Overwhelmed by Kanji? You’re Not Alone!
If you’ve ever felt like kanji is an impossible mountain to climb, trust me—I’ve been there. With 2,134 joyo kanji (regular-use characters) to learn, it’s easy to feel lost. But what if I told you there’s a method that breaks kanji down into manageable, memorable chunks?
My favorite kanji series of all time is Remembering the Kanji by James W. Heisig. It’s a game-changing approach that helped me—and countless others—finally make sense of kanji.
In this post, I’ll share how to use these books effectively, highlight must-have digital tools that enhance the Heisig method, and provide resources to supercharge your kanji learning journey.
The Heisig Method: Why It Works
James W. Heisig developed Remembering the Kanji in the early 1970s as a way to tackle kanji learning more efficiently. According to the history of the series, he arrived in Japan a few months later than the other exchange students at his school. Feeling too far behind to jump into speaking Japanese, he decided to focus on learning to read first.
He began creating a visual mnemonic system based on his own experiences, which helped him grasp the keyword meaning of each character. From there, he organized the kanji by radicals, which sped up his ability to learn pronunciations. Soon, he was reading and speaking Japanese at levels higher than his peers—even though he had started later.
Heisig’s notebook was copied and passed around for years before it was finally published in 1985 by Japan Publications Trading Co. Today, it’s in its 3rd printing of the 6th edition by the University of Hawaii Press.
Why His Method Works
Instead of focusing on readings right away, the Heisig method helps you:
✅ Learn kanji meanings first, making characters easier to recognize (He calls these KEYWORDS).
✅ Use mnemonics and stories based on your life or cultural background to recall kanji effortlessly.
✅ Break down complex characters into radicals and components for faster memorization.
With this system, you’ll build a solid foundation before diving into readings and pronunciations, making everything feel less overwhelming.
But What About the Readings?!
Unlike Chinese, where characters have relatively streamlined pronunciations, Japanese kanji accumulated multiple readings over time. Most characters have at least two pronunciations:
- ON-yomi (音読み) – The Sino-Japanese reading, which approximates the pronunciation of the character when it was adopted from Chinese.
- Kun-yomi (訓読み) – The native Japanese reading, representing the original meaning of the word in Japanese. Kun readings are often followed by hiragana to clarify pronunciation.
That’s a lot! Fortunately, the Kun-yomi is often acquired organically as you learn to speak the language. The ON-yomi, however, are the focus of Volume 2 in Heisig’s series.
Breaking Down the Books
📘 Volume 1: Remembering the Kanji – Learning the Basics
This book teaches you how to write and recognize 2,200 kanji by associating each character with a keyword and a memorable story.
To truly learn a kanji character, you need to know how to write it, read it, and understand its meaning. That’s a lot to juggle! Unfortunately, no matter how diligently we study, our brains tend to retain only two out of the three.
Heisig suggests beginning by looking at the different elements (radicals ro parts of radicals) that make up the character. In Volume 1, he provides foundational stories for the first 500 characters, helping you form mnemonic connections. Beyond that, you create your own stories based on your personal experiences, making the process even more effective.
Instead of rote memorization—writing each kanji 100+ times—Heisig recommends using your finger to trace the character in your palm just 10 times while recalling the story. This active recall method strengthens retention far better than mindless repetition.
📙 Volume 2: Readings & Pronunciations
Once you know the shapes and meanings, Volume 2 helps you tackle ON-yomi and kun-yomi readings and apply them in real-world Japanese.
The ON readings have a magical quality—by grouping characters according to their radicals, you’ll discover that many share the same sounds! This allows you to learn by “chunking,” meaning you can absorb large amounts of vocabulary with minimal effort.
ON readings are used primarily in kanji compound words (jukugo), which often appear in academic and professional contexts. By mastering these readings, you’ll be able to read higher-level material and significantly expand your vocabulary.
