The Kusatsu Shukuba Festival, depicting the liveliness of the past, was held in the city of Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, on April 27. This place is where the Tokaido road and the Nakasendo road, which connected various parts of Japan, split. It was a post town with many inns. A procession of famous historical figures passing through was also reenacted. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who won the Battle of Sekigahara, Kazunomiya, who married a shogun, and others appeared.

Japanese original

Easy Japanese news is taken from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children. This is perfect material for anyone studying Japanese who has learned hiragana and katakana. We encourage beginners to read the article in English followed by Japanese, or vice versa, to test their comprehension.

A fresh set will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., Japan time. Click/tap here for past installments.

Intermediate learners who do not need English assistance can directly access the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site here. Furigana (hiragana) is added to all kanji in the text.