There are two Japanese writing systems : the Kanji, Chinese ideograms that have been used in Japan for fifteen hundred years, and the kana, phonetic symbols which indicate pronunciation through two syllabaries, the hiragana and the katakana, both of which are derived from Kanji. The hiragana, which form the basis of communication and are by far the most widely used, should be learned first. The katakana served intially to transcribe foreign words, but their usage has grown and expanded within the past years, notably in advertising. With its large number of exercises (with solutions), this practical manual allows the student to rapidly reach a good understanding of and practical ease with the two syllabaries. Out of print.