Reviews by Jim Breen

A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters

I've never used Ken Henshall's book as a learning aid, but his etymological information seems pretty accurate, and the front-matter is one of the best short introductions to kanji I have seen.

Things Japanese

A truly delightful book. I have the original 1905 edition, and it is one of my treasures, along with all my Lafcadio Hearns, Mitford's Tales of Old Japan and, of course, Isabella Bird's classic travel book from the 1870s.

The 1905 Hall Chamberlain has a tinted map showing all the old prefectures, and the railway network as it then was, including lines under construction. Apparently the Chuuoo line had only reached Oofuna, and the only train to Nagano was the line through Karuizawa.