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Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1)
 
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Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1) [Paperback]

James W. Heisig (Author), Helmut Morsbach (Author), Kazue Kurebayashi (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1) + Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters + Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 2: A Systematic Guide to Reading Japanese Characters (Japanese Edition)
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Product Description

Following on the phenomenal success of Remembering the Kanji, the author has prepared a companion volume for learning the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries of modern Japanese. In six short lessons of about twenty minutes, each of the two systems of "kana" writing are introduced in such a way that the absolute beginner can acquire fluency in writing in a fraction of the time normally devoted to the task.

Using the same basic self-taught method devised for learning the kanji, and in collaboration with Helmut Morsbach and Kazue Kurebayashi, the author breaks the shapes of the two syllabaries into their component parts and draws on what he calls "imaginative memory" to aid the student in reassembling them into images that fix the sound of each particular kana to its writing.. . and have fun in the process.

About the Author

James W. Heisig is professor and permanent research fellow at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture in Nagoya, Japan.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 147 pages
  • Publisher: University of Hawaii Press; 3 Blg edition (May 2007)
  • Language: Japanese
  • ISBN-10: 0824831640
  • ISBN-13: 978-0824831646
  • Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #47,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #30 in  Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Japanese
    #30 in  Books > Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Japanese
    #74 in  Books > Reference > Words & Language > Study & Teaching

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James W. Heisig
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Works... and works well!, October 3, 2007
This review is from: Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1) (Paperback)
Although this is the only tool I've ever used for learning the kana, it definitely worked as advertised. I generally have a pretty weak memory, but the tricks used in this book allowed me to memorize and learn how to write the kana very quickly. Furthermore, because the book does not rely on simple brute-force memorization, I retained the information much better and was able to revisit it again after almost a year of not seeing it in just a few minutes. Finally, the memory techniques themselves have proved to be a valuable asset when memorizing other things.

Although 15$ may seem like a bit of a steep price for such a small volume, it is well worth the cost.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Answer For Struggling Learners, June 11, 2009
By Sephiroth912 (In Your Head) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1) (Paperback)
Okay, so I've been self teaching myself Japanese over the last few years in small doses, mainly because it's difficult to focus on it over an extended period time. Most learning sources I have come across ignore this and just encourage further reading. Here, though, they don't, and it helps you understand the wonderful value of breaks.

I came across this when my friend told me about it after they had been looking for another book I've been using (Genki. Good luck finding it on English websites brand new. eBay tends to have them in sets) and they found this one. So I picked it up and immersed myself in lesson 1 and I haven't turned back.

There are two 3-hour courses, one for hirigana and one for katakana, and each of those courses is split into 30 minute lessons. While you can, obviously, ignore the warnings, it will tell you to take a minimum of a 30 minute break, though in the introduction it suggests doing just two lessons a day and finishing each course in 3 days.

What also makes this book interesting is it's linear yet unlinear design. In the book, the kana is listed in, as the book describes it, dictionary order. However, you do not follow straight through. Instead, it starts you with the last one in the book, N, then takes you back a fair amount to Ku, and so on.

This book not only helped me develop a fine knowledge and understanding of kana, but also simple study skills as a whole. For any struggling student of the language, pick this one up!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, February 3, 2008
By F. Dailey (Cary, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Remembering the Kana: A Guide to Reading and Writing the Japanese Syllabaries in 3 Hours Each (Manoa) (Japanese Edition) (part 1) (Paperback)
The book is good but not great. The instructions for writing the kana are clear and simple but the mnemonics just didn't work for me. Most of the mental images seemed so far fetched that they lost their effectiveness after the first couple of lessons. The proposed study method sounded great in the editorial review but in actual practice it just didn't measure up.

The practice words provided with each kana proved to be tremendously helpful. As you learn each kana, you're given a few sample words, each of which contains at least one occurance of the kana being studied. The words only contain kana which have already been introduced and reviewed. It may sound trivial but it ensures you don't forget what you've already studied and it works like a charm.

Also take note that the author's study method involves some serious page-jumping. After the completion of each kana, you have to flip to another page within the book. There's no ryhme or reason as to what page you'll be heading to. It's just random. The purpose is to ensure you don't get into the habit of mindless page turning. It worked better than I thought it would but I'm still unsure of its value. In my case, I found it to be more of a distraction; however, I can see how others may find it to be a great way to stay focused.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
This book is exceptional! I thought it was going to be an extremely daunting task, learning all of the kana. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Miles McCoy

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Excellent Value
I was able to learn all of the Kana quite easily with the help of this excellent book. I was surprised how quickly I was able to pick up on the Kana, even only studying a little... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jay A. Stasiak

5.0 out of 5 stars Works miraculously
I've made a few attempts at learning the kana the traditional brute-force way, but the task was just too tedious and boring. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kerecsen Tamas

3.0 out of 5 stars Hiragana - excellent, Katakana - not so much
I recently purchased Remembering the Kana as an introduction to the written Japanese language, and it has helped me a lot. Read more
Published 13 months ago by H. Hildre

5.0 out of 5 stars It does exactly what it says
I am in no way a quick learner but I simply followed what the book said and now I understand both hiragana and katakana surprisingly well. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Scott E. Rowenczak

5.0 out of 5 stars It cured my kana dyslexia !
This book is a really cute... if not sometimes corny little ditty that walks you through the entire Japanese syllabary by offering ways to remember the characters (i.e. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Eddie Landsberg

4.0 out of 5 stars Kana Mnemonically
The book doesn't try to teach you in "Alphabetical Order". It starts with "n" pointing out that the japanese character is exactly like a cursive "n" in English but with a longer... Read more
Published on February 22, 2008 by Oz

4.0 out of 5 stars Memorable
Really, you don't need this book to learn the Kana. However, the structure it provides does help with breaking up the rote memorization and the writing style is light and... Read more
Published on February 15, 2008 by Derek Battle

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful if you don't take it too seriously.
I am deeply indebted with the author.
I could review in 44 minutes and  in 1 hour 16 minutes. Read more
Published on October 26, 2007 by pietro merletti

5.0 out of 5 stars
while this is the first and only Kana guide I've ever used, I have to say it is great - simply because it worked. Read more
Published on September 27, 2007 by J. Dodd

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