+I saw this book years ago but was intimidated at how densely packed it was. But when i was able to buy it at discount and pore over it at my leisure, i found it was not exactly an academic, by-the-books text , so to speak. Instead it was a visually-associative text that used the author's imagination to break down and understand the each kanji. It was to be the first of several books I would start collecting on the subject. * The only reason I marked it down by one star was in fact the sheer density of the information available in it. I am not as young as when i first picked up this book, and tired old eyes at the end of the working day will have just a little trouble focusing on the visual cacophony of illustrations, strokes and English words packed into each page. * I would recommend complementing it with a similar but smaller book like the Kanji Starter Part 1, that has one or two characters per page, and you can carry with you in a pocket or purse (Pict-o-Graphix is a huge tome by comparison) so you can still study while standing in line at the bank or grocery storeRead full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I've been learning Japanese and have found this book to be very helpful in remembering the meaning of printed kanji. This particular book was never intended to teach brush-stroke order, nor are all of the pictograms claiming to rigidly follow the words' true origins--but don't despair, *those* books aren't hard to find. This book's specialty is that it rarely fails to deliver a clever mental picture to affix an otherwise incomprehensible squiggle onto one's memory, almost like a template. Even though this language is based on logical representations, some can be tough to visualize or even recall without a little "hook"or trick. It reminds me of how much easier it is to remember the lyrics of songs if you can only start the process along by humming the first bars of the tune. These simple but memorable cues can make all the difference to the relative beginner. (For example: If this page is still accompanied by a photo of the book's cover as it was while writing this review, then you might be able to see it shows a translation of the kanji for STOP. The graph of the police-officer directing traffic to brake for a pedestrian is clever, like many other hundreds in this book of 1000+. The true historical origins of that particular symbol were abstracted and changed over time to fit a squared shape; however, in actuality, it evolved from representations of the toes and bones of the foot since travel (and related ideas like "go, progress" etc.) often was then a more *personal* endeavor than today. Since many other additional kanji in the lexicon are built upon the use of that symbol's origin as *foot* it might be easy to see why some purists might not be wrong to recommend a more thorough history at some point. As an initial foray into the world of kanji, however, it can truly be a blessing to the Western visual-sense to have these hints and tricks bolstering our memory. I am impressed, and although I bought my copy in used-condition rather cheaply here at eBay, I would dare say that I might even be persuaded to have paid its full retail price for a replacement, if it ever were to come to that-- and that is something this used-book-hound rarely says, that's a promise!Read full review
I love this book because it uses pictures to help student remember kanji. Since Chinese characters were originally pictoral representations, seeing a book like this helps Western learners of Japanese recognize the symbolism in something that might otherwise seem too abstract. The best way to learn is to make up mnemonics or memory aids and that is what this book does. For those serious about Japanese study, this is a worthy addition to your bookshelf because it is one of the most effective ways to increase your understanding of kanji. One thing to keep in mind if you do purchase this book is that Rowley's illustrations do not strictly represent the elements of the character. His approach is to create illustrations that help you recall a character. I would encourage you to also purchase Kenneth Henshall's "A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters" and the classic Chinese reference "Chinese Characters-Their origin, etymology, history, classification and signification" by Dr. L. Weiger, S.J. These two books look at the etymology of the character so that you can understand the meaning of each of the character's components and radical. Rowley himself drew inspirtation and reference from Henshall's book.Read full review
I got this because I would like to learn to read or at least recognize more Kanji. I think this is a good book for beginning to learn Kanji. The graphics are helpful, but some of the more complicated characters are difficult. But I suppose by the time you work thru the book, the more complicated Kanji would begin to make sense. I am not sure if this would be good if you are trying to learn by yourself, but I do think it is good if you are taking lessons.
A nice book to learn Kanji, doesn't explain a lot, but if you have photographic memory it'll be perfect
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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