and there’s a strong sense of helping each other out.

Modern Pop Culture

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Japanese Writing Practice: Ultimate List of Resources for Every Level

Japanese writing can be one of the scariest aspects of learning Japanese! And there’s no shortcut to success – you simply have to get your Japanese writing practice in . Luckily there are no shortage of tools to help you with this!

Whether you are a beginner looking to practise your Japanese handwriting, or an advanced student in need of Japanese essay writing practice, there are lots of free and cheap resources out there at every level.

Here’s my roundup of the best websites, apps, printables and other tools for Japanese writing practice.

Japanese writing practice apps

Free websites for japanese writing practice online.

Easy Japanese writing practice for beginners

Japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice.

If you are new to learning Japanese, you’ll want to get your hiragana and katakana down pat before you move on to anything else.

Spending time on your hiragana and katakana writing practice not only helps you memorise the characters, it will also improve your handwriting and help you become accustomed to correct stroke order, which will be a massive benefit when you move on to learning kanji !

There are loads of free Japanese katakana and hiragana writing practice sheets online for you to download and print at home. Here’s a selection:

Free Japanese hiragana and katakana writing practice sheets pdf workbook

This free workbook from JapanesePod101 introduces all the hiragana and katakana characters and has spaces for you to trace, and then copy them out. The workbook also contains flashcards to practise your recognition. Note: you need to create a free account to access the workbook.

Japanese hiragana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out hiragana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Japanese katakana writing practice sheets

An alternative source to print out katakana practice sheets, with grid lines to help your handwriting.

Free BLANK Japanese writing practice sheets

If you just want blank Japanese graph paper to practise writing out your characters, I have created my own in various sizes/formats for you to download and print!

Kakikata print maker

An awesome website (designed for Japanese parents/teachers to use with their children) where you can design and print your own worksheets with kana or kanji characters of your choice, in various formats. You can even choose to add stroke order! Useful if you want to practise a particular word or set of characters.

Japanese Tools: create your own kana practice sheets

Here is another useful site where you can create your own Japanese practice writing sheets with the characters of your choice, printed with a gradual fade to trace/copy.

Japanese kanji writing practice

If you are studying kanji from a textbook or course and you just need blank kanji graph paper to practise writing on, you can print that out here .

If you are looking for pre-printed kanji worksheets with kanji to copy out, the best resource I have found is this one:

This amazing website lets you download and print kanji writing practice worksheets for kanji sets according to JLPT level, Japanese school grade level, Wanikani level, Kanji Garden app level, or frequency. It’s totally free and so useful!

Easy Japanese sentence writing practice

Once you know your kana and a few kanji, you might start to think about writing out some Japanese sentences.

JapanesePod101 writing practice worksheets 

JapanesePod101 has a selection of free Japanese writing practice sheets, available as pdfs that you can download and print yourself. They currently have 16+ free writing practice workbooks on beginner-friendly topics such as daily routine or ordering food. This is a good way to get used to writing out simple Japanese sentences at the beginner level. 

However, I wouldn’t recommend them for complete beginners because they use kanji – so you should be familiar with some kanji and the basic rules of stroke order before you use them.

As soon as you are able to form Japanese sentences on your own, I recommend you start a Japanese journal and/or sharing your sentences with others using the resources in the intermediate/advanced section below!

When you are learning to write in Japanese, I recommend writing them out by hand as much as possible because it helps you learn by muscle memory and helps you develop neat handwriting! However, it’s also useful to have a great writing practice app or two on your phone so you can study on the go.

There are lots of great apps out there to practise writing Japanese characters. Here are some recommendations:

Skritter is an app for learning Japanese (and Chinese) writing and vocabulary. You can use Skritter to learn kana and kanji from scratch, or simply to review what you’ve learned. It uses handwriting recognition and a spaced repetition system (SRS) to help you learn effectively.

Under the ‘test’ settings section you can choose to focus on writing only, or add in flashcards for reading and definition too.

It works well alongside other courses and textbooks to practise your characters. They have pre-made flashcard decks from various textbooks which is great when you get on to drilling vocabulary.

As with Skritter, you can either use this app to learn kana and kanji as a complete beginner, or just to practise writing the characters you already know. In fact, it’s probably the best app I’ve found if you just want a simple flashcard-style writing practice app with handwriting recognition. It’s a little clunkier to use but once you’ve got it set up, it’s easy. If you already know the kana and you just want to practise, choose ‘Yes, but I need more practice’ during the set-up stage.

The Scripts app from the makers of Drops teaches you kana and kanji (and also has the option to learn other languages’ scripts, such as hangul or hanzi, if you’re doing the polyglot thing). You learn by tracing the characters with your finger on the screen.

It’s a good option if you are learning to write the Japanese characters from scratch. However, I could not see an option to skip the ‘learning’ stage and just review, so if you’ve already mastered your kana it won’t be for you.

Learn Japanese! 

This is a very simple and easy to use app to learn how to write hiragana and katakana. However, you only learn 5 characters at a time and I couldn’t see a way to skip to review only, so again, great for complete beginners but not if you just want to practise.

Intermediate and advanced Japanese writing practice

At the intermediate and advanced levels, you are well beyond copying out characters/sentences on worksheets, and you will be creating your own compositions in Japanese. In fact, I highly recommend doing this as soon as you are able to! 

One popular method to get your Japanese writing practice is to keep a daily diary or journal in Japanese . You can try to incorporate new grammar and vocabulary you’ve learned, or simply write whatever comes into your head just to get used to writing in Japanese.

Even jotting down a few private sentences in your own notebook will be beneficial. But if you want to step it up a notch, use one of the websites/apps below to share your writing with other learners and native speakers and receive feedback.

If you’ve been studying languages for a while you might be mourning the loss of Lang8, a site where you could post journal entries in your target language online and get feedback from native speakers. Here are a couple of Lang 8 alternatives I’ve found:

LangCorrect

LangCorrect is a site where you can practise your Japanese writing online by writing daily journal entries and getting corrections from native speakers. It’s fairly active with the Japanese learning community, and you can usually expect to get a few comments/corrections within a few hours (don’t forget to take the time difference into account!). They also have journal prompts in case you’re feeling the writer’s block. It’s free to use.

