JOIN MATSU ACADEMY

Master Japanese with a native to understand both the language and the culture

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WHO AM I? だれ？

WHO AM I? だれ？

Young man standing in front of a traditional Japanese shrine at night, with an expressionless face, wearing a white t-shirt and a black crossbody bag.

Most people who visit Japan don’t realize they were being disrespectful, until it’s over. To fix that, I built Matsu Academy, where I'll teach you not just the language, but also the cultural context you need to speak naturally and respectfully.

I'm Matsu, a Japanese citizen, born and raised in Japan until middle school, then moved to America. I saw many native english speakers of mine quit Japanese due to lack of cultural confidence—but as a native, I can be the bridge between the Japanese language and culture. Japanese is my first language, and because I'm bilingual, I understand exactly why truly learning Japanese feels so hard for English speakers.

WHAT YOU WILL GET

JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSES

✔ Unlimited access to my growing library of courses in Hiragana, Katakana, Basic Grammar, Survival Phrases for Travel & more with Context Learning

✔ Professional editing with formal course value, quizzes, & exams

✔ Real-life applications to improve your cultural IQ

✔ LIVE community calls to practice pronunciation and understanding culture

Young man with a backpack and headphones standing on a city sidewalk, in front of a blossoming cherry blossom tree, with pedestrians and urban buildings in the background.
Young man with messy hair wearing a black hoodie sitting against a wall, holding a plastic cup with a light-colored drink, next to a metal shelving unit with baked goods like croissants and pastries.

PERSONAL FEEDBACK: CONFIDENCE BUILDING

✔ Post your work on the community and I will give you direct feedback

✔ Supplement what we learned and cement it into your long term memory

✔ Test your reading, writing, and translation skills with flash practice

✔ Downloadable charts, learning resources, and exceptions

A young man with dark, spiky hair wearing a gray hoodie with 'GOLF' written on it and a black backpack, standing outdoors in front of a traditional Japanese temple with a green roof and red wooden structure, under a cloudy sky.
A young man in a white long-sleeve shirt eating ramen noodles with chopsticks in a restaurant.

ESCAPE BURNOUT WITH GAMIFIED COMMUNITY

✔ Discuss travel, living & working in Japan — learn the cultural do's and don'ts

✔ Students that are dedicated to studying Japanese so you don't have to learn alone

✔ Gamify your training arc with leaderboards and a path to fluency

✔ Get tips, motivation, and support from our like-minded community

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A young boy dressed in traditional Korean attire, wearing a black hat and holding a sword, standing in a room with colorful clothes hanging behind him.

Matsu Academy Students

  • A woman with red, curly hair and fair skin, wearing red lipstick, a brown sleeveless top, and a necklace, posing for a selfie against a neutral background.

    "What I really enjoy and appreciate about this community is how supportive everyone is. Everyone's eager to share their progress and their fellow classmates are there to encourage while helping with improvement. The teacher also is very patient and makes sure all his students get the pronunciation down before continuing, individually constructively criticizing our work and makes the whole atmosphere fun and entertaining so that you feel encouraged to take part in the class while respecting your boundaries. I've enjoyed being part of the Matsu Academy Community!"

    - Angelis Ortiz

  • A woman with long wavy hair wearing glasses, smiling, in a setting with wooden cabinets and a light-colored wall.

    "One thing I like about this community? Is the actual legit help you get on here. Every where else I go. Whether it's on websites or on discord etc? Nobody gives a crap about what you need help with. It's INFURIATING."

    - Hannah Joy

  • Person playing a digital piano with a computer monitor in the background.

    "Matsu can teach anybody how to learn Japanese, even a newbie like me. He shows you exactly how to write every character from step one and how to pronounce them like a true native, while also keeping the lessons entertaining and humorous. Plus, not only do you get great feedback from an epic native Japanese せんせい, you also get access to an awesome community of epic nakamas along with live calls where you can get direct, face-to-face pronunciation feedback from Matsu himself. Post your progress, join the live calls, and have the best time learning Japanese in Matsu Academy! がんばってください！"

    - Michael Bekhterev

  • A woman in a yellow life jacket taking a selfie while kayaking on a river during sunset, with a person in a kayak in the background.

