About the Author

About Mariko Sensei

At the age of 18, I moved to Australia with a dream of becoming a Japanese language teacher. Since then, I have dedicated my career to helping students enjoy learning Japanese through meaningful, engaging, and confidence-building experiences.

I began my teaching journey as a kindergarten teacher at the age of 22, before expanding into Japanese language education across a wide range of learning environments, including preschools, primary schools, high schools, language schools, universities, and corporate programs throughout Australia.

Today, I teach Japanese at a primary school and at the Institute of Modern Languages at the The University of Queensland. In 2015, I co-developed intensive one-year Japanese language courses for the Australian Defence Force in Sydney and Melbourne — a valuable and rewarding experience in professional Japanese education.

With many years of experience teaching learners of all ages and levels, I created Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks to help students build confidence in reading Japanese through engaging stories, authentic cultural experiences, and learner-friendly Japanese graded readers.

Why I Created Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks

As a Japanese language teacher and mother, I struggled to find Japanese books that were truly accessible for learners of Japanese. Many books published in Japan are written for native speakers and can be too difficult for beginners and intermediate learners.

Over the years, I often heard comments like:
“I can’t read Japanese books.”
“My students cannot finish a book by themselves.”
“My child wants to learn Japanese, but the books are too difficult.”

That is why I created Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks — Japanese graded readers designed to help learners build confidence through comprehensible Japanese, learner-friendly vocabulary, and engaging stories.

Japanese is a rich and nuanced language with many variations in vocabulary and expression depending on age, gender, relationships, formality, and situation. This can make reading authentic Japanese challenging for learners.

My goal is to bridge the gap between textbook Japanese and real Japanese by creating easy-to-read Japanese books that support natural language learning, reading confidence, and cultural understanding.

Building a Love of Reading Japanese

My passion for teaching Japanese, combined with my love of writing, inspired me to create Japanese graded readers that truly support learners of Japanese.

Growing up in a family of teachers, I learned from an early age the importance of reading for language development, creativity, and literacy. Throughout my life, I have also been recognised for strong Japanese literacy and writing skills, which continue to influence my work as an educator and author.

As the founder of Mariko Sensei’s Japanbooks, my goal is to create learner-friendly Japanese books that combine comprehensible Japanese, engaging visuals, and authentic cultural experiences to make reading Japanese enjoyable and achievable.

I want learners to experience the joy of successful reading and say:
“I could read a Japanese story by myself.”
“I enjoy reading Japanese now.”
“I feel more capable using Japanese.”

Through carefully levelled Japanese readers, I hope to help learners develop reading comprehension, language skills, and a lifelong love of learning Japanese.

 

A Family Passion for Reading and Japanese Education

My mother, Mitsuko Tashiro, is both an author and a highly respected former primary school teacher in Japan with more than 30 years of experience in education. Throughout her career, she played a leading role in teaching, literacy development, and reading education in Japanese schools.

She was actively involved with the Japan School Library Association, a nationwide organisation dedicated to promoting school libraries and children’s reading education. As part of her work, she served on selection committees for recommended school books and judged national student writing competitions.

Mitsuko also received prestigious awards for her research in reading education and literacy development, including recognition 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.