This book is a uniquely comprehensive and systematic guide to the reading and writing of the Japanese language. Suitable for both home and class, it provides all the information needed for a mastery of the basic characters (kanji) and the syllabaries (kana). Through the study of written Japanese will always require time and effort, this book has been designed to help the student achieve fluency more quickly and effectively than ever before. The first part consists of a general introduction to the Japanese writing system, which will be of interest to travelers, linguists, and others in addition to serious students of the language. Among the topics discussed are the history, form, orthography, usage, reading, and writing of kanji an dkana, as well as punctuation, romanization, and how to use Japanese reference books. Numerous examples and tables are included to aid understanding. There follow conveniently arranged listings of all 1,945 basic characters, along with their most important readings and definitions. Up to five compounds are given for each kanji, using only kanji that have been introduced earlier, with a cross-reference number to the main entry for each. Most kanji are presented in brush, pen and printed forms, with the stroke order clearly indicated. Each kanji is cross-referenced to "The Mdoern Reader"s Japanese-English Character Dictionary" by Andrew N. Nelson. The Kanji are fully indexed by on-kun readings, by stroke count, and by radicals, making it possible to use the book as a concise character dictionary.