This short handbook is written to teach the recognition of about 300 common Japanese characters to speakers of English. The characters are presented in a mnemonic approach which emphasizes the pictorial origin of the character and shows how the picture gradually becomes simplifed and modified to form the modern written form. The stories about the origin of each character are taken from the "Shuo Wen Chie Tsu" and other sources. When there are several possible ways of explaining a character the text uses the interpretation which is best mnemonically for speakers of English. The entry for each character includes an indication of its main pronunciations and examples of the common compounds formed with previous characters. The examples are selected from common applications a visitor to Japan would see frequently as he travels about the country. Appended to the main text are charts and very brief explanations of the kana syllabary. It is not assumed that the reader knows any spoken Japanese. (JD)