Journaly is a similar site I’ve heard, about although I haven’t used it and I have the impression its user base is smaller than LangCorrect. It’s free to use and there is also a paid version which has a few extra benefits, such as bumping up your posts to get more attention.

This is a free website offered by Dickinson College. Its main purpose is for connecting language exchange partners, but they also have a feature where you can post writing samples to receive corrections from native speakers.

r/WriteStreakJP

This subreddit is a forum to practise writing in Japanese. It’s for anyone at any level who wants to practise their Japanese writing. The idea is that you write something every day to build up a ‘streak’ and build the habit of writing in Japanese regularly.

You can write whatever you feel like; many people write diary-like entries about their day, or share random thoughts, or write about something new they’ve learned etc. There are native Japanese speaking mods who drop by to correct mistakes.

There are a lot more learners than native speakers on the forum, though, so unfortunately you’re not guaranteed feedback. But it’s still a great place to practise writing (and reading!) Japanese.

HelloTalk is a language exchange app where you can connect with Japanese native speakers, chat via text, voice or video call and receive feedback on your Japanese. In addition to connecting with people directly, you can also create ‘moments’ (write posts such as sharing journal entries, or pictures of your day) and ask general questions, and receive comments/feedback from other users.

Be warned, recently I hear a lot of users complaining that people use the messaging function like a dating app – but you may have better success using the ‘moments’ function or messaging people yourself first.

Another language exchange app where you can exchange text messages with a Japanese-speaking partner and receive corrections.

HiNative  

On HiNative you can ask questions about language usage and get feedback from native speakers. You can write your questions either in Japanese or English. This question/answer service is free. Premium paid members can also post diary entries to get feedback.

More resources for Japanese writing practice

Here’s a mixture of other useful tools and resources I’ve found for Japanese writing practice that don’t fit neatly into the above categories! This section contains a mixture of free and paid resources.

Japanese water calligraphy practice kits (paid)

Why not go old-school and practise your Japanese characters with a real calligraphy brush! In Japan, students often practise their calligraphy with these nifty ‘magic’ kits, where you paint with water on the special water-activated paper, which fades away after a few minutes so you can reuse it time and time again. This is a fun way to refine your Japanese handwriting while reviewing the characters!

Printable Japanese journals with writing prompts (paid) 

I found this printable Japanese journaling/writing practice kit on Etsy. It contains dozens of writing prompts at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, so you’ve got no excuse not to jot down a few sentences in Japanese every day! Check out the other great resources by the same author.

Japanese planner templates (free)

If you want to take daily notes or plan your day/week in Japanese, this site has loads of free Japanese planner templates to print out.

Japanese writing practice notebooks (paid)

The paper used in Japan for school compositions/essay writing practice is called genkouyoushi . There are lots of genkouyoushi notebooks with cute cover designs available on Amazon.

Free printable genkouyoushi (Japanese composition paper)

Alternatively, you can print out your own genkouyoushi-style blank writing sheets here for free.

Japanese sentence/usage databases

These databases are useful tools that I often use when writing in Japanese to check how words are used. You can search for a Japanese word and see it in context of many authentic, native Japanese sentences, to get an idea of correct and natural usage. You can also use them for sentence mining , if that’s your thing.

• Reverso – my favourite. Need to create a free account to see all sentences.
• Natsume – see how often a word is used, and which particles and other words usually follow it
• Sentence search with audio

How to Write Japanese Essays book (paid)

If you are studying Japanese to a very high level, for example to enter a Japanese university or company, you will need Japanese essay writing practice. The book How to Write Japanese Essays comes highly recommended and will train you to write in the formal academic style that is taught in Japan.

Japanese writing practice roundup

Which tools and resources do you use for Japanese writing practice? If you know any I’ve missed out, please share in the comments!

See these related posts for more useful resources to learn Japanese:

• Japanese Writing Paper: FREE Printable Blank Japanese Writing Sheets
• FREE Websites for Japanese Reading Practice (At Every Level)
• 10+ Effective Ways to Get Japanese Speaking Practice (Even if You Study By Yourself!)
• Where to get Your Japanese Listening Practice: The Epic List of Resources!
• The Ultimate List of Japanese Podcasts for Listening Practice (Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced)
• Best YouTube Channels to Learn Japanese {20+ Japanese YouTubers!}

Rebecca Shiraishi-Miles

Rebecca is the founder of Team Japanese. She spent two years teaching English in Ehime, Japan. Now back in the UK, she spends her time blogging, self-studying Japanese and wrangling a very genki toddler.

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Transition Words and Phrases for Japanese Essays  

  June 9, 2020

By   Alexis Papa

Are you having a hard time connecting between your ideas in your Japanese essay? In this article, we have listed useful transition words and phrases that you can use to help you let your ideas flow and have an organized essay.

Japanese Phrases for Giving Examples and Emphasis

For example,

がいこく、たとえばちゅうごくへいったことがありますか。 Gaikoku, tatoeba Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu ka?

Have you been abroad, for instance China?

たぶんちゅうごくへいったことがあります。 Tabun Chuugoku e itta koto ga arimasu.

I have probably been to China.

Japanese Essay Phrases: General Explaining

しけんにごうかくするのために、まじめにべんきょうしなきゃ。 Shiken ni goukaku suru no tame ni, majime ni benkyou shinakya.

In order to pass the exam, I must study.

あしたあめがふるそう。だから、かさをもってきて。 Ashita ame ga furu sou. Dakara, kasa wo motte kite.

It seems that it will rain tomorrow. So, bring an umbrella.

Showing Sequence

まず、あたらしいさくぶんのがいせつをしようとおもう。 Mazu, atarashii sakubun no gaisetsu wo shiyou to omou.

First, I am going to do an outline of my new essay.

つぎに、さくぶんをかきはじめます。 Tsugi ni, sakubun wo kaki hajimemasu.

Then, I will begin writing my essay.

Adding Supporting Statements

かれはブレーキをかけ、そしてくるまはとまった。 Kare wa bureki wo kake, soshite kuruma wa tomatta.

He put on the brakes and then the car stopped.

いえはかなりにみえたし、しかもねだんがてごろだった。 Ie wa kanari ni mieta shi, shikamo nedan ga tegoro datta.

The house looked good; moreover,the (selling) price was right.

Demonstrating Contrast 

にほんごはむずかしいですが、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ga, omoshiroi desu.