📗 Volume 3: Mastering Extra Kanji
For those who want to go beyond the basics, Volume 3 expands your kanji knowledge even further. This volume focuses on ancient and specialized kanji that even native speakers may not encounter regularly.
💡 I personally love this volume for learning challenging kanji that aren’t commonly used but can still be valuable in specific contexts!
🔗 Want to grab a copy? Check out the books here using my Amazon affiliate link! (thank you for supporting my blog!)
Going Digital: Sites That Use Heisig’s Method
Beyond reading authentic materials “in the wild” or using graded readers like Tadoku.org, you can reinforce your kanji knowledge through digital tools.
Sometimes, we need to focus on microskills—small, specific skills like kanji recognition—before we can tackle full reading comprehension. These sites integrate Heisig’s method into your daily life:
1️⃣ Kanji Koohii
The best free resource for using the Heisig method!
✅ Spaced repetition flashcards tailored to Remembering the Kanji.
✅ Community-shared mnemonics to enhance learning.
✅ A confidence-boosting reading tool that highlights all the kanji you’ve studied in authentic Japanese texts.
2️⃣ Kanji Typer
Ever needed to type a kanji but couldn’t remember it?
Kanji Typer is a chrome extension that lets you search for kanji using Heisig’s keywords or components and quickly insert them into text fields. It’s perfect for writing in Japanese without constantly looking up characters!
3️⃣ Kanshudo
A full Japanese language learning site with a special emphasis on kanji.
✅ Uses Heisig’s keywords as part of its study program.
✅ Offers quizzes, lessons, and kanji breakdowns to reinforce learning.
There are both free and subscription lessons on this site. I recommend the subscription version if you can. (I do not have an affiliation with Kanshudo, but this is my experience with the website)
Making Heisig Work for You
💡 Should you create your own mnemonics or use pre-made ones? I recommend a mix—use Heisig’s mnemonics when they work and tweak them when needed! The first 500 characters in Volume 1 come with complete stories. The next section provides most of the stories but leaves room for personalization. The final and largest section offers only the key elements, leaving you to create the story that connects them all.
💡 How do you review kanji without burnout? Use SRS (Spaced Repetition Systems) like Anki or Kanji Koohii to reinforce your learning in short, focused sessions. The SRS on Kanji Koohii prioritizes your most frequently missed kanji, following the Leitner System.
💡 How can you blend RTK with real-world practice? Start recognizing kanji in articles, books, and even product labels. The more exposure you get, the faster they stick! I recommend NHK News Web Easy for daily reading. It allows you to toggle pronunciation guides, color-code kanji strings, listen to audio versions, and even compare simplified articles with full NHK News reports.
What’s Your Kanji Learning Story?
I first came across the Remembering the Kanji series in 1994 at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Umeda Station, Osaka. At the time, it seemed like the bookstore for non-native Japanese learners, offering both Japanese language textbooks and foreign-language books. This three-volume series looked so promising!
But I’ll admit—I had a love-hate relationship with it for a while. The organization of RTK is unlike any other kanji learning book or method. Eager to memorize all the kanji as quickly as possible, I skipped the “How to Use This Book” section and dove right in. Big mistake. I remember throwing the first volume across the room in frustration! The entire time I lived in Nagano, the series sat untouched on my bookshelf.
Finally, after a few years, I actually read the introduction and followed Heisig’s guidance. It worked—and I regret not taking the time to do it sooner. In 2013, I began a correspondence with Dr. Heisig. His life story and the development of this method continue to inspire me.
I’d Love to Hear from You!
Drop a comment below and let me know:
✨ Have you tried Remembering the Kanji? What’s your experience?
✨ What’s the trickiest kanji you’ve learned so far?
✨ Which of these resources do you think would help you the most?
Ready to Level Up Your Japanese?
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📖 Don’t forget to check out my past blog posts for even more Japanese learning strategies!
Happy studying, and may your kanji journey be an exciting one! 🚀💡
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