Whether full-time students, business people, or casual readers, all have felt the need for a compact, up-to-date, practical kanji dictionary. Something that would fit into a shoulder bag or briefcase, could be taken to class, or would sit unobtrusively on a desktop. Kodansha's Essential Kanji Dictionary is precisely that dictionary, designed specifically to meet the needs of the modern man and woman. It includes all of the 1,945 Joyo Kanji, the core kanji recommended by the Japanese Ministry of Education for use in Japanese newspapers and magazines.