Although Japanese language is difficult, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。でも、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. Demo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいです。しかし、おもしろいです。 Nihondo wa muzukashii desu. Shikashi, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese language is difficult. However, it is enjoyable.

にほんごはむずかしいですけれど、おもしろいです。 Nihongo wa muzakashii desu keredo, omoshiroi desu.

Japanese Essay Phrases for Summarizing

われわれはこのはなしはじつわだというけつろんにたっした。 Wareware wa kono hanashi wa jitsuwa da to iu ketsuron ni tasshita.

We have come to a conclusion that this is a true story.

Now that you have learned these Japanese transitional words and phrases, we hope that your Japanese essay writing has become easier. Leave a comment and write examples of sentences using these Japanese essay phrases!

Alexis Papa

Alexis is a Japanese language and culture enthusiast from the Philippines. She is a Japanese Studies graduate, and has worked as an ESL and Japanese instructor at a local language school. She enjoys her free time reading books and watching series.

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Resource Guide for Japanese Language Students: Essays

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About This Page

This page introduces the variety of essays written by popular contemporary authors. Unless noted, all are in Japanese.

The author, さくらももこ, is known for writing a comic titled 『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』. The comic is based on her own childhood experiences and depicts the everyday life of a girl with a nickname of Chibi Maruko-chan. The author has been constantly writing casual and humorous essays, often recollecting her childhood memories. We have both the『 ちびまる子ちゃん 』 comic series and other essays by the author. 

To see a sample text in a new tab, please  click on the cover image or the title .

中島らも(1952-2004) started his career as a copyrigher but changed his path to become a prolific writer, publishing novels, essays, drama scripts and rakugo stories. He became popular with his "twisted sense of humour."  He is also active in the music industry when he formed his own band. He received the 13th Eiji Yoshikawa New Author Prize with his 『今夜、すべてのバーで』 and Mystery Writers of Japan Aaward with 『 ガダラの豚 』.

東海林（しょうじ）さだお

東海林さだお(1937-) is a well-known cartoonist, but he is also famous for his essays on food. His writing style is light and humorous and tends to pay particular attention toward regular food, such as bananas, miso soup, and eggd in udon noodles, rather than talk about gourmet meals. (added 5/2/2014)

Collection of Essays: 天声人語 = Vox Populi, Vox Deli (Bilingual)

A collection of essays which appear on the front page of Asahi Shinbun . Each essay is approx. 600 words. KU has collections published around 2000. Seach KU Online catalog with call number AC145 .T46 for more details. 

To see a sample text, please click on the cover image or the title .

Other Essays

Online Essay

• 村上さんのところ "Mr. Murakami's Place" -- Haruki Murakami's Advice Column Part of Haruki Murakami's official site. He answers questions sent to this site. He will also take questions in English. Questions will be accepted until Jan. 31, 2015.

Search from KU Collection

If you are looking for essays in Japanese available at KU, use this search box. If you know the author, search by last name, then first name, such as "Sakura, Momoko." Make sure to select "Author" in the search field option.:

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• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 11:08 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.ku.edu/c.php?g=95189

Japanese Writing Lab #1: Basic self-introduction

In a recent post I announced I would be starting a new program on my blog called “Japanese Writing Lab” that aims to motivate people to practice writing in Japanese, provides feedback on their writing, and allows them to see posts of other Japanese learners. This article represents the first writing assignment of that program.

For this assignment, I’d like to focus on a very common, but important topic: self-introduction, known as 自己紹介 (jiko shoukai) in Japanese.

Self-introductions can range widely from formal to casual, and from very short (name only) to much longer. This time, I’d like everyone to focus on writing a basic self-introduction whose main purpose is to actually introduce yourself to me and others in the group. So while it is a writing exercise, it actually serves an important purpose as well. Try to keep it brief (a few sentences is fine) and stick more to written language as opposed to spoken language. For example, you would avoid using things like “あの。。。” which you might say if you actually spoke a self-introduction.

For those who are comfortable writing a self-introduction in Japanese, you can go ahead and get started. If you have written one recently, I suggest you try to write one again from scratch without referring to it unless you really get stuck.

Once you finish this writing assignment please post it via one of the two following methods:

• For those who have a blog (WordPress or anywhere else is fine): post it on your blog, and post a comment on this article including a link to your post. I also suggest adding a link on your post back to this article, so people who find your post can follow it to read other people’s submissions.
• For those who don’t have a blog: simply post it as a comment to this article with the text you’ve written. [Note: creating a blog is pretty easy and free on many sites, so if you have a few minutes I’d just consider just trying to create a blog]

I’ll be reading through the submitted assignments and will try to make constructive comments. I highly recommend for everyone submitting to read other people’s submissions.

For those who are not too familiar with how to write self-introductions in Japanese, here is a general template to help you get started (taken from this Japanese website). If you want to do your own research on how to write a self-introduction, that is fine as well. Feel free to omit any of the below categories, for example if you don’t want to discuss where you live.

Keep in mind that for a self-introduction in Japanese, it is usually best to use at minimum basic polite language, like ~です and ~ます, since you aren’t likely to be on very familiar terms with those you are speaking to.

General template for  basic self-introduction

僕（私) の名前は [your name here] です。

• Place where you live (住所)

住所は[place where you live]というところです。

• Hobbies (趣味)

趣味は [one or more of your hobbies]です。

仕事は「your current job」をしています。

• Positive ending

[try to think of something positive to close with]

My submission

For each assignment I will give my submission as well, to help give you ideas. Feel free to send me questions or comments about my submission.

For this assignment I’ll keep things pretty simple and mostly follow the template I gave above, but in future assignments I’ll start using more advanced language and get more creative.

僕の名前はlocksleyuです。

住所はオレゴン州のポートランドですが、先週までは南フロリダに住んでいました。

趣味は色々ありますが、最近は日本の小説を読んだりチェスをやったりしています。

仕事はソフトウェア開発をしています。

このクラスで日本語の文章力を向上できたらいいと思います。

よろしくお願いします。

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22 thoughts on “ Japanese Writing Lab #1: Basic self-introduction ”

Hi – I put together a WordPress site today so I could participate in this, and also to encourage me to write in Japanese.

