Although Heisig has also published a book about mnemonics for the Kana, instead of reading that I made up my own. Perhaps they can be of use to you? Please point out any mistakes I've made, since I can learn from those.
Google Docs link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bNMB...sp=sharing
Raw text (leaving out the table at the beginning, because the spacing doesn't carry over well). The underlinings in the original document have also not carried over to this posting.
Mnemonics in “alphabetical” order
あ- a
The letter “a” is accidentally kicked on its right side by a soccer player (who is the “t”-like shape still standing). Since we’re viewing it from the other side, the “a” is also mirrored. (If you can’t see it, try writing this character down with a slightly sharp pen and then look at the impression on the other side of the paper: except for the “t”-shape this looks like an “a”!)
い- i
Basically an “i” with the dot turned into a stroke and moved a little to the right. Or a fishhook with a worm attached.
う- u (as in French “lune” for “moon”)
U-turn with a bit of railing next to it.
え - e (as in “bed”)
Looks like the letter “z”, that is often used to illustrate someone being asleep in comics. And producing “z’s” is best done in a bed.
お - o (as in “note” or “goat”)
A goat munching on something. The cross top left is its closed mouth, the curled part is its body and the dash in the top right corner its tail.
か - ka (as in “kayak” or “katana”)
Actually looks like the Kanji for “power”. Imagine a powerful strike with a katana leading to the dash top right.
き- ki (as in “key”, only with a shorter “i”. Or as in “mosquitoes”)
The stinger of a mosquito penetrating two layers of skin on someone’s lower leg who is kneeling (= bottom part).
く- ku
Very well known from the anime “Boku wa tomodachi ga sukunai”. Kobato always makes this sign in front of one of her eyes when she pronounces it by way of an ominous cackle.
け- ke (as in “dog kennel”)
Since the left part more or less looks like the Kanji primitive that Heisig labelled “pack of wild dogs” (as in 犯), seeing this as some wild dogs being locked up in a dog kennel can work. The dash top left is the pin that keeps the door to the kennel closed.
こ- ko (as in “cola” or the abbreviation “K.O.” for “knock-out”)
The bottom half is someone who has been knocked to the ground and is trying to prevent the referee who is standing over him from declaring a technical knock-out. (The more angular version of this hiragana has the top part as simply a horizontal line, which looks more like a referee standing bent stiffly over someone).
さ- sa (almost as in “saga”, but with an “a” that sounds more like the “ya!” sometimes used to spur horses on than like the “ah” in “barn”. Or else the way Germans pronounce “Ja”.)
A sailing boat.
し- shi (basically like “she”, only with a shorter “i”)
A side view of a woman’s breast, a symbol for femininity.
す-su (like a French person would pronounce “Superman” with the “u”-sound like in the French “lune” for English “moon”)
French Superman seen sideways with his cape bulging behind him like a circle.
せ-se (as in “sell”)
With some effort this hiragana can be seen as two “L”s connected to each other (not as well in this font as in others). Since “sell” ends in a double “L” this makes for a decent link.
そ-so (almost as in “sober”, with the proviso that the “o” in English generally starts with an “uh”-sound (the schwa) and then transits into the way the Japanese would pronounce the “o”. The Dutch have a similar way of pronouncing the “o”, without the initial “uh”).
A bottle of soda (= bottom half) being opened with a bottle opener (=top half).
た-ta (almost as in “ta-da!”, but again with an “a” that sounds more like the “ya!” sometimes used to spur horses on than like the “ah” in “barn”. Or else the way Germans pronounce “Ja”. I’ve heard the colour “magenta” also pronounced with this kind of vowel at the end, even though my phonetic dictionary lists it as another schwa)
Sticking with “ta-da!”, the left part could be seen as a magician and the right as a wand being waved over a magic carpet which promptly begins to float.
ち-chi (with the “i” sounding like “tea”)
If seen as a side view of the face of someone with very thick eyebrows and a large mouth, then the only thing that is missing is the chin. That doesn’t have the proper pronunciation, but it gives a clear visual link and at least spells the pronunciation properly.
