IMMERSE YOURSELF IN STORY WITH DAZAI OSAMU, AND PUSH THROUGH YOUR LEARNING CEILING
Using A Bespoke Story Experience Designed Exclusively For Readers And Serious Learners Of Japanese
Maplopo Schoolhouse
You’ve Come Far In Your Learning… But You Want More This Year. Here’s Everything You’ll Need.

Vocabulary In Context So It STICKS.
Deepen and broaden your knowledge of vocabulary, structure and meaning as you learn the language as it’s meant to be learned—naturally, through story. We pull apart the grammar, the nuance… everything you need to get the most out of Dazai’s 水仙, and the most out of your language learning.
We all know story is one of the most powerful art forms there is—a powerful tool for learning, and a powerful tool to lock things in so they stick. Not only will you know this story like the back of your hand, but you’ll be able to relay it to others in ways you never thought possible—and, with rapidly increasing access to the Japanese language (and your own!) in ways that will surprise you.
It all starts and ends with the story, and what better way to learn Japanese than with one of Japan’s most revered master storytellers?

Native Pronunciation At Your Fingertips
Reach less frequently for the dictionary, and cut back on asking people to repeat themselves, when you drill with the story’s custom audio Anki decks, and the Audio Drills on the Go vocabulary megafile (the complete master file of every word in the story), and the Audio Immersion Pack™ (every sentence from every worksheet and quiz recorded in both Japanese in English-nearly 1,000 sentences in all) so you can drill and shadow to your heart’s content. Carry the audio with you on your mobile device, or in any other way you prefer to learn. Both English and Japanese recordings are available so you can listen to both with ease.

No More Getting Tongue-tied
Not sure where your sentences should slow down, or… speed up when reading Japanese aloud? Our pacing and structure worksheets are one of our students most favorite things, and make reading at native speeds so much more possible (and fun!)

Get The Maps! (With MarginNote3)
The entire mind map for Dazai’s 水仙 is created using the incredibly versatile MarginNote 3 (Mac Only). Maplopo Schoolhouse students receive mindmaps for each section of the story as a special bonus for enrolling. MarginNote is an especially amazing tool if you have an Apple Pencil as you can practice your writing DIRECTLY within your notes!
Sister Sledge Had It Right
Learning a language is tough. Practice is hard. Translation is super-hard. But when you have friends working through it together, everything is possible. Our private Discord server IS that place. No hype. Mostly quiet. But when you need help, when you have a question, when you want to celebrate a win… we come out as droves do. Welcome to the Maplopo family.

Researched To The Nth Degree
We use a host of Japanese dictionaries and reference material (both vintage and new), to trace back the meaning of words, expressions, and grammar so you know you’re getting the most accurate etymology—and the most accurate story possible.
We also spend hours crafting example sentences that will intrigue, make you laugh, and bring new ideas and persepectives to you so you’re not stuck reading yet another sentence about Saru going to the 7-11 to buy donuts. Saru and his friends don’t visit Maplopo Schoolhouse, you can be sure of that.

Get Clarity On Difficult Grammar
With stylish, engaging videos that’ll have you feeling as though we’re working with you one-on-one, you’ll learn from Dazai’s unique style, learn how these elements function in writing and in speech, and deepen your learning of Japanese on the whole.
Tricky grammar points are sliced and diced as they appear in context within the story, and explained so any intermediate and advanced learner will understand… often, with even more story. You’ll find ZERO dry, complicated, abstract X は Y です grammar explanations in our tutorials. Instead, only straight to the point (yet nuanced) lessons designed with English speakers in mind. We’re proud of our videos, and they’re a big reason those fluent in Japanese consistently tell us “I wished I’d learned Japanese like this!”

Put The Puzzle Pieces Together
With the companion Daffodil (水仙) workbook, you’ll be able to test your knowledge on paper, and outside the Thinkific course platform. One workbook lesson for each video module means you end up with well over a hundred lessons to cement your learning… over a thousand sample sentences, and tons of additional explanations to help flesh out the learning you’ll do in the video modules.

Designed With Your Time In Mind
We’re all busy. Fitting language learning in between life, work, even the kids, maybe… means juggling is your second profession. That’s why everything in Maplopo Schoolhouse is here when you need it. The videos. The workbooks. Everything. All online, accessible on every device.

50 Different Ways To Learn
Auditory learner? You’ll love the reams of audio material we have waiting for you in Thinkific. Dig visuals? Stylish video tutorials will help sharpen your learning and are designed to meet your learning style—they’re also jam packed with logical diagrams and anecdotes that’ll help lessons stick. Fan of the kinesthetic? Print out the study worksheets and sharpen that pencil, because we’ve got you covered as well. Love to read and write? Well, that’s our middle name. Every video is custom sub-titled, and there is… of course, a lot to read on the whole.
No matter your learning style, we have the tools you’ll need to take your language learning from here to there. And, we’ll help you do it whether you’re a solo-flyer and love to cozy up to an Anki deck on a quiet afternoon, or if you’re the type to enjoy the camaraderie of a group and want to shine on our private Discord server.
As teachers, we want you to learn in the ways that suit you best. So, a la carte it is!