Here’s my basic self introduction article: https://bokunojapanese.wordpress.com/2016/05/30/japanese-writing-lab-1-basic-self-introduction/

I tried once yesterday and once just now to post here and I am not seeing anything getting through. Are these comments moderated? Is there some other issue? I’m sick of retyping my introduction 🙁

The comments are moderated (that is the default setting of WordPress) but I check very often and approve pretty much all comments except for Spam. For some reason I didn’t see any of your comments from yesterday, only two from today.

I’ll read your other comment and respond now.

OK, this blog doesn’t seem to accept Japanese characters as comments (I just tried a third time).

I’m sorry that you are experiencing trouble. I’ll try to do my best help you out so we can get this solved (:

I have used Japanese before in comments. Let’s test now:

こんにちは [<- can you read this?] What happens when you try to write Japanese characters? Can you please make a post like this with some Japanese and some English so I can see what it looks like? Also, what browser/OS are you using? Can you try a variation of either? I am using Safari/Mac OS.

Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I’m reading that. The last three comments I have made that have included either all Japanese characters or a mix of Japanese and English have just…vanished. Like, I click “post” and the page refreshes but I don’t see my comment or even a “Your comment is pending” notification. I’m on Chrome on Mac OS, everything’s reasonably up to date.

Here’s a comment with English and hiragana only: こんにちは Thanks for helping me debug and sorry to be leaving so many comments on the blog ;_;

Here’s a comment with English, hiragana and kanji: こんいちは 漢字は難しいですが、大切です。

Everything looks great now, I can see all the characters fine (: I’m guessing that was just some temporary issue with WordPress.

You can go ahead and try to put your self-introduction now. Just make a backup copy in case it gets deleted again.

You’re not going to believe this, but it STILL isn’t posting. I was avoiding making a new blog because I thought it would be “more work” but now I’m thinking that would be simpler after all.

Thats so weird, I wonder why. Maybe if you make a longer comment it doesn’t like it?

I agree it will probably be easier at this point to create your own blog, and that will have other benefits for you in the future.

But if you still want to try and troubleshoot the original issue I can help…

The good news is that WordPress makes it really easy to set up a new blog these days. I guess in retrospect I should have done that to begin with. Thanks for your help trying to debug this issue! https://nihongonoheya.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/first-blog-post/

Great, glad you were able to make a blog so easily! Will check out your blog later today when I get more time.

Hi, I have been reading several of your articles with great interest. The first that lead me to you was your comments on ‘Hibana’ by Naoki Matayoshi. A friend of mine in Japan is reading this book and I was curious about its content. Your translation is amazing. To introduce myself I set up a site, above link, however it doesn’t really seem to be a blog as such, so I may need to change that later. Anyway it’s accepted the script ok so you should be able to read it. I hope to join in here to improve my Japanese. Thanks for your time, Sylvia

Thanks very much for the comment and feedback!

Also, I’m glad you are interested in joining my program. I checked out your site, but like you said it seems like it isn’t exactly a blog, so I am not sure if I will be able to comment. Without that, it will be hard for me to correct your writings (I found a few errors I wanted to point out).

If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind trying to create a blog on WordPress.com? It should be pretty easy and it’s free.

Hi, Thank you for your reply. I think I’ve sorted it OK. See link below, I’ve never done a blog before so this is new to me! https://kafuka97.wordpress.com/

I just copied what I wrote before, no changes. Many thanks, Sylvia

PS: I do have a website which I have sent a link to.

Hello! My name is Jheanelle, I just found your website today and I think I’ve already looked through have of it. Its amazing. I’m interested in doing the assignments but I don’t have a blog so I’ll post it in the comments section.

ジェネルと言います。今日本に住んで仕事にしています。私は英語の先生です。 色々な趣味があります。例えば、寝たり、韓国の番組を見たり、本を読んだりするのが好きです。 日本語もっと上手になりたいそしてこのブログを見つけて嬉しくなった

どうぞよろしくお願いします

Hello Jheanelle. I’m sorry for the late reply but your message was showing up in Spam on my blog for some reason.

Thanks for the submission. Right now I am sort of taking a break from the writing labs since I didn’t get too much response from my readers, but I will consider restarting them again at some point. There is a few others however I posted (up to #3 or #4, I think).

I hope your Japanese studies are going well.

One minor comment, in your sentence “今日本に住んで仕事にしています” I think maybe you could have said: “今日本で仕事をしています” or “今日本に住んでで仕事もしています”

These might sound a little better.

One more thing, I recommend watching Japanese dramas instead of Korean if you want to improve faster (:

Hello locksleyu, I just posted my self-introduction here: https://soreymikleo1421.wordpress.com/2021/05/21/japanese-writing-lab-1-basic-self-introduction/ Thank you in advance!

Thanks! I just posted a few comments.

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English Language Education in Japan: Problems and Solutions

This paper provides a brief outline of some of the major changes in English language education (ELE) in Japan and then focuses on contemporary developments. The author identifies key problems with Japan's ELE system and provides some possible solutions. Future directions for Japan's ELE system are also discussed.

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Yumi Kobayashi

English is perceived as “a common international language” by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (hereafter, MEXT, 2014) and other scholars (e.g. Otsu, 2015, p.105). However, English education within Japan does not live up to the designed expectations of MEXT, educators, and scholars alike (e.g. Otsu, 2015). To reflect this both the TOEFL and IELTS average scores are the second lowest in Asia (ETS, 2016; IELTS, 2015). Japanese English learners also tend to be far less fluent in English communication (Shiozawa, 2016a). Based on these findings it may be that in order to improve the English communication abilities for Japanese people, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) perspective could be one of the essential elements to consider implementing to aid improvement of Japanese English education. This paper will therefore explore the importance of ELF perspective for English education within Japan as well as the issues and challenges of incorporating the ELF perspective into the Japanese education system.

Howard Brown , Bethany Iyobe

The number of institutions offering English-medium instruction of content classes (EMI) is growing in Japan. Along with high profile programs at elite universities, innovations in EMI are developing across the country. According to government sources, at least 194 universities currently offer some undergraduate EMI courses, often in humanities and social sciences. However, individual EMI programs are developing to suit local needs and contexts. Some are fully-developed, degree-granting programs while others have much less coherence. Currently there is no overall picture of the growth of EMI and no clear indication of what the future implications for Japanese higher education might be. This presentation focuses on the initial results of a study attempting to develop just such a picture. Based on a review of published documents, interviews with EMI program stakeholders and a survey sent to all universities known to offer EMI, results show that EMI programs in Japan exist along a continuum from ad hoc collections of EMI classes scattered across faculties, based on individual teachers' decisions to teach in English, to entire campuses running in English. A tentative typology of undergraduate EMI in Japan can now be proposed to outline the motivations, goals, makeup and pedagogies of programs. This allows a discussion of possible implications of this new trend to proceed on a solid foundation: a real understanding of the current state of EMI in Japan.

