Yamanashi Entrance Japanese
Yamanashi Prefectural High School Entrance Examination - Japanese Language (国語)
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Cheat sheet
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ExploreAbout this exam
The Japanese language paper (国語) is one component of the academic achievement test (学力検査) that Yamanashi Prefectural high schools use when selecting entrants. It is written for students finishing 中学校 in Yamanashi, and it is also taken by applicants applying from outside the prefecture, returnees, and others following the prefectural admissions guidelines. The paper tests what high schools assume you already own: accurate reading of expository and literary texts, basic classical Japanese and kanbun grammar, firm control of kanji and vocabulary, awareness of how sentences are built, and the ability to state your own thinking in writing. Expect a mixture of multiple-choice items, short written answers, and at least one extended 記述 or 作文 task. Preparation is less about memorising more and more about speed and precision: work through past papers released by the board under timed conditions, keep an error notebook that records why an answer was wrong rather than just what it was, drill junior-high 常用漢字 in both readings and writing, review 古文 auxiliaries and 敬語 with a chart you can reproduce from memory, and write one short composition a week and get it corrected. Reading a newspaper column or a short essay daily builds the stamina that long passages demand. This page is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with the Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education.
What you'll study
About Yamanashi Entrance Japanese preparation
What does the Japanese paper actually consist of?
Broadly, six areas: kanji and vocabulary, expository reading, literary reading, classical Japanese and kanbun, grammar and language use, and written expression. Question style mixes multiple choice with short written answers and at least one longer piece of writing. The board publishes the current structure each year, so confirm the exact layout there rather than relying on older descriptions.
How long is the paper and how many questions are there?
Those figures are set annually and published by the Yamanashi Prefectural Board of Education in its admissions guidelines and examination instructions. Check the board's official site for the current year's numbers rather than planning around what an older sibling or a commercial guide states, since the structure can change between years.
How difficult is it compared with school tests?
School tests usually follow the textbook chapter you just finished. The entrance paper cannot, so it draws on unfamiliar passages and rewards transfer. Students typically find the reading volume and the written-answer tasks harder than the difficulty of any single question. If you can finish a full past paper within the allotted time and explain your wrong answers, you are on track.
What study order makes sense?
Start with kanji and vocabulary, because daily short drills raise your score fastest and support everything else. Then work on expository reading, which has the most predictable question patterns, followed by literary reading. Add classical Japanese grammar in steady small doses, and keep composition running in parallel all year rather than cramming it at the end.
How much kanji do I need to know?
The item pool is the 常用漢字, with the roughly 1,100 characters added in junior high as the usual focus. Learn both readings and correct stroke-based writing, since 書き取り items punish near-misses. Group characters by radical and by confusing pairs (for example 険 and 検) instead of memorising lists in isolation.
How much classical Japanese and kanbun is required?
Enough to read short, accessible passages with help from the notes provided. The essentials are the 助動詞, their meanings and connections, basic 敬語, and common 漢文 function words and 返り点. Most students lose marks by guessing from modern-Japanese intuition; read the grammar tables until they are automatic, then practise on short passages.
What do graders look for in the composition?
A clear position, reasons that actually support it, and a structure the reader can follow without effort. Length and neat, legible handwriting matter more than people expect, and so does staying on the prompt. Practise writing to a fixed plan of introduction, two supporting reasons with personal examples, and a conclusion, and get someone to mark it.
Can I retake the examination if I do not get in?
Admission rounds and any additional recruitment are decided by the board and by individual schools each year. The official guidelines set out who may apply in a later round and under what conditions. Read the current year's document on the board's site and ask your junior high school's guidance teacher before assuming a second chance exists.
What are the most common ways candidates lose marks?
Running out of time on the final long passage, writing answers that copy a phrase from the text without answering what was asked, misreading the conditions in a written-response question, and writing kanji that are close but incorrect. All four are fixed by timed practice and by re-reading your own answers against the question wording.