The Blue Sky Library: Japan's Project Gutenberg

By Tom Wilkinson-Gamble

The Blue Sky Library, or 'aozora bunko', is a Japanese digital library founded in 1997 with the aim of digitizing and storing Japanese literature and Japanese translation of foreign literature so that anyone, from anywhere, may access them freely. The site is ran by volunteers who gather works of literature, both fiction and non-fiction, whose copyright have expired or from authors who have given permission to have their work stored. 

The library has faced some problems with finances and copyright law. Since the group is ran on an entirely voluntary basis and that material can be accessed for free, the library is heavily reliant on donations to pay for server costs. Since 2006, the library also functions as a public-policy advocacy organisation and has been involved in disputes with the Japanese government over copyright law. In 2005, at the suggestion of the US, the Japanese government was urged to extend the date of copyright expiration from 50 years after the author's death to 70 years. This would have meant that many of the books published by the library would now be illegal. However, due to the pressure from volunteers and members of the public, the Japanese government decided not to implement this change, allowing the library to continue its mission of preserving Japanese literature undisturbed. 

You can access the Blue Sky Library here: https://www.aozora.gr.jp/

Two Japanese Youtube Channels for Listening Practice: もしもしゆすけ & さきちゃんただいま

By Tom Wilkinson-Gamble

Do you want to improve your Japanese listening comprehension, but can't find any good listening resources? Then this is the article for you. 

もしもしゆすけ (Moshi Moshi Yusuke)

Started in March 2019, Yusuke's channel contains three types of videos; File/Monologue videos, Conversation videos and No-Dialogue videos. The most numerous, and probably most useful, type of video are the File/Monologue videos. These involve Yusuke walking around some kind of public area, usually somewhere like a train station, book shop or restaurant, whilst providing a voice over. Each of these videos focus on a different part of Japanese society that foreigners would have to deal with in their travels. They include topics such as; Suica-cards, public transport, convenience stores and eating out. This allows learners to easily pick a certain video if they are looking for a certain range of vocabulary. The second type of video are the Conversation videos. These are a sort of interview with other Japanese speakers, some of which are Japanese and some of which are foreigners. These videos do not focus on a specific topic and so the vocabulary used can vary. However, they are still useful as a conversation between two fluent speakers sounds very natural and so can be good to study from. The last category, No-Dialogue, only contains two videos. As their name suggests, there is no voice-over from Yusuke and so have very little educational use. However, they are still entertaining as they contain interesting shots of Tokyo and Asakusa. Excluding these two videos, all other contain four types of subtitles; English, hiragana, katakana and, after Sayuri Conversation 3, kanji . This means that, should the listening be to difficult, you can follow along with the subtitles as a sort of audio-assisted reading . Yusuke's channel is extremely useful for listening practice and his vlog-style of videos on a wide range of topics help to keep learners motivated and engaged. 

さきちゃんただいま (Saki-Chan Tadaima)

Saki-Chan's channel is virtually identical to Yusuke's. She uses the same format of walking through streets or in the middle of a large city, while providing a voice-over that is also displayed in English as well as hiragana and katakana subtitles. The main difference, however, is that, unlike Yusuke, she does not seem to create videos based on specific themes. All but one of her videos is her conversing with a friend, usually in a café or restaurant. This, however, is not necessarily a bad thing, as her videos provide a calming, almost comfy, atmosphere. Although her channel is far smaller than Yusuke's, I'm confident that she has a good future ahead of her as a youtuber. 

Links
Yusuke: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcCeJ3pQYFgvfVuMxVRWhoA

Saki-Chan: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ZrBzYZRYIKEl3naLM4QBw