    "I enjoy learning the different writing systems with Matsu sama because we receive specific corrections on our work. Rather than using a multiple choice system or autogenerated text, you get to practice your real life writing and character recognition skills! The community aspect promotes accountability and even more real life learning application, as we get to join video calls and practice our vocab!"

    -Savannah Schmidt

  • Close-up of a black and white cat lying on the floor, curled up and sleeping with pink paw pads visible.

    "Ever since joining Matsu Academy, I have started using Japanese more confidently. I'm not advanced in any way, but I have started using it in a basic way, which is a huge step from where I started haha. A few examples will be describing the temperature outside, since it's been hot I have said あついです. I also have practiced at home using これ + object I have at home (Japanese name) です. I feel I will continue to grow more fluently and use longer sentences fairly soon with your teachings せんせい! ありがとうございます! "

    -Ivann Ruiz

  • A young man with glasses smiling in an indoor setting, with a blurred background featuring a display board.

    "This community has helped my pronunciation in Japanese through the help of Matsu's feedback. Also listening to others pronounce words helps me see where I am lacking. I've seen my pronunciation improve in terms of getting sentences out in one breath more calmly."

    - Joey Soriano

  • A young woman with long brown hair and glasses taking a selfie in a bedroom, smiling at the camera.

    "Being a part of Matsu's Japanese learning community is such an enjoyable and engaging experience. Not only are you learning a language, you're learning about a people, a community and with a community of your own! Japanese is hard, don't get me wrong, but with Matsu's lessons and guidance as well as a fun, supportive online community - I think anyone could learn."

    -Hailey Lentz

  • A woman with curly hair wearing glasses and a white tank top, lying on a blue pillow.

    "はい、ありがとうございます！ I love how everything is self-paced. Everyone in the community has that ‘we’re in this together’ energy. It boosts more comfort and confidence in learning Japanese more. You give perfect guidance and understanding. Worth every penny, in fact more. Before I had a very hard time trying to self-teach myself Japanese until I found Matsu Academy. I felt very blessed ever since!"

    — Tyrisha Faulkner

  • A person pointing towards the horizon during sunset near a body of water with buildings and trees in the distance.

    "The live lessons with Matsu Sensei and the Nakamas are the highlight of this community! The real-time pronunciation feedback has been incredibly helpful for improving my speaking skills. Plus, Sensei often shares cultural insights that make the language feel even more alive and meaningful. ありがとう !"

    - Aaron Morales

Matsu Academy January Application

FAQs

  • YES! If you join Matsu Academy, you’re investing in actually mastering Japanese from Hiragana and beyond - complex sentences, culture knowledge, survival phrases, and conversational ability. I love teaching Japanese, and I would love to teach you too! My students tell me the video courses and community resources are genuinely helpful!

  • Nope, you can literally start from Level 1, where I’ll teach you to read and write Hiragana, all the way to being able to speak and build complex sentences and hold a conversation! I believe in you!!

  • It's completely self-paced! All lessons are pre-recorded so you can learn at your own speed. I'll guide you through the curriculum and give you personal feedback on your progress, so you'll stay on track even while moving at your own pace. We also have live community calls where you can practice, but replays are always available if you can't make it.

  • Unlike apps that teach "robot Japanese" without context, we add native feedback to avoid embarrassing faux pas and build real conversational skills. Our live calls and cultural IQ modules turn isolated study into supported mastery!

  • Our flexible, bite-sized lessons and recorded calls fit any schedule—study 10-15 minutes a day. Community accountability and gamification help you stay consistent without burnout!

  • Most students can read hiragana within 2 weeks and have basic conversations within 2-3 months with consistent practice (20-30 min/day).

  • Not at all! Many students prefer to listen and learn. All live calls are recorded so you can watch later, and you're welcome to just observe until you feel comfortable participating.

  • Skool makes it super easy and free to cancel whenever you want. On the “Settings” tab when you’re logged in to Skool, you can view your payment methods, your payment history, and manage your subscription easily.