Introduction The new courses of study for Japan&#39;s primary and secondary education were formally released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (hereafter MEXT) in 2008 and 2009. One of the biggest changes has come in the area of English education, with English being included for the first time in the elementary school curriculum. The inclusion of English in elementary school should theoretically have a huge impact on the way English will be taught in junior and senior high schools. In this paper, we will look at the state of English education in Japan and the prospects the new course of study point to.

hana xochitl

Robert Brock

This essay reviews the situation of English teaching in Japanese universities. English is a compulsory subject for most freshmen students, who have already studied it for six or more years. Many of them have little need or enthusiasm for more English. We discuss this situation and how to motivate the students.

Humanities and Social Sciences Bulletin 人文科学論集, Meiji University

Annette Bradford

Dennis Riches

In recent years Japanese universities have been feeling increasing pressure to survive in the competition for a decreasing number of students, and English pro- grams have been an obvious target of reform because of their potential to appeal to applicants who want the language skills to communicate with the outside world. However, there are many ways in which this reform could be carried out badly by university administrations that don&#x27;t take a full account of the complexity of the issues surrounding English education in Japan (EEJ). A common framework for reforming English programs is a corporate one, tak- ing inspiration from successful reforms at companies. This could be the wrong way to approach the problem because a corporation has several advantages over a univer- sity when it needs to restructure itself. One obstacle facing universities is that they are intensely democratic, and thus political, institutions. Reform cannot proceed as it does in a corporation, with the old ...

Research paper

Wongani Kings

ABSTRACT This research dwelt on the challenges faced in the teaching and learning of English as a second or foreign language. The paper uncovers factors that limit the learning and teaching of English as a second or foreign language. These challenges are mainly societal and administrative centered, teacher centered and finally, learner centered. The study also came up with workable solutions to overcome the identified challenges.

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Home » Articles » How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?

written by Caitlin Sacasas

Language: Japanese

Reading time: 13 minutes

Published: Apr 2, 2021

Updated: Oct 18, 2021

How to Write in Japanese — A Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Writing

Does the Japanese writing system intimidate you?

For most people, this seems like the hardest part of learning Japanese. How to write in Japanese is a bit more complex than some other languages. But there are ways to make it easier so you can master it!

Here at Fluent in 3 Months , we encourage actually speaking over intensive studying, reading, and listening. But writing is an active form of learning too, and crucial for Japanese. Japanese culture is deeply ingrained in its writing systems. If you can’t read or write it, you’ll struggle as you go along in your studies.

Some of the best Japanese textbooks expect you to master these writing systems… fast . For instance, the popular college textbook Genki , published by the Japan Times, expects you to master the basics in as little as a week. After that, they start to phase out the romanized versions of the word.

It’s also easy to mispronounce words when they’re romanized into English instead of the original writing system. If you have any experience learning how to write in Korean , then you know that romanization can vary and the way it reads isn’t often how it’s spoken.

Despite having three writing systems, there are benefits to it. Kanji, the “most difficult,” actually makes memorizing vocabulary easier!

So, learning to write in Japanese will go a long way in your language studies and help you to speak Japanese fast .

Why Does Japanese Have Three Writing Systems? A Brief Explainer

Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two are collectively called kana and are the basics of writing in Japanese.

Writing Kana

If you think about English, we have two writing systems — print and cursive. Both print and cursive write out the same letters, but they look “sharp” and “curvy.” The same is true for kana. Hiragana is “curvy” and katakana is “sharp,” but they both represent the same Japanese alphabet (which is actually called a syllabary). They both represent sounds, or syllables, rather than single letters (except for vowels and “n”, hiragana ん or katakana ン). Hiragana and katakana serve two different purposes.

Hiragana is the most common, and the first taught to Japanese children. If this is all you learn, you would be understood (although you’d come across child-like). Hiragana is used for grammar functions, like changing conjugation or marking the subject of a sentence. Because of this, hiragana helps break up a sentence when combined with kanji. It makes it easier to tell where a word begins and ends, especially since Japanese doesn’t use spaces. It’s also used for furigana, which are small hiragana written next to kanji to help with the reading. You see furigana often in manga , Japanese comics, for younger audiences who haven’t yet learned to read all the kanji. (Or learners like us!)

Katakana serves to mark foreign words. When words from other languages are imported into Japanese, they’re often written in Japanese as close as possible to the original word. (Like how you can romanize Japanese into English, called romaji). For example, パン ( pan ) comes from Spanish, and means “bread.” Or from English, “smartphone” is スマートフォン ( suma-tofon ) or shortened, slang form スマホ ( sumaho ). Katakana can also be used to stylistically write a Japanese name, to write your own foreign name in Japanese, or to add emphasis to a word when writing.

Writing Kanji

Then there’s kanji. Kanji was imported from Chinese, and each character means a word, instead of a syllable or letter. 犬, read inu , means “dog.” And 食, read ta or shoku , means “food” or “to eat.” They combine with hiragana or other kanji to complete their meaning and define how you pronounce them.

So if you wanted to say “I’m eating,” you would say 食べます ( tabemasu ), where -bemasu completes the verb and puts it in grammatical tense using hiragana. If you wanted to say “Japanese food,” it would be 日本食 ( nipponshoku ), where it’s connected to other kanji.

If you didn’t have these three forms, it would make reading Japanese very difficult. The sentences would run together and it would be confusing. Like in this famous Japanese tongue twister: にわにはにわにわとりがいる, or romanized niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru . But in kanji, it looks like 庭には二羽鶏がいる. The meaning? “There are chickens in the garden.” Thanks to the different writing systems, we know that the first niwa means garden, the second ni wa are the grammatical particles, the third niwa is to say there are at least two, and niwatori is “chickens.”

Japanese Pronunciation

Japanese has fewer sounds than English, and except for “r,” most of them are in the English language. So you should find most of the sounds easy to pick up!

