<B>The method that''s helped thousands in the U.S. and Japan learn Japanese successfully.</B><BR><BR>The Japanese language has two basic writing systems, hiragana, and katakana, in addition to the one that uses Chinese characters or Kanji. This handy book teaches you a new mnemonic–based method to read and write the fundamental 92 hiragana and katakana characters. Along with its sister book: <I>Japanese Kanji for Beginners</I> it provides a complete introduction to written Japanese.<ul><li><B>Memorable picture mnemonics</B> help you to learn the characters by associating their shapes and sounds with combinations of images and English words already familiar to you.</li><li><B>Clear examples and engaging exercises</B> offer opportunities to read, write, use and practice all 92 primary hiragana katakana characters, plus the remaining kana that stand for more complex sounds.</li><li><B>Polish your knowledge</B> with word searches, crossword puzzles, fill–in–the–blan