
Recommended
Blue Sea Press offers materials that will assist learners in acquiring Japanese language skills more quickly but does not offer materials covering Japanese grammar. The following materials are recommended. References are also listed for important resources such as Japanese dictionaries. While Kanji dictionaries assist in reading Japanese characters, regular Japanese dictionaries help build vocabulary.

Japanese For Everyone An excellent introductory textbook, 27 chapters present grammar with 3~4 important points per chapter and give exercises. Many graphics and creative formatting keep the appearance interesting. The book uses hiragana and katakana from the first chapter, important for interaction with Japanese in its native form, and starts with some basic kanji from the second chapter. Very thorough coverage of main grammatical points by the end of the book. 384 pages. Lead Author: Susumu Nagara. Publisher: Gakken. Original edition:1990; slight format revision edition: 2008. ISBN 13: 978-4889962345 ISBN 10: 4889962344 Listed at Amazon A separate set of cassette tapes had been available for the prior edition of this book. It provided four tapes of audio for practice of the dialogs and listening exercises in the chapters. With the new edition of the book, references to the audio recordings have been dropped and the recordings are not offered. However, if a copy of the original tapes can be located, they can be used with the new edition of the book. ISBN 4-05-151292-4. Amazon does not list it, but it is listed at Amazon Japan and listed at the Kinokuniya US site.

The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary A tremendous resource for students getting serious about reading Japanese. Kanji cannot be avoided, and this kanji dictionary offers a clear indexing system and excellent formatting to make kanji accessible. Based on the System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns (SKIP) from Jack Halpern, the geometric patterns of kanji characters are easily recognized even by beginning students. Includes stroke orders, readings, usage examples, and more. 2230 kanji entries. 1008 pages. Editor in Chief: Jack Halpern. Publisher: Kodansha. 2002. ISBN 4-7700-2855-5. Listed at Amazon

New Japanese-English Character Dictionary Big brother to the Learner's Dictionary described above, this kanji dictionary first introduced the System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns (SKIP) developed by Jack Halpern. 3587 entries. 1992 pages. 2232 pages. Editor in Chief: Jack Halpern. Publisher: McGraw-Hill. 1994. ISBN 0-8442-8434-3. Listed at Amazon

The Practical English-Japanese Dictionary A small dictionary with a big impact. This little guy (3.5 x 6.0 inches) can fit in your pocket, ready to provide effective vocabulary anywhere. Note that this is an English-word-to-Japanese-word dictionary, not a kanji character dictionary. Such a dictionary (as well as an Japanese-word-to-English-word dictionary) is essential for learning actual Japanese vocabulary. Compiled by Noah S. Brandon in 1991, it has the advantage of providing words that are useful from the second-language learner's perspective. Bypasses the overloading of questionable entries that is common with many other dictionaries. 477 pages. Editor: Noah S. Brandon. Publisher: Weatherhill. 1998. ISBN 0-8348-0342-9. Listed at Amazon

Kodansha's Furigana Japanese-English Dictionary A Japanese-word-to-English-word dictionary is also essential to Japanese learning. This dictionary presents entries by hiragana order, and kanji representations of the words follow. This is an excellent way to become accustomed to regular Japanese dictionaries. Examples present furigana (hiragana help characters) above the kanji. 592 pages. Publisher: Kodansha. 2002. ISBN: 4-7700-2750-8 Listed at Amazon

Kodansha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary Fills the same purpose as The Practical English-Japanese Dictionary, but is a companion to the Japanese-to-English dictionary listed directly above. 728 pages. Publisher: Kodansha. 2002. ISBN: 4-7700-2751-6 Listed at Amazon

Kodansha's Furigana Japanese Dictionary: Japanese-English / English-Japanese The Kodansha furigana series also offers a combination of the two above dictionaries in one volume. 1285 pages. Publisher: Kodansha. 2000. ISBN: 4-7700-2480-0 Listed at Amazon

HandyAdverb This online dictionary is offered by Blue Sea Press to fill the need for a quick reference to these frequently used words. Adverbs appear often in Japanese reading materials, and yet they can be difficult to remember. This online dictionary can be used on a computer or any device with a browser, but it features a version specifically formatted for easy use on an iPhone. Over 1150 entries. Todd Adkisson, editor. 2008. HandyAdverb

Vaccari's Standard Japanese-English Dictionary An excellent Japanese-word-to-English-word dictionary compiled by a Japanese learner with the needs of such learners in mind. Good word choices avoids relatively unused words. Excellent example sentences given both in kana and in romanji. 1861 pages. Editors: Oreste Vaccari and Enko Elisa Vaccari. Publisher: originally Sanseido; Amazon now lists Hatsubaijo Maruzen Kabushiki Kaisha; Shohan edition. 1990. Hard to get. ISBN 0-8348-0342-9. Listed at Amazon

Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary Now in its 5th edition, this Japanese-word-to-English-word dictionary can be valuable to advanced learners. Software and online versions are also available. This is a very comprehensive dictionary and probably not needed by beginning readers. 2825 pages. Publisher: Kenkyusha. 2003. ISBN 4-7674-2016-4 Listed at Amazon Japan

Eijiro The online version of Eijiro is free and easy to use. It offers many words and is frequently updated, but it has the drawback of giving short definitions rather than full examples of usage. In addition, many of the definitions are repetitive, and some are even questionable in regards to accuracy or helpfulness. Still, it can be valuable, especially since it lists many modern words that printed dictionaries have missed. A CD is available for those who like a local copy which can be used without dependence on an Internet connection. Eijiro at ALC

Suggested Sources Some bookstores and online retailers may not be able to provide references that are regularly provided through Japanese outlets. See Wordbook Information for suggested sources of Japanese books.