Series
Classics in 5 Minutes
Did Melos really make it back before sunset? Where exactly does the servant in Rashomon change his mind? Get the story of a classic in five minutes, then test one question using the original text. The rest is waiting in the book.
15 episodes YouTube playlist
Episodes
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Run, Melos! by Osamu Dazai — Could You Run 39 km Before Sunset?
Melos, a young shepherd, wins a three-day grace with his friend as hostage and runs about 39 km before sunset.
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Rashomon by Akutagawa: Where Did the Servant's Heart Turn?
A servant with nowhere to go sits under a ruined gate in the rain, torn between starving and stealing.
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The Restaurant of Many Orders: How Many Doors Until You Notice?
In a restaurant deep in the mountains, two gentlemen pass through seven doors of written orders in Kenji Miyazawa's tale.
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Botchan by Natsume Soseki: Can You Name the Hero?
On his first day at a middle school in Shikoku, the hero of Natsume Soseki's Botchan hands out nicknames: Tanuki, Red Shirt, Porcupine.
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Where Does the Thread Snap in The Spider’s Thread?
From Paradise, the Buddha looks down on Kandata in Hell and lowers a spider’s thread.
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Sangetsuki Summary: What Does the Tiger Ask His Friend?
Li Zheng, who has become a tiger, meets his old friend Yuan Can.
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What Is Night on the Galactic Railroad About? A 5-Minute Summary
On the night of the star festival, a boy named Giovanni rides a train across the Milky Way with his friend Campanella.
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Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki Summary: What Was Sensei Hiding?
A young man receives a long letter in which Sensei reveals how, years earlier, he and his close friend K loved the same young woman.
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Maihime by Mori Ōgai: Did Toyotarō Say Goodbye Himself?
A young official sent to Berlin lives with Elise, a dancer, then chooses career and the voyage home.
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Toshishun by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: Why Does He Break His Silence?
Toshishun, a young man who has been rich twice, becomes an immortal sage's disciple and vows never to make a sound.
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Lemon by Motojirō Kajii: Why Leave One Lemon in a Bookshop?
A man weighed down by gloom buys one lemon, sets it on a pile of books in Maruzen, and walks out.
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Takasebune by Mori Ōgai: Why Did the Exiled Man Look Happy?
On a boat toward exile, Kisuke tells his story to the constable guarding him.
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One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji by Osamu Dazai: Why Thank the Mountain?
A writer staying at a Misaka Pass teahouse argues with Mount Fuji while people around him change what he sees.
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I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki: Is the Cat Really Wiser Than Humans?
A nameless cat lives with a schoolteacher and observes the humans around him.
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The Nighthawk Star by Kenji Miyazawa: What Was Yodaka Trying to Escape?
Threatened by a hawk and distressed by the insects he kills, Yodaka sets out for the farthest sky.
Also searched assummaryplotJapanese literatureclassic story