This is an essential study tool for students seeking to learn Japanese and dramatically improve their ability to read and write kanji and kana. Students have been reading and writing the Japanese language for centuries, and they build their knowledge most successfully when they rely on a trusted resource. Today's most trusted--and readily available--resource is A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese. This classic, best-selling learning and reference work, trusted by beginning and intermediate students of Japanese is the best way to learn kanji and kana, and is now being offered as a fourth, thoroughly revised and up-to-date edition. Having a knowledge of the full set of General Use characters is the key to mastering everyday Japanese and will allow students to read and write Japanese up to the level of a typical Japanese newspaper with ease and confidence. Key features of this revised edition include: The most recent changes prescribed by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Covers all the 2,136 characters in the 'General Use' / Joyo Kanji set. Special codes indicate the kanji required for the JLPT and AP exams. Full range of Japanese character readings and English definitions Stroke counts, stroke-order diagrams, and compounds. Essential Japanese characters are presented according to the new arrangement by grade, based on their frequency of usage rather than their complexity. Numerous examples are given of the kanji compounds and derivatives used to form everyday words in Japanese.