Product ReviewsLet's Learn Kanji : An Introduction to Radicals, Components and 250 Very Basic Kanji by Joyce Mitamura and Yasuko Kosaka Mitamura (1998, Trade Paperback)

Good Method for Self Study of Kanji

There are a lot of methods for kanji study, but there are a number of reasons that I like "Let's Learn Kanji". The book focuses initially on radicals and components of kanji. This allows the student to focus on the detailed pieces that make up a kanji. This is very helpful in the future when attacking more complex kanji.
After that section, the book focuses on a number of basic Kanji (about 250 in all). They are grouped into units of about 12 kanji at a time to keep you from getting overwhelmed. For each kanji, you write the kanji a number of times and sample words are presented that represent the major on and kun readings.
In each section (of about 12 kanji) exercises are given. There are exercises on
1) breaking down the kanji into components
2) fill in the missing reading
3) fill in the missing kanji
The exercises are based on sample sentences so you can see how the kanji is used in a real context. All these exercies work to firm up your understanding.
Personally, I have supplemented the book by creating software based flash card lists of the kanji and the sample words. I review these a lot to fix the words, kanji, and readings in my head.
Overall, I think this is a good approach. This is definitely better than books that just focus on the writings without having exercises.
John C. Briggs Feb 2007Read full review...

Straightforward, no-nonsense workbook

When learning Kanji, a solid knowledge of strokes and radicals is useful in analyzing and understanding the composition of Kanji characters. This book is a straightforward and no-nonsense workbook.

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