つ-tsu (with the “u” sounding like the “u” in French “lune”)
Looks and sounds a lot like someone sneezing “a-tsu!”.
て-te (with the “e” sounding like the “e” in “get”)
Looks like a capital T.
と-to (pronounced as “toe”)
Looks like a toe with the nail standing up after a painful stubbing.
な-na (with the “a” sounding like German “ja” or Spanish “playa”)
Here the magician from たaccidentally conjures up a big snake. “That’s nasty”, comments someone in the audience with an English accent (close to the real sound).
に-ni (as in “knee”, although shorter)
Side view of the helmet of one of the Knights Who Say Ni from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.
ぬ-nu (as in the French pronunciation of “lune”)
A young kitten (a new or “nu” cat), still lean and with pointy ears.
ね-ne
A mature cat (“neko” in Japanese) with a bigger gut and a horizontal line in its one ear to show that it has been in its share of fights.
の-no (as in English “no” or negative)
A top view of a knot in a rope. (Pronunciation does not match, but the image does).
は-ha
A side view of a face snidely saying “Hah!”. The vertical line is the back of the head, the curl is the mouth with corners turned down and the horizontal is the eyes squeezed tight in ridicule.
ひ-hi (with the “i” as in “knee” again, only shorter)
Looks so much like a capital “V” that the word “vehicle” is appropriate, even if the pronunciation does not match.
ふ-fu (actual pronunciation is closer to “hu”)
Fuzzy eyelashes. This image looks a lot like the face of one of the musician dolls on The Muppet Show, specifically the lean female one called Janice depicted in the following link: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Janice
へ-he
A happy eyebrow or h.e. is the shape of an eyebrow above an eye that is smiling warmly.
ほ-ho
(Continued from は) A side view of a policeman’s face who stops you with the command “Ho there!”. The extra horizontal compared to はis his cap.
ま-ma
The fishbone of a mackerel.
み-mi (Pronounced like English “me”, but with a shorter vowel)
A harpoon is a kind of missile that has a rope attached to the end. The left part is the rope and the right part the arrow-shaped harpoon.
む -mu (Once again with the “u” pronounced as in the French word “lune”)
An image of a cocktail containing Vermouth. The circle is a slice of an orange and the cross is a fancy straw, while the dash on the top right is a tiny umbrella.
め-me
A normal mouse without the curly tail seen in ぬ.
も-mo
Side view of a man with thick eyebrows, a moustache and a prominent chin.
や-ya
Looks like an image of a fox (its tail on the right). A hunter on horseback spurs on his horse with the command “ya!”.
ゆ-yu
Looks like an image of an eye, which in French would be pronounced “yeux”.
よ-yo
Very close to the symbol for the Pound Sterling (£). Imagine a British rapper wearing the image of the Pound currency around his neck on a gold chain, saying “yo!”.
ら-ra
An angry face with its mouth bellowing with rage.
り-ri
The chin of your dentist covered by a mouthpiece looks down on you as (s)he asks you to rinse. Alternative for those familiar with the works of Terry Pratchett: Rincewind’s rather pitiful hat with “wizard” misspelled with two z’s on it. (Admittedly, the lack of a pointy tip makes this alternative a rather wishful mnemonic).
る-ru
Someone riding a monocycle as part of a circus act.
れ-re
The reins of a horse that was tied to a post snap loose and start falling to the ground.
ろ-ro
Very close to the Kanji for rock 石. Just imagine the rock being a little more rounded like a pebble.
わ-wa
Continued from れ: The cowboy whose horse just broke loose and ran off wonders what the hell happened to his horse. Alternatively: a top-down view of the Starship Enterprise just as it is about to go to warp.
を-(w)o
Someone steps onto a rowing boat and is welcomed aboard.
ん-n/m
Picture of a nose (with a nostril bottom left). Since both the “n” and “m” have a nasal quality, this should not be hard to remember.
