JOIN MATSU ACADEMY

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

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 library of courses including Hiragana 101, Katakana 101, Kanji 101, Basic Grammar, Survival Phrases for Travel, Adjectives & Opinions, Evolving Verbs & more

✔ SELF-PACED learning with professionally edited courses, drills, quizzes, & exams

✔ Real-life applications to improve your cultural IQ

✔ LIVE community calls to practice pronunciation and understand the culture like a native

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 cheatsheets

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 GENUINE COMMUNITY

✔ Discuss all things Japan with over 300 members— the do's, don'ts, and dreams.

✔ Chat & post with students that are dedicated to studying Japanese. You don't have to learn alone!

✔ Progress in your training arc with leaderboards and a path to fluency

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

Young man with dark hair smiling on a city street lined with blooming cherry blossom trees, with people and cars in the background.
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 O.

  • “What I really love about this community is I feel like I’m willing to keep improving and learning because there are so many other people around me who are working towards the same goal. I feel like I’m in a genuine class where I’m getting to kind of know people and it’s really motivating. Every day I look forward to talking to some of the people in the class, or seeing a new post and just having fun talking about it.”

    - Jax W.

  • 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 B.

  • 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 F.

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

    "I’ve tried self studying off and on for over a year using apps and books. I’ve used Duolingo and Rosetta Stone and had the Genki book at one point as well. I like that your classes focus on learning hiragana and katakana through writing and pronunciation. I feel like this is helping progress faster or memorize better than the previous times I’ve attempted learning. I also enjoy the calls and engaging with the other students."

    - Kiefer L.

  • 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 L.

  • 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 S.

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

    “I was drawn to Matsu Academy because I could learn Japanese at my own pace with a virtual community that supports each other. Matsu Sama makes the lessons fun, humorous, and relatable to life scenarios, and the feedback he gives is so helpful. I’m only 2 months in my studies, and I already feel confident about writing, reading, and speaking Japanese because of Matsu’s teaching style.”

    -Josh S.

  • “I have been a part of Matsu Academy for about two weeks now and honestly have nothing but good things to say about it! Was a little skeptical at first but after joining the community and having live lessons with Matsu himself I felt nothing but welcomed and comfortable sharing my learning through my short time here, and have a great feeling it will only get better! Has really made it an amazing experience learning 100% would recommend!! Thanks again Matsu Academy!!”

    - Alfonso L.

Matsu Academy June 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.