kotori - Read Japanese Novels
No distraction. Just Immersion
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
~18,000 Aozora Bunko works in beautiful vertical text. No ads, offline ready. Read anytime, anywhere. Built-in dictionary lets you look up difficult words instantly.
Dazai Osamu, Natsume Soseki, Akutagawa Ryunosuke — a Aozora Bunko reader that beautifully displays approximately 18,000 works from Aozora Bunko in vertical text with ruby annotations.
Start reading, or pick up where you left off — more easily than ever.
Kotori is a reading app for quietly engaging with Japanese literature. No ads, no registration required.
■ Bring literature closer with Kotori
I want to read literary works like a paperback.
I want to look up unfamiliar words right as I read.
I want to revisit a passage that stayed with me anytime.
Kotori connects reading, looking things up, and returning to favorites — creating a reading environment where you can slowly immerse yourself in a work.
■ Key Features
- Vertical text + ruby support
Full vertical text display with ruby (furigana) support. Even works with archaic characters or unfamiliar words feel as natural as reading a printed book.
- Built-in offline dictionary (approx. 91,000 entries)
Look up words on the spot, instantly. Even without a network connection, you can check meanings without interrupting your reading.
- Table of contents to jump where you want
Browse chapters of long works or short stories from a list and quickly open the section you want. Also handy when returning to a work you left partway through.
- In-text search to find that passage again
Search within a work for memorable phrases, character names, or scenes that caught your attention. Get right back to the passage you want to revisit.
- Highlights & Notes
Highlight passages that resonate with you and save them with notes. Even after finishing, you can look back on a work through your own words.
- Search by title, author, or reading
Quickly find what you want to read by title, author name, or phonetic reading. Download works to enjoy reading even where there is no signal.
- A reading environment that suits you
Choose from 4 themes — Light, Dark, Sepia, and Aozora — and 2 fonts — Gothic and Mincho — with fine-grained text size settings. Read in a setting that suits your eyes, morning or night.
■ Step into the world of a work with peace of mind
- No ads — nothing to interrupt your reading
- No registration — start reading right away
What's on the screen is a space for you and the work alone.
Kotori is a small doorway into the treasure trove of Japanese literature.
Savor it in beautiful vertical text, look up words, and return again to passages that stayed with you. Why not find your own reading time with Kotori?
Ratings & Reviews
Kotori News
- Minor fixes implemented
- Settings page has been updated
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Thank you for using Kotori.
If you notice anything, please let us know anytime via the support form.
https://www.kotori-aozora.app/support
The developer, Tatsuhiko Kawana, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Usage Data
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Tatsuhiko Kawana
- Size
- 50.7 MB
- Category
- Books
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 17.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English and Japanese
- Age Rating
13+
- 13+
- Infrequent
Realistic Violence
Profanity or Crude Humor
Horror/Fear Themes
Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use or References
Sexual Content or Nudity
- Copyright
- © 2026 Tatsuhiko Kawana