Test-takers Rejoice
On repeat here at Maplopo Schoolhouse is the mantra that our courses are not designed to help you pass any test. That said, we’d be remiss in saying what you learn won’t help with your confidence, your vocabulary, and your listening skills—one of the most challenging aspects of any language test.
So, whether your desire is to pass the JLPT, the DLPT, the NAT-TEST, or the Kanji Kentai… scaffolding your learning using story has compounding effects. You’ll draw natural associations to grammar and vocabulary like never before so you can be sure all the note-taking and all the work you put in will pay off in more ways than one.
Because You Know There’s More To Learn, And Your Vision Of You In Japan Depends On That Happening
Featured In:
WHAT IS MAPLOPO SCHOOLHOUSE?
It’s all about moving FROM the textbook TO the testing ground.
You’ve proven you can pass the tests. Now, its time to take your Japanese to the next level.
MAPLOPO SCHOOLHOUSE is for literature lovers and intermediate to advanced learners of the Japanese language. It’s the place to go when you want to strengthen your Japanese through the power of story. The place to go when you want to read at a higher level, push your career further, and lower the ceiling on that last 10% of your learning.
You’ll gain access to the language on a deeper level, avoid getting stuck on tricky grammar, and streamline your learning of relevant vocabulary… all with the translators at Team Maplopo right there beside you.
At Maplopo Schoolhouse you get personalized training that walks you through a short story from start to finish so you can get the most out of the writing, and get the most out of your language learning.
If you’ve had trouble finishing a book written in Japanese, or you’ve finished, but felt as though you were still missing something, Maplopo Schoolhouse will close that gap for you.
We do this by sharing with you the very same tools and processes we use at Maplopo to translate Japan’s literary masters into English for a worldwide audience.


SEASON ONE: DAZAI OSAMU
In SEASON ONE, we walk you through Dazai’s Daffodil paragraph by paragraph pulling apart the grammar and the nuance so you can enjoy the story from day one. We get you there with the help of:
✅ Proven study tools, and an immersive project-based approach to advancing your Japanese…
✅ A short story framework you can get through with confidence…
✅ A modern curriculum built to stimulate your curiosity, enhance the learning you’ve already done, and allow you to build scaffolding around the course so you can keep going with longer, and even more advanced reading.
✅ And a community of other learners (AND US!), helping you out all along the way on our private Maplopo Schoolhouse Discord server.
Beginning with your very first day in the Maplopo Schoolhouse family, we want you to feel comfortable learning, and we want you to have fun along the way. Reading is already one of the most enjoyable things you do. We want to ensure you feel the same way about reading in Japanese as well.
You can do this. Ready to read more Japanese?
MAPLOPO SCHOOLHOUSE IS A NEW WAY TO ADVANCE YOUR JAPANESE

Advanced Language Learning
Anytime. Anyplace. Anywhere.
Your Instructors and Co-founders
Bringing the very best writing from Japan to you is what we live for. And since 2018, we’ve translated and published a number of works by some of Japan’s most storied writers.
Last year we thought… why not walk readers through a story we translate into English, and teach Japanese along the way? It was a bit of a crazy idea, but with our professional and educational backgrounds being suited to it we figured… why not?
So, in April 2022 we opened Maplopo Schoolhouse in private beta to our mailing list. Results were positive, and in May and June we successfully launched two cohorts.
Beginning in July, we began offering rolling admissions to accommodate learners with varying schedules, and we introduced payment plans to allow students an opportunity to spread payments over three or twelve months.
At the close of 2022, we closed out our beta period and began to expand our partnerships with those in the education and business sectors—bringing Maplopo Schoolhouse to even more intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese throughout the world. If you work on a multilingual team here in Japan or abroad, and are interested in bringing Maplopo into your workplace, wander on over to our Maplopo for Teams page, and reach out to see if you’re team might be qualified to participate.
SEASON ONE of Maplopo Schoolhouse is Daffodil from Osamu Dazai. It’s a wonderfully dramatic story, and Dazai is a wonderful teacher!
If you’re wanting to strengthen your Japanese, we can think of no better way than to study, in a sense, with Japan’s true master storytellers. And… well, us too.
Thanks for reading… we look forward to reading more with you inside the Schoolhouse.
Doc and Reiko
Team Maplopo
Kobe, Japan
Updated: March 4, 2023




Your Instructors and Co-founders
Bringing the very best writing from Japan to you is what we live for. And since 2018, we’ve translated and published a number of works by some of Japan’s most storied writers.
Last year we thought… why not walk readers through a story we translate into English, and teach Japanese along the way? It was a bit of a crazy idea, but with our professional and educational backgrounds being suited to it we figured… why not?
So, in April 2022 we opened Maplopo Schoolhouse in private beta to our mailing list. Results were positive, and in May and June we successfully launched two cohorts.
Beginning in July, we began offering rolling admissions to accommodate learners with varying schedules, and we introduced payment plans to allow students an opportunity to spread payments over three or twelve months.
At the close of 2022, we closed out our beta period and began to expand our partnerships with those in the education and business sectors—bringing Maplopo Schoolhouse to even more intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese throughout the world.
SEASON ONE of Maplopo Schoolhouse is Daffodil from Osamu Dazai. It’s a wonderfully dramatic story, and Dazai is a wonderful teacher!
If you’re wanting to strengthen your Japanese, we can think of no better way than to study, in a sense, with Japan’s true master storytellers. And… well, us too.
Thanks for reading… we look forward to reading more with you inside the Schoolhouse.
Doc and Reiko
Team Maplopo
Kobe, Japan
Updated: January 6, 2023




Because nothing else works better now, than doing it now.
Get a real sense of the story.
Connect to the work.
Use the language in new, meaningful ways.
Meet like-minded learners and professionals in our private Discord community… and, finally reduce the ceiling on your Japanese.