Misofluent Postcard #001

1 Haiku, 1 Classic Art Piece, 1 Platform Review

Author

Takumi Hayashi
August 25, 2023

Miso Fluent Postcard #001

Katsushika Hokusai

The Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaidō Road。

木曽街道の

すずめや

どこ吹く風

小林一茶

Kiso-kaidō no
Suzume’ya
Doko fuku kaze。

Kiso’s Sparrows,

Which way the wind?

Kobayashi I’ssa

The sparrows of the Kiso mountain passage,

Which way the wind?

Kobayashi I’ssa

きそかいどうの

すずめや

どこふくかぜ

On the road between Edo and Kyoto cutting through the mountains (Kiso)…

The sparrows are darting to and fro,


To where will this wind blow [us]?

Kobayashi I’ssa

木曽街道の

すずめや

どこ吹く風

小林一茶

The Kiso-kaidō is synonymous with Nakasendō which is this purple/magenta line traversing through the mountains from Edo to Kyōto.

The Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaidō Road from the series A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces

Classy haiku ✅ 

Classy art piece ✅ 

A look at an online learning platform for Japanese 🔲 

Let’s look at Marumori.io

Maru Mori has some cool features, like a fun little game map like Super Mario but lots of reading:

Cool minimap

Decent explanations but no “read to me” option yet

Kanji and word of day are kinda cool, not sure if effective

Inline / in-page quizzes are very gentle, don’t care if you screw up, colors reveal the answer.

Takeaways:

MaruMori.io has a lot of intense features that people who are interested in JLPT prep might benefit from. The community oriented aspect is nice, but the potential for confusing or unhelpful info increases. Overall, I think the curriculum is not very well laid out, it’s just following test prep materials from Japan, which is sadly all-too-common. I much prefer the layout of Japanese Complete, which builds on frequency analysis and will actually surprise you and shock you when you’re identifying kanji on Japanese shows in the subtitles.

Bullets:

  • MaruMori.io offers a range of intense features geared towards people preparing for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test).

  • The platform has a community-oriented aspect, which can be both a benefit and a drawback. While it encourages interaction and sharing, this feature can also introduce confusing or unhelpful information.

  • The curriculum on MaruMori.io primarily follows test prep materials from Japan. This approach is common but not necessarily the most effective for comprehensive learning.

  • In contrast, Japanese Complete employs a curriculum based on frequency analysis. This method can lead to surprising and rewarding moments, such as being able to identify kanji in the subtitles of Japanese shows.

  • You can listen to the explanations and dialogues at Japanese Complete, MaruMori does not have a ton of audio yet.

  • Overall, the user experience may be more fulfilling and effective on Japanese Complete due to its unique and well-structured curriculum.

Looking forward to connecting again over one classic art piece, one haiku, and one new Japanese language learning platform,

Takumi