About Mariko Sensei – Japanese Language Teacher & Japanese Graded Reader Author
I’m Mariko Sensei, a Japanese language teacher and author of Japanese graded readers designed to help learners build confidence in reading Japanese.
After moving to Australia at the age of 18, I pursued my dream of becoming a Japanese language teacher. At 22, I began my teaching career as a kindergarten teacher, where I discovered my passion for helping young learners enjoy learning Japanese.
Since then, I have taught Japanese to learners of all ages and proficiency levels in preschools, primary and secondary schools, language schools, universities, and corporate programs throughout Australia. My experience includes Japanese as a foreign language, Japanese immersion, and bilingual education.
Since 2014, I have taught Japanese at the Institute of Modern Languages (IML), The University of Queensland, while also teaching Japanese at a primary school. In 2015, I co-developed intensive one-year Japanese language courses for the Australian Defence Force in Sydney and Melbourne.
These experiences gave me a deep understanding of how students learn Japanese at different ages and stages. They also inspired me to create Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks — Japanese graded readers for learners of Japanese, using authentic, natural Japanese carefully graded to build reading confidence.
Why I Created Japanese Graded Readers for Learners
From Classroom Challenges to Learner-Friendly Japanese Readers
Throughout my teaching career, I met many students who wanted to read Japanese but lacked the confidence to begin. While many Japanese books are available for native-speaking children, far fewer are written specifically for learners of Japanese. As a result, many learners find authentic Japanese books too difficult to read independently.
As a teacher, I wanted resources that would help students move beyond simply learning hiragana and vocabulary and become confident, independent readers of Japanese. I believe successful reading experiences build motivation, confidence, and a lasting interest in learning Japanese.
Over the years, I often heard:
“I can’t read Japanese books.”
“My students can’t finish a book by themselves.”
“My child wants to learn Japanese, but the books are too difficult.”
These experiences inspired me to create Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks — a collection of carefully levelled Japanese graded readers designed specifically for learners of Japanese.
My goal is to bridge the gap between classroom Japanese and real-world Japanese, helping learners develop reading skills, confidence, cultural understanding, and the independence to continue learning through reading.
From Hiragana to Independent Japanese Reading
Learning hiragana is an essential milestone in learning Japanese, but it is not the final goal. The real value of reading hiragana is that it gives learners the ability to read independently and continue learning beyond teacher-led lessons.
Once learners can read hiragana, a much wider world of Japanese becomes available. They can read classroom displays, vocabulary charts, labels, posters, simple Japanese books, and other learning resources. Through reading, they naturally encounter and reinforce new vocabulary and become more independent language learners.
Reading also helps students connect the Japanese they learn in class with meaningful stories, authentic Japanese culture, and real-world topics. As reading confidence grows, so do vocabulary, language proficiency, and motivation.
That is why Mariko Sensei’s Japanese graded readers are designed to help learners make the important transition from learning hiragana to becoming confident, independent readers of Japanese.
Why Choose Our Japanese Graded Readers?
Unlike books written for native Japanese-speaking children, Mariko Sensei’s Japanese graded readers are created specifically for learners of Japanese.
Written by native Japanese educators, the readers use authentic, natural Japanese while carefully grading vocabulary, grammar, sentence patterns, and the amount of text to make reading accessible and enjoyable.
Each reader includes:
- Carefully levelled Japanese
- Authentic, natural language
- High-frequency vocabulary
- Clear sentence patterns
- Furigana support at appropriate levels
- Authentic photographs and visual support
- Engaging Japanese cultural and factual content
- A gradual progression across nine reading levels
Learners can also access audio recordings, English translations, and Quizlet vocabulary resources. For schools and teachers, Class Sets with Online Flipbooks provide additional support for whole-class and guided reading.
Our goal is simple: to help learners build reading confidence, develop fluency, and become independent readers of Japanese.
A Family Passion for Japanese Literacy and Education
My mother, Mitsuko Tashiro, is an author and former primary school teacher in Japan with more than 30 years of experience in education. Throughout her career, she played an important role in teaching, literacy development, and reading education in Japanese schools.
She was actively involved with the Japan School Library Association, a nationwide organisation promoting school libraries and children’s reading education. She served on selection committees for recommended school books and judged national student writing competitions.
Mitsuko also received recognition for her research in reading education and literacy development, including awards from the Japan School Library Association and the Utsunomiya Department of Education. As a children’s author, she wrote 18 award-recognised stories published by major Japanese publishers, including Kodansha and Poplar Publishing.
Today, she continues to support Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks as a photographer and adviser, sharing her lifelong passion for literacy, storytelling, and Japanese education.
日本語 
English