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Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography header art

Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography

Shashingo is an edutainment game that teaches you Japanese through virtual photography. With your trusty camera, take photographs of the fictional streets of Japan to capture new words and images as fully translated flash cards!

Steam Page
Release
February 27, 2024
2 years and 157 days ago
Steam Reviews
Very Positive818 reviews91.3%

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Updated: Jul 10, 2026Developer scaleThe operating scale of the game's developer.
Updated: Jul 15, 2026Publisher scaleThe operating scale of the game's publisher.
Updated: Jul 15, 2026Publisher statusHow the game's publishing relationship is classified.
Search Google: How is Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography and Autumn Pioneer funded?FundingThe known source of funding behind the game.
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About the Game

Explore bright, fictional Japanese streets filled with details and interesting objects to capture with your camera. Each photograph you take will translate the name of the content into Japanese and English so you can learn with your surroundings.

Features:

  • A stylised, approachable 3D environment

  • In-game photography system

  • Japanese audio

  • Photo album to store your flash-cards

  • Game modes that test your memory

  • Beginner phrases and grammar lessons

  • Day/Night and weather cycle

  • Display romaji, kana, furigana (recommended) or kanji

  • A lo-fi soundtrack perfect for studying

Create Stunning Photography Based Flash-Cards

Every photo flash-card you take will be unique to you. The idea behind this is to strengthen the relationship between a word and how you see its physical appearance. In the real world, you can then see such objects and make connections to the Japanese words you've already learned while playing Shashingo.

Track Your Progress in the Photo Album

Your photo album is where you keep your collection of photo flash-cards. If you remember them well in Find Mode, they'll be separated into the 'mastered' tab and shown with a gold star sticker. However, if you're struggling to remember a word in Find Mode, they'll be marked with a purple exclamation mark sticker, so you know which words you need to practice more.

Learn from Lessons In-Game

At the back of your photo album, there are also numerous pages of Japanese lessons designed for beginners that will teach you how to speak Japanese and use the vocabulary that you learn in Shashingo. Also included are some key words and important phrases that can help you in your future conversations.