Essays
Recognition vs recall: why you forget how to write kanji
You can read a kanji but freeze when you try to write it. That gap has a name, and a fix.
Lawrence Arya··6 min read
Featured
Recent
Playbooks
Japanese Numbers in Kanji: How to Read and Write Them
The ten number kanji, how larger numbers are built, why Japanese counts in ten thousands, where kanji numbers appear, and how to write them neatly.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Essays
Shodō vs Everyday Kanji Handwriting: What Each One Teaches
Brush calligraphy and pen handwriting share stroke order but not goals. What shodō is, how it differs from everyday writing, and whether learners should try it.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Research
Kyōiku Kanji: What Japanese Children Learn, Grade by Grade
The 1,026 kyōiku kanji Japanese children learn in elementary school, how many per grade, how schools teach them, and whether adults should follow the same order.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
Kanji Tattoo Mistakes, and How to Check Yours First
Wrong meanings, word-by-word phrases, Chinese instead of Japanese, missing strokes: the common kanji tattoo errors and a simple check that prevents them.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
How to Write Your Name in Kanji (and Why Katakana Comes First)
Foreign names are written in katakana in Japanese. How to find yours, when a kanji version makes sense, how to choose characters safely, and how to write it well.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
Genkōyōshi Practice Paper Explained
Japanese squared manuscript paper, one character per box. Why the grid fixes handwriting proportion, how to use it correctly, and when to stop needing it.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Essays
Handwriting or Typing Japanese: What Each Builds
Typing asks you to recognise a candidate; handwriting asks you to produce a character. Why fluent typists cannot write, and the ten minutes that fixes it.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
Keeping a Japanese Handwriting Journal
Five minutes and three sentences a day turns practice into output, exposes the words drills never cover, and leaves a record that shows real improvement.
Lawrence Arya··10 min
Playbooks
How to Write Kanji Neatly: The Three Fundamentals
Neat kanji comes from the square, component proportion and consistent stroke order rather than talent. Including the kana proportions nobody mentions.
Lawrence Arya··11 min
