The River Sanzu
There are many bridges to cross in life.
In this 20-episode series, a woman's ordinary life is turned upside down by an unexpected event. As she stands at a precipice between two worlds, she contemplates family, love, and roads not taken. A story of moderate difficulty that will warm your heart.
Episode 1
A morning like any other finds our narrator taking her daughter to school.
Notes: Though there are a few potentially tricky vocabulary words related to cars and roadways, such as "four-wheel-drive," "median divider," and "fuel efficiency," the grammar in this episode should be straightforward for most.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers |  |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 2526 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 7607 |
Episode 2
The narrator reflects on how her life has changed over the past five years.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary, such as the word for "flashy/showy," and interesting grammar, such as a discussion of using a verb in the present to indicate the completed passage of time.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 1197 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 3289 |
Pro
Episode 3
The narrator sends her daughter on her way.
Notes: This adorable episode contains mostly straightforward vocabulary and grammar and should feel very accessible.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 861 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1770 |
Pro
Episode 4
The narrator takes a moment to make things right with her husband.
Notes: This dialog-centric episode contains a realistic portrayal of a phone call, with lots of inversions, hesitation sounds, and so on.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 740 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1345 |
Pro
Episode 5
Yuuko shows off her creative side.
Notes: This episode is packed with enjoyable dialog, vocabulary, and even a children's song.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 713 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1185 |
Pro
Episode 6
An unexpected event changes everything.
Notes: This episode contains vocabulary such as "slow motion" and a pattern using -kiru that means "to do completely."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 692 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1105 |
Pro
Episode 7
The narrator begins to comprehend what has happened.
Notes: This episode contains excellent vocabulary and expressions, such as one that means "to go pale," as well as a discussion of a pattern for naming an emotional response to, or judgment of, a situation.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 674 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1057 |
Pro
Episode 8
The narrator searches for her daughter as onlookers call for help.
Notes: This episode contains great transportation vocabulary, such as "driver's seat," "windshield," and "ambulance."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 663 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1028 |
Pro
Episode 9
As workers get the scene under control, the narrator attempts to communicate with the emergency personnel.
Notes: This episode contains mostly straightforward grammar and excellent vocabulary, such as words for "gawkers (curious onlookers)," "stretcher," and "to come forward."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 648 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 1003 |
Pro
Episode 10
Still piecing together what has happened, the narrator makes an unexpected discovery.
Notes: This episode features several good examples of verbs that indicate something is spontaneously perceptible, such as kikoeru, mieru, and koe ga suru.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 647 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 996 |
Pro
Episode 11
A dizzying array of emotions come over the narrator after she and Yuuko descend to the river.
Notes: This episode is packed with important vocabulary and notes, such as a discussion of words that mean "nostalgic," "to miss (someone)," and a special use of the -kke suffix that indicates warm recollection.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 646 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 969 |
Pro
Episode 12
The woman on the bridge delivers a stern message to the narrator and her child.
Notes: This episode contains such interesting and useful expressions as "for a chill to go down one's spine," and "to shake one's head side-to-side."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 625 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 946 |
Pro
Episode 13
The situation changes abruptly after a familiar man appears.
Notes: This exciting episode contains useful notes, such as a refresher on how to use the expression ...ni chigai nai and an explanation of the use of nani wo with intransitive verbs in rhetorical questions.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 623 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 914 |
Pro
Episode 14
Mayumi receives an important message on what she should do next.
Notes: This episode includes a paradigm-shifting sentence that illustrates a trick that Japanese authors can use because of the order of relative clauses in Japanese.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 613 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 901 |
Pro
Episode 15
The narrator reflects on her recent interactions with Yuuko.
Notes: This episode contains mostly straightforward grammar but includes nice refreshers on douyara and contrastive wa.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 607 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 891 |
Pro
Episode 16
The narrator's thoughts turn to her relationship with her husband.
Notes: This episode contains fun vocabulary, such as words for "a face that feigns ignorance" and a pattern for saying something is left in a particular state.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 599 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 886 |
Pro
Episode 17
The narrator recalls an episode from earlier in her marriage.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary, such as an adverb that means that an action is performed with momentary extra oomph.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 590 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 892 |
Pro
Episode 18
The narrator recalls some of the challenging but bond-building moments with her husband and child.
Notes: This episode contains great vocabulary, including words such as "to soothe/cuddle (a baby)" and "mother's milk," and an explanation of what it means to use -nagara with a verb that happens at a particular instant in time.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 590 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 854 |
Pro
Episode 19
The narrator thinks back to her wedding day.
Notes: This episode contains a surprisingly useful word that means "to vent one's anger on an unrelated person."
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 579 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 856 |
Pro
Episode 20
The narrator makes a painful decision.
Notes: This episode contains lots of great vocabulary, such as words for "envelop," "faint," and "the murmuring/babbling (of a river)," as well as a note on the meaning of the title.
| Editions | Status | Total Readers | |
| With Sound Effects | Unread | 590 | |
| Voice Only | Unread | 913 |