Japanese has the same 5 vowels, but only 16 consonants. For the most part, all syllables consist of only a vowel, or a consonant plus a vowel. But there is the single “n,” and “sh,” “ts,” and “ch” sounds, as well as consonant + -ya/-yu/-yo sounds. I’ll explain this more in a minute.

Although Japanese has the same 5 vowel sounds, they only have one sound . Unlike English, there is no “long A” and “short A” sound. This makes it easy when reading kana because the sound never changes . So, once you learn how to write kana, you will always know how to pronounce it.

Here’s how the 5 vowels sound in Japanese:

• あ / ア: “ah” as in “latte”
• い / イ: “ee” as in “bee”
• う / ウ: “oo” as in “tooth”
• え / エ: “eh” as in “echo”
• お / オ: “oh” as in “open”

Even when combined with consonants, the sound of the vowel stays the same. Look at these examples:

• か / カ: “kah” as in “copy”
• ち / チ: “chi” as in “cheap”
• む / ム: “mu” as in “move”
• せ / セ: “se” as in “set”
• の / ノ: “no” as in “note”

Take a look at the entire syllabary chart:

Based on learning how to pronounce the vowels, can you pronounce the rest of the syllables? The hardest ones will be the R-row of sounds, “tsu,” “fu,” and “n.”

For “r” it sounds between an “r” and an “l” sound in English. Almost like the Spanish, actually. First, try saying “la, la, la.” Your tongue should push off of the back of your teeth to make this sound. Now say “rah, rah, rah.” Notice how your tongue pulls back to touch your back teeth. Now, say “dah, dah, dah.” That placement of your tongue to make the “d” sound is actually where you make the Japanese “r” sound. You gently push off of this spot on the roof of your mouth as you pull back your tongue like an English “r.”

“Tsu” blends together “t” and “s” in a way we don’t quite have in English. You push off the “t” sound, and should almost sound like the “s” is drawn out. The sound “fu” is so soft, and like a breath of air coming out. Think like a sigh, “phew.” It doesn’t sound like “who,” but a soft “f.” As for our lone consonant, “n” can sound like “n” or “m,” depending on the word.

Special Japanese Character Readings and How to Write Them

There are a few Japanese characters that combine with others to create more sounds. You’ll often see dakuten , which are double accent marks above the character on the right side ( ﾞ), and handakuten , which is a small circle on the right side ( ﾟ).

Here’s how dakuten affect the characters:

And handakuten are only used with the H-row characters, changing it from “h” to “p.” So か ( ka ) becomes が ( ga ), and ひ ( hi ) becomes either び ( bi ) or ぴ ( pi ).

A sokuon adds a small っ between two characters to double the consonant that follows it and make a “stop” in the word. In the saying いらっしゃいませ ( irasshaimase , “Welcome!”), the “rahs-shai” has a slight glottal pause where the “tsu” emphasizes the double “s.”

One of the special readings that tend to be mispronounced are the yoon characters. These characters add a small “y” row character to the other rows to blend the sounds together. These look like ちゃ ( cha ), きょ ( kyo ), and しゅ ( shu ). They’re added to the “i” column of kana characters.

An example of a common mispronunciation is “Tokyo.” It’s often said “Toh-key-yo,” but it’s actually only two syllables: “Toh-kyo.” The k and y are blended; there is no “ee” sound in the middle.

How to Read, Write, and Pronounce Kanji Characters

Here’s where things get tricky. Kanji, since it represents a whole word or idea, and combines with hiragana… It almost always has more than one way to read and pronounce it. And when it comes to writing them, they have a lot more to them.

Let’s start by breaking down the kanji a bit, shall we?

Most kanji consist of radicals, the basic elements or building blocks. For instance, 日 (“sun” or “day”) is a radical. So is 言 (“words” or “to say”) and 心 (“heart”). So when we see the kanji 曜, we see that “day” has been squished in this complex kanji. This kanji means “day of the week.” It’s in every weekday’s name: 月曜日 ( getsuyoubi , “Monday”), 火曜日 ( kayoubi , “Tuesday”), 水曜日 ( suiyoubi , “Wednesday”), etc.

When the kanji for “words” is mixed into another kanji, it usually has something to do with conversation or language. 日本語 ( nihongo ) is the word for “Japanese” and the final kanji 語 includes 言. And as for 心, it’s often in kanji related to expressing emotions and feelings, like 怒る ( okoru , “angry”) and 思う ( omou , “to think”).

In this way, some kanji make a lot of sense when we break them down like this. A good example is 妹 ( imouto ), the kanji for “little sister.” It’s made up of two radicals: 女, “woman,” and 未, “not yet.” She’s “not yet a woman,” because she’s your kid sister.

So why learn radicals? Because radicals make it easier to memorize, read, and write the kanji. By learning radicals, you can break the kanji down using mnemonics (like “not yet a woman” to remember imouto ). If you know each “part,” you’ll remember how to write it. 妹 has 7 strokes to it, but only 2 radicals. So instead of memorizing tons of tiny lines, memorize the parts.

As for pronouncing them, this is largely a memorization game. But here’s a pro-tip. Each kanji has “common” readings — often only one or two. Memorize how to read the kanji with common words that use them, and you’ll know how to read that kanji more often than not.

Japanese Writing: Stroke Order

So, I mentioned stroke order with kanji. But what is that? Stroke order is the proper sequence you use to write Japanese characters.

The rule of stroke order is you go from top to bottom, left to right.

This can still be confusing with some complex kanji, but again, radicals play a part here. You would break down each radical top left-most stroke to bottom right stroke, then move on to the next radical. A helpful resource is Jisho.org , which shows you how to properly write all the characters. Check out how to write the kanji for “kanji” as a perfect example of breaking down radicals.

When it comes to kana, stroke order still matters. Even though they’re simpler, proper stroke order makes your characters easier to read. And some characters rely on stroke order to tell them apart. Take シ and ツ:

[Shi and Tsu example]

If you didn’t use proper stroke order, these two katakana characters would look the same!

How to Memorize Japanese Kanji and Kana

When it comes to Japanese writing, practice makes perfect. Practice writing your sentences down in Japanese, every day. Practice filling in the kana syllabary chart for hiragana and katakana, until there are no blank boxes and you’ve got them all right.

