Learn Japanese with Sanctuary
Yes, Sanctuary is a C1-level pick for Japanese learners. This live-action sumo drama combines the delinquent hero's rough, rapid-fire street slang with dense specialised sumo terminology and steep stable-hierarchy keigo. It is the hardest listen of the set, a genuine C1 challenge.
Key takeaways
- Sanctuary is a C1-level pick for Japanese, best suited to advanced learners.
- The advanced pick: rough street slang plus dense sumo terminology and keigo.
- It runs 1 season, 8 episodes, so its vocabulary recurs enough that finishing it builds real Japanese listening.
- Against the 8 other Japanese titles in our difficulty index, it is easier than 0 of them.
- Expect everyday Japanese such as 相撲 and 力士.
- Watch it with Japanese subtitles rather than your own language, which the research links to the biggest listening gain.
- Difficulty
- C1 (hard)
- Best for
- advanced learners
- Format
- TV series
- Length
- 1 season, 8 episodes
- Original audio
- Japanese
- Genre
- drama, sports
- Platform
- Netflix
- Relative difficulty
- Easier than 0 of 8 other Japanese titles we rate
- In our index
- 1 of 9 Japanese titles
Wondering how long the whole language takes? How long it takes to learn Japanese.
Japanese words you'll hear in Sanctuary
- 相撲
- sumo (sumou)
- 力士
- sumo wrestler (rikishi)
- 稽古
- training, practice (keiko)
- 親方
- stable master, boss (oyakata)
- 番付
- ranking list (banzuke)
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Frequently asked questions
- Is Sanctuary hard for Japanese learners?
- Yes, it is C1. It mixes fast street slang with specialised sumo vocabulary and hierarchical keigo, so it suits advanced learners; graded subtitles help everyone else follow it.