Kana Pict-o-Graphix: Mnemonics for Japanese Hiragana and Katakana

by Michael Rowley

Pocket-size visual guide for remembering the Japanese syllabaries--perfect for beginners!

Genres: Japanese Literature, Language, Reference, Nonfiction, Japan

72 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

I'm into health, fitness, graphic design, illustration, environmental and social justice, and writing. I often have dozens of books from the library and read multiple titles at once — many I don't finish.

Author of educational books with visual mnemonics to learn Japanese and U.S. Geography: Kanji Pictographix and Fifty States of Mind.

New books in the works for learning the times tables and learning to recite the alphabet backwards.

CreativeKi.com is my design studio for books, covers, packaging, logos, and branding. I work with authors to design and produce titles.

Reviews

[Darin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tiny little book does exactly what it says it does--it teaches you the kana in a matter of minutes/hours. I've tried other mnemonic pictures available on the Internet, but none are better than these. You'll learn the kana quickly and painlessly--I can't recommend this one highly enough!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooooooo helpful!

[Arlian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible. I have tried other Mnemonics for memorizing the kana and found them too complicated. Michael Rowleys version is incredibly simple and easy to remember. When I am tired I tend to get forgetful and I find myself relying on my memory of these cards to get me through my kana homework. I am totally glad I got this book and I use it all the time. I highly recommend it to anyone else seriously studying Japanese.

My only complaint is that this is a book instead of flash cards.

[Morten · Rating 1 out of 5]

From what I've experienced, using mnemotics for neither kana nor kanji is a good method. If you absolutely cannot remember this a certain character, using a mnemonic for that specific one could prove useful, but in other cases, I would not recommend it.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very handy and cleverly made pocket guide. The only criticism would be the lack of stroke order numbers. Really looking forward to the kanji flash cards (are they out yet?)they look stunning. Cheers Michael Rowley!