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A reader of handwritten Japanese
Author P.G. O'Neill
Publisher Kodansha
CategoryReaders
ISBNs4770016638 (hardcover) [COPAC, Webcatplus, Wikipedia]
0870116983 [COPAC, Webcatplus, Wikipedia]

Review by Ben Bullock

Maybe the only book in English which teaches reading of handwritten Japanese, using 100 letters sent to the author by various Japanese people with both readable and unreadable handwriting. It is graded from easy to hard, with accompanying notes on correct writing style for letters and common handwritten abbreviations of kanji and kanas.

Review by Charles M Richmond

I have this book and it has been a life saver a few times! The notes and appendices are worth their weight in platinum. Who would have guessed that 第 has a 4 stroke abbreviation. I can not seem to directly type this abbreviation, but it looks like オ with a stroke in the top left corner. That said, the main use is as a template for correspondence.


For questions, comments, or if you would like to add your review to the above list, please email Ben Bullock <benkasminbullock@gmail.com> or use the discussion group for this web site.