This classic, best-selling learning and reference work, trusted by beginning and intermediate Japanese language students since 1959, is now being offered as a fourth edition and is thoroughly revised and up-to-date. Key features on this revised edition include: The most recent changes prescribed by the Japanese Ministry of Education Covering all the 2,136 characters in the "General Use," Joyo Kanji set Detailing coverage of the 1,009 "Essential" Japanese characters arranged by grade for children in the first six years of grade school The Kanji characters are based more on their frequency in everyday language than the complexity of their composition