Create mnemonics for both kanji and kana. Heisig’s method is one of the best ways to memorize how to write kanji with mnemonics. Using spaced repetition helps too, like Anki. Then you’re regularly seeing each character, and you can input your mnemonics into the note of the card so you have it as a reminder.

Another great way to practice is to write out words you already know. If you know mizu means “water,” then learn the kanji 水 and write it with the kanji every time from here on out. If you know the phrase おはようございます means “good morning,” practice writing in in kana every morning. That phrase alone gives you practice with 9 characters and two with dakuten! And try looking up loan words to practice katakana.

Tools to Help You with Japanese Writing

There are some fantastic resources out there to help you practice writing in Japanese. Here are a few to help you learn it fast:

• JapanesePod101 : Yes, JapanesePod101 is a podcast. But they often feature YouTube videos and have helpful PDFs that teach you kanji and kana! Plus, you’ll pick up all kinds of helpful cultural insights and grammar tips.
• LingQ : LingQ is chock full of reading material in Japanese, giving you plenty of exposure to kana, new kanji, and words. It uses spaced repetition to help you review.
• Skritter : Skritter is one of the best apps for Japanese writing. You can practice writing kanji on the app, and review them periodically so you don’t forget. It’s an incredible resource to keep up with your Japanese writing practice on the go.
• Scripts : From the creator of Drops, this app was designed specifically for learning languages with a different script from your own.

How to Type in Japanese

It’s actually quite simple to type in Japanese! On a PC, you can go to “Language Settings” and click “Add a preferred language.” Download Japanese — 日本語 — and make sure to move it below English. (Otherwise, it will change your laptop’s language to Japanese… Which can be an effective study tool , though!)

To start typing in Japanese, you would press the Windows key + space. Your keyboard will now be set to Japanese! You can type the romanized script, and it will show you the suggestions for kanji and kana. To easily change back and forth between Japanese and English, use the alt key + “~” key.

For Mac, you can go to “System Preferences”, then “Keyboard” and then click the “+” button to add and set Japanese. To toggle between languages, use the command key and space bar.

For mobile devices, it’s very similar. You’ll go to your settings, then language and input settings. Add the Japanese keyboard, and then you’ll be able to toggle back and forth when your typing from the keyboard!

Japanese Writing Isn’t Scary!

Japanese writing isn’t that bad. It does take practice, but it’s fun to write! It’s a beautiful script. So, don’t believe the old ideology that “three different writing systems will take thousands of hours to learn!” A different writing system shouldn’t scare you off. Each writing system has a purpose and makes sense once you start learning. They build on each other, so learning it gets easier as you go. Realistically, you could read a Japanese newspaper after only about two months of consistent studying and practice with kanji!

Caitlin Sacasas

Content Writer, Fluent in 3 Months

Caitlin is a copywriter, content strategist, and language learner. Besides languages, her passions are fitness, books, and Star Wars. Connect with her: Twitter | LinkedIn

Speaks: English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish

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The Ultimate Guide to Citing Japanese Sources Everything you need to know about properly giving credit in Japanese

September 4, 2015 • words written by Kristen Dexter • Art by Aya Francisco

Whether you're in high school, college, or grad school, you need to know how to cite your sources. Guides and styles litter the internet but the moment you have to cite something that isn't in English all of those sources of knowledge seem to dry up. That's where we come in! You're about to learn everything there is to know about citing Japanese sources and making your works cited/bibliography page with those sources. Let's get started.

What is a Colophon?

A colophon is something you're probably familiar with but never knew it had a name. It's that page at the beginning of a book that looks a little something like this:

It has all the information you need to write a citation, nicely organized into one easy to access place. Whether you're citing in MLA, Chicago, or APA, everything you need should be here. It has some extra info you don't need, like what font they used, but it's going to be your best friend regardless.

In Japanese this is called okudzuke 奥付 （ おくづけ ） . These colophons are a little different from the ones your probably used to. They contain way more information than English language ones usually do. The terms they use can change simply for style purposes, and they are almost always at the back of the book (but sometimes they're at the front like English ones). This may sound daunting at first, but once you know what you're looking for it's actually quite simple!

Important Terms

Knowing what the colophon is will help, but not if you don't know what you're looking for. Here's what you need to have a complete citation:

• Place of Publication
• Date of Publication

That's all well and good, but if you don't know those terms in Japanese they aren't very helpful. Learn these words:

• 著 / 著者 – Author
• 発行所 / 出版社 – Publisher
• 出版 / 発行日 / 発行の年月日 – Date of Publication

The title should be pretty obvious, it's going to be on the cover and usually at the top of the colophon. The date is also pretty easy to find since it should be in roman numerals, but if you're using a super old, dusty book it might be written with the Japanese date. If you see something like 昭和６４ (Showa 64) that was 1989. But so was Heisei 1. Make sure to brush up on your Japanese calendar skills if you need to. Whenever you encounter these dates, change them over to the western calendar and use roman numerals.

If you'd like to know what the rest of the information you're looking at is, take a look at this vocabulary list:

• 発行者 – Publisher (Person)
• 発行人 – Publisher / Issuer (Person)
• 印刷者 – Printer
• 印刷所 – Printing Office / Press
• 編集 – Editor
• 組版所 – Typesetter

Edition Information:

• 初版 / 初版発行 – First Edition
• 〜版発行 – (number) Edition
• 第〜版発行 – (number) Issue / Edition
• 印行 – Reprinting

Less common nowadays:

• 本文製版 – Text Printing
• 印刷 – Printing
• 製本 /製本所- Book Making / Binding / Book Bindery
• 製版所 – Platemaking shop

Practice Makes Perfect

The best way to learn this kind of thing is with examples and practice. Here are a few colophons. Let's find the information we need to make a citation with some manga!

• Author: 貴家悠
• Title: テラフォーマーズ
• Publisher: 株式会社集英社
• Place of Publication: 東京都

• Author: 奥 浩哉
• Title: GANTZ -ガンツ-

That wasn't so bad, right? And they were very similar in style and used all the same terms. That's because, as you now know, they were both published by the same publishing company 株式会社集英社 which translates to Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. and is one of the biggest manga publishing companies in Japan.