Google Docs link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bNMB...sp=sharing
Raw text (leaving out the table at the beginning, because the spacing doesn't carry over well). The underlinings in the original document have also not carried over to this posting.
Mnemonics in “alphabetical” order
あ- a
The letter “a” is accidentally kicked on its right side by a soccer player (who is the “t”-like shape still standing). Since we’re viewing it from the other side, the “a” is also mirrored. (If you can’t see it, try writing this character down with a slightly sharp pen and then look at the impression on the other side of the paper: except for the “t”-shape this looks like an “a”!)
い- i
Basically an “i” with the dot turned into a stroke and moved a little to the right. Or a fishhook with a worm attached.
う- u (as in French “lune” for “moon”)
U-turn with a bit of railing next to it.
え - e (as in “bed”)
Looks like the letter “z”, that is often used to illustrate someone being asleep in comics. And producing “z’s” is best done in a bed.
お - o (as in “note” or “goat”)
A goat munching on something. The cross top left is its closed mouth, the curled part is its body and the dash in the top right corner its tail.
か - ka (as in “kayak” or “katana”)
Actually looks like the Kanji for “power”. Imagine a powerful strike with a katana leading to the dash top right.
き- ki (as in “key”, only with a shorter “i”. Or as in “mosquitoes”)
The stinger of a mosquito penetrating two layers of skin on someone’s lower leg who is kneeling (= bottom part).
く- ku
Very well known from the anime “Boku wa tomodachi ga sukunai”. Kobato always makes this sign in front of one of her eyes when she pronounces it by way of an ominous cackle.
け- ke (as in “dog kennel”)
Since the left part more or less looks like the Kanji primitive that Heisig labelled “pack of wild dogs” (as in 犯), seeing this as some wild dogs being locked up in a dog kennel can work. The dash top left is the pin that keeps the door to the kennel closed.
こ- ko (as in “cola” or the abbreviation “K.O.” for “knock-out”)
The bottom half is someone who has been knocked to the ground and is trying to prevent the referee who is standing over him from declaring a technical knock-out. (The more angular version of this hiragana has the top part as simply a horizontal line, which looks more like a referee standing bent stiffly over someone).
さ- sa (almost as in “saga”, but with an “a” that sounds more like the “ya!” sometimes used to spur horses on than like the “ah” in “barn”. Or else the way Germans pronounce “Ja”.)
A sailing boat.
し- shi (basically like “she”, only with a shorter “i”)
A side view of a woman’s breast, a symbol for femininity.
す-su (like a French person would pronounce “Superman” with the “u”-sound like in the French “lune” for English “moon”)
French Superman seen sideways with his cape bulging behind him like a circle.
せ-se (as in “sell”)
With some effort this hiragana can be seen as two “L”s connected to each other (not as well in this font as in others). Since “sell” ends in a double “L” this makes for a decent link.
そ-so (almost as in “sober”, with the proviso that the “o” in English generally starts with an “uh”-sound (the schwa) and then transits into the way the Japanese would pronounce the “o”. The Dutch have a similar way of pronouncing the “o”, without the initial “uh”).
A bottle of soda (= bottom half) being opened with a bottle opener (=top half).
た-ta (almost as in “ta-da!”, but again with an “a” that sounds more like the “ya!” sometimes used to spur horses on than like the “ah” in “barn”. Or else the way Germans pronounce “Ja”. I’ve heard the colour “magenta” also pronounced with this kind of vowel at the end, even though my phonetic dictionary lists it as another schwa)
Sticking with “ta-da!”, the left part could be seen as a magician and the right as a wand being waved over a magic carpet which promptly begins to float.
ち-chi (with the “i” sounding like “tea”)
If seen as a side view of the face of someone with very thick eyebrows and a large mouth, then the only thing that is missing is the chin. That doesn’t have the proper pronunciation, but it gives a clear visual link and at least spells the pronunciation properly.
