jaremaga
Essay Contest winner

HS Essay, tied for 2nd Place:  My Secret Daily Pleasure

I’m a high school student, and I always go to school by bicycle. We have a lot of greenery along the route to school even though it is in the city, and there are many catnip plants along the bicycle path. Many sparrows come to eat them, and they were my daily comfort. But recently, I saw that the catnip plants are gone. I think the reason for this is that they were in the way of people walking and riding bicycles in the street. As a result, the sparrows no longer come near. It is disappointing because seeing the sparrows was a secret daily pleasure for me.  (108 words)   By Ichika A. You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 23, 2026 No Comments
Essay Contest winner

HS 1st Place Essay:  Into Another World

One afternoon, I went to the library to look for a cookbook. While I was walking between the shelves, I found a storybook with an interesting title. I picked it up and started to read it. Soon, I became deeply interested in the story. The quiet space of the library and the book pulled me into another world. I kept reading without noticing the time. When I finally finished the book, the sky outside was already dark. The library was about to close. I hurried out, but I was in such a rush that, in the end, I forgot to borrow the cookbook I wanted.   (105 words) By Yoshino U. You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 22, 2026 No Comments
JM posts

The Jaremaga HS and JHS Essay Contest

The Jaremaga Essay Contest for high school and junior high school students is now over. We received 49 essays this year. I want to thank Kitahara Nobuaki and Nakanishi Tetsuhiko for helping me to choose the best essays. We wanted to choose the best three, but the essays were so good that we ended up choosing five. I want to send out the winning essays before the end of February, so I will start tomorrow. You will get two essays each week, one on Thursday and one on Friday. I will start with the high school essays and then will send out the junior high school essays. I’m sure that you will enjoy them as much as we did.   (119 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 21, 2026 No Comments
JM posts

A True Fan

I was listening to a man talk about his favorite baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays. His team didn’t do well in 2025, so his friend asked him, “Would you give up pizza forever to help your team win the World Series?” The man said he would give up pizza. He started thinking about everything that he would give up to help the Rays win the World Series. He made a list of other things that he would give up: alcohol, meat, and international travel. He is a true fan! I like the Chunichi Dragons a lot, but I wouldn’t give up alcohol, meat, or international travel even if it would help the Dragons win the Japan Series.    (122 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 20, 2026 No Comments
JM posts

What a Strange Game!

The other day, I saw a news report about a strange game in Japan. People go around and take pictures of power poles. Then they use an app to upload the photos to a special site. They get points for each pole, and they get prizes with their points. Some players say that they make more than 50,000 yen per month! Who made such a strange game? It was an electric power company. They need to check more than a million power poles in one prefecture. This takes a lot of time and money, but if people send them photos, it is much faster and cheaper to check the power poles. It’s a great idea because the players don’t think that they are working. They just enjoy playing the game and winning money.   (133 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 18, 2026 No Comments
Readers' Corner

Readers’ Corner: History is Calling

I’d like to share four coincidences from last year. First, I visited Kiyosu Castle to view the cherry blossoms. It was once owned by Oda Nobunaga. Second, I was going on a trip and met some friends at Nakamura Park, known as the birthplace of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Third, I happened to go near Okehazama to have my commuter bike repaired. Okehazama is the battlefield where Oda defeated Imagawa. Finally, during the New Year holidays, a relative told me that our family roots go back to samurai from Owari Province. I was really surprised because I had always thought that my ancestors were lumberjacks in Gifu. It turns out that they were samurai who served the Oda clan. All of these things are strangely connected to the NHK historical drama “Toyotomi Brothers!” that I’m watching. Now I’m completely hooked.  (138 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

January 16, 2026 No Comments