Style and Consistency

Before we go over what to do with this information, you have to decide what style you're going to use. It doesn't really matter which one you pick, as long as you are consistent throughout your paper and works cited page. Some stylistic choices you get to make are:

• MLA, Chicago, or APA
• Japanese or English
• Italics or No Italics

Your teacher/professor might choose that first one for you. Most of my professors preferred Chicago Style because of it's simple, straightforward citations. But you might have to follow a different one. Make sure you follow whatever those guidelines may be throughout your entire paper! You may never encounter APA (it's mainly used for psychology), so you should probably only focus on MLA and Chicago.

Using Japanese and/or English is the more fun and challenging decision you get to make. But if you provide both Japanese and English for one citation, you have to do it for all of them. That means translating non-translated titles and author names. If your professor doesn't speak Japanese you should probably provide English for their convenience. If your professor is Japanese and you're at a Japanese school you can stick with just Japanese. You can also choose to ditch the Japanese all together and only use English, but I wouldn't recommend it. Especially if you're using a Japanese-only source. Your professors might not like having to work harder to find what you're referencing.

Within your paper you'll need to decide whether you should or should not use italics when using romaji. If you're only using Japanese words in Japanese, you should not italicize them. Ever. Please don't, it's hard to read and looks terrible. But with romaji, it can be helpful for clarification reasons if you at least italicize Japanese words the first time you use them. Then you can leave them as is. Or you can choose to always italicize them. But never ever sometimes do and sometimes don't. If you're going to do one word one way, you need to treat the rest the same.

Works Cited

Your works cited/bibliography is where we put all this new knowledge to work. Once you pick your style, look up the guidelines, and put everything in the right place. This is where you make most of your stylistic choices. Are you using all Japanese, all English, or a mix? Choosing this before you start will make everything go much faster. And if you make your Works Cited before you write your paper, your in text citations will be more organized and easy to do.

After you decide what style you're going to use, you need to know a few important things about citing Japanese sources:

• Last name always comes first in Japanese AND English
• If you include English for one title you must include English for them all
• Use macrons, or do not

When citing using Japanese you should always use Japanese name ordering. That means surname first and given name second. You might be thinking, but isn't that how all citations are done? Kind of. But you do not add a comma after the surname, like you would with an English language citation.

If you decide to provide English for a Japanese title, which can be pretty easy if it's been translated, you need to do it for all of them. This can be a pain if you realize you're using something that has never been translated or talked about in English. This means translating the title yourself. If you aren't comfortable with that, don't use any English at all. If you think that's fun and want some practice (or if your professor requires English and Japanese) give it a try!

Macrons are the long marks, or diacritical marks, you see over vowels to indicate that they are long (also called "heavy"). They let us know that you're saying よう and not よ.

They look like this: ā ī ū ē ō

You'll probably only see ū and ō, because they are the most common, but it is possible to see the others. If you decide to use them, you need to use them the whole time. That means you need to know your romaji well. The only exception for this is when a company or person has a specific stylized preference to their English name. If that's the case, like it is with Shueisha (technically Shuueisha or Shūeisha), then it's common to choose whatever their preference is to avoid misunderstandings.

Once you've figured all that out it's time to get citing! Below are citations in MLA, Chicago, and APA for the Terra Formars manga we cited above.

貴家悠. テラフォーマーズ. 東京都: 株式会社集英社, 2012. Print.

Sasuga Yuu 貴家悠. Terra Formars テラフォーマーズ. Tokyo 東京都: Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社, 2012. Print.

Sasuga Yuu. Terra Formars . Tokyo: Shueisha Inc., 2012. Print.

貴家悠. テラフォーマーズ. 東京都: 株式会社集英社, 2012.

Sasuga Yuu 貴家悠. Terra Formars テラフォーマーズ. Tokyo 東京都: Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社, 2012.

Sasuga Yuu. Terra Formars . Tokyo: Shueisha Inc., 2012.

貴家悠. (2012). テラフォーマーズ. 東京都: 株式会社集英社.

Sasuga Yuu 貴家悠 (2012). Terra Formars テラフォーマーズ. Tokyo 東京都: Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社.

Sasuga Yuu. (2012). Terra Formars . Tokyo: Shueisha Inc.

(If you decided that you wanted to use macrons, Sasuga Yuu's name would look like this: Sasuga Yū.)

In Text Citations

In text citations are formatted the same as your works cited/bibliography page! Sometimes they are very similar, but there are usually small differences.

MLA loves to be short and sweet. You put the author's last name and the page number(s) you are citing in parenthesis after the quote or piece of information.

The first character to die has her neck snapped by one of the creatures (Sasuga 30).

Sasuga kills the first character within minutes of introducing her (30).

Sasuga's first female character's neck went, "Crack" (30).

Chicago uses footnotes and endnotes. They're indicated with numbers either at the end of each page (footnotes) or at the end of the paper (endnotes). Once you've cited something once in text, you get to shorten the rest of the citations that use the same work from then on.

Sasuga Yuu 貴家悠. Terra Formars テラフォーマーズ. (Tokyo 東京都: Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社, 2012), 3-40. Sasuga, Terra Formars , 3-40. Make sure you remember to add page numbers when you cite in text.

APA loves footnotes too, but these are more about elaboration than citation of where you got the information from. You should be citing in text with quotations like MLA does. They also really like dates, which makes sense since this is mostly used for psychology.

The main character yelled, "Aki" (Sasuga, 2012, p. 45-46), exactly six times after she died.

Supplemental Practice Citing Japanese Sources

If you'd like to test what you've learned you can! Below are three pdfs that you can use for practice. Use them to make your own works cited page and compare it to the answer sheet!

• Colophon Practice
• Colophon Practice Answer Key
• Works Cited/Bibliography Answer Key

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Welcome to r/LearnJapanese, *the* hub on Reddit for learners of the Japanese Language.

How are students taught to structure essays in Japan?

In school in America I was taught to structure essays with:

An opening paragraph introducing the topic that ends with a thesis statement

Body paragraphs each starting with a strong assertion that supports the thesis, and further sentences expanding on it, backed by evidence.

A final paragraph restating the thesis and expanding on why the body proved the thesis.

For longer essays/writing projects the structure is similar, just with more and expanded sub-levels.

I am curious what kind of essay writing structure is taught in Japan? My ninth grade English teacher who was actually fluent in Japanese and had taught English in Japan alluded to a different essay structure used in Japan but never explained it in detail.

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