つ-tsu (with the “u” sounding like the “u” in French “lune”)
Looks and sounds a lot like someone sneezing “a-tsu!”.
て-te (with the “e” sounding like the “e” in “get”)
Looks like a capital T.
と-to (pronounced as “toe”)
Looks like a toe with the nail standing up after a painful stubbing.
な-na (with the “a” sounding like German “ja” or Spanish “playa”)
Here the magician from たaccidentally conjures up a big snake. “That’s nasty”, comments someone in the audience with an English accent (close to the real sound).
に-ni (as in “knee”, although shorter)
Side view of the helmet of one of the Knights Who Say Ni from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”.
ぬ-nu (as in the French pronunciation of “lune”)
A young kitten (a new or “nu” cat), still lean and with pointy ears.
ね-ne
A mature cat (“neko” in Japanese) with a bigger gut and a horizontal line in its one ear to show that it has been in its share of fights.
の-no (as in English “no” or negative)
A top view of a knot in a rope. (Pronunciation does not match, but the image does).
は-ha
A side view of a face snidely saying “Hah!”. The vertical line is the back of the head, the curl is the mouth with corners turned down and the horizontal is the eyes squeezed tight in ridicule.
ひ-hi (with the “i” as in “knee” again, only shorter)
Looks so much like a capital “V” that the word “vehicle” is appropriate, even if the pronunciation does not match.
ふ-fu (actual pronunciation is closer to “hu”)
Fuzzy eyelashes. This image looks a lot like the face of one of the musician dolls on The Muppet Show, specifically the lean female one called Janice depicted in the following link: http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Janice
へ-he
A happy eyebrow or h.e. is the shape of an eyebrow above an eye that is smiling warmly.
ほ-ho
(Continued from は) A side view of a policeman’s face who stops you with the command “Ho there!”. The extra horizontal compared to はis his cap.
ま-ma
The fishbone of a mackerel.
み-mi (Pronounced like English “me”, but with a shorter vowel)
A harpoon is a kind of missile that has a rope attached to the end. The left part is the rope and the right part the arrow-shaped harpoon.
む -mu (Once again with the “u” pronounced as in the French word “lune”)
An image of a cocktail containing Vermouth. The circle is a slice of an orange and the cross is a fancy straw, while the dash on the top right is a tiny umbrella.
め-me
A normal mouse without the curly tail seen in ぬ.
も-mo
Side view of a man with thick eyebrows, a moustache and a prominent chin.
や-ya
Looks like an image of a fox (its tail on the right). A hunter on horseback spurs on his horse with the command “ya!”.
ゆ-yu
Looks like an image of an eye, which in French would be pronounced “yeux”.
よ-yo
Very close to the symbol for the Pound Sterling (£). Imagine a British rapper wearing the image of the Pound currency around his neck on a gold chain, saying “yo!”.
ら-ra
An angry face with its mouth bellowing with rage.
り-ri
The chin of your dentist covered by a mouthpiece looks down on you as (s)he asks you to rinse. Alternative for those familiar with the works of Terry Pratchett: Rincewind’s rather pitiful hat with “wizard” misspelled with two z’s on it. (Admittedly, the lack of a pointy tip makes this alternative a rather wishful mnemonic).
る-ru
Someone riding a monocycle as part of a circus act.
れ-re
The reins of a horse that was tied to a post snap loose and start falling to the ground.
ろ-ro
Very close to the Kanji for rock 石. Just imagine the rock being a little more rounded like a pebble.
わ-wa
Continued from れ: The cowboy whose horse just broke loose and ran off wonders what the hell happened to his horse. Alternatively: a top-down view of the Starship Enterprise just as it is about to go to warp.
を-(w)o
Someone steps onto a rowing boat and is welcomed aboard.
ん-n/m
Picture of a nose (with a nostril bottom left). Since both the “n” and “m” have a nasal quality, this should not be hard to remember.
Edited: 2014-03-15, 6:25 am