Hi,

How do you know when or check if your hand written Kanji is correct versus the stylized typography in the book or on websites/computers?

When I'm reviewing, either here online or offline with my own flashcard program, I try to write the Kanji and sometimes I'm not sure if I'm correct. For example, mouth on the computer is perfectly square, but in the book the stroke example is more of a trapezoid. When I write something I'd like to look at a "handwritten" version because in my books it's always different, but I can't look up Heisig's keywords in my other books because they're often not the real definition.

Thanks.

Look for a handwritten font to check against. A number can be found here: http://www.geocities.jp/ep3797/japanese_fonts.html

[Katsuo]

For your computer, you can install a 教科書 type font. There's a free one here (the EPSON 教科書体Ｍ).

Kyoukasho (教科書) means "text book".

You can set up a browser to use this font when reviewing on this web site.

In case it's useful, here is a site showing how to write the Joyo kanji. The font used is 教科書.

Thanks for the links!

I've figured out how to install the Kyoukasho font. I can't seem to make anything display in it though. When I set my preferences for the Japanese typefaces they continue to display in the boxy computer typefaces.

I use Mac OS 10.3 and Firefox 2.0.0.1.4. Does anyone know the settings to tweak?

Katsuo, that website is very helpful.

Install the Greasemonkey addin, download the Change kanji font script, click on the my profile tab, then the font picker page link and select your font. You will probably need to exit firefox once through the File menu's Exit command to make your choice permanent.

See also the Font used in review card thread.

[Katsuo]

Cirion Wrote:I use Mac OS 10.3 and Firefox 2.0.0.1.4. Does anyone know the settings to tweak?

Woelpad's suggestion above (which I haven't tried) is probably better, but anyway, this is what I did to set up FireFox:

1. In Preferences => Content => Set "Default font" to KyoKaShou.
2. Then click "Advanced..." (i.e. the Advanced in the same line as "Default font"),
a) Set "Fonts for:" to "Japanese"
b) Set Proportional to "Sans Serif"
c) Set Sans-serif to KyoKaShou
d) Uncheck "Allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above".

Finally click "OK" and the font in the KK review page will immediately change to the new setting.

Thanks, woelpad and Katsuo.

woelpad, I installed Greasemonkey and the script, but it doesn't work. My profile says the Kyoukashou script is selected as my preference and I quit Firefox after choosing it, but the website still displays the default boxy typeface. When I select the Kyoukashou tyepface in the font selector page, it doesn't change the sample typeface either.

Katsuo, I tried your exact settings in Firefox which were similar to what I tried yesterday. It doesn't work either.

I know this new font works because if I open a text file in any of my non-browser applications I can change the fonts. It looks like the font just doesn't work in the browser.

I guess I'll have to study with my Heisig book and try not to look at the other Kanji when I check the look of the strokes.

[Katsuo]

Cirion Wrote:Katsuo, I tried your exact settings in Firefox which were similar to what I tried yesterday. It doesn't work either.

I came up with those settings a long while ago just by trial and error. It worked on quite a few Macs with various versions of OSX.

But, interestingly (or rather, confusingly), I just tried an old Mac using OSX.3 that was working with those settings a few months ago, but now it no longer does.

Experimenting, changing the Serif font to Kyokashou now makes that font appear in the KanjiKoohii review page.

If that doesn't work for you, then maybe some other setting will. If you position the preferences window so that it doesn't obscure the KK kanji review character, then you can experiment by changing one of the settings and clicking OK (the change appears immediately).

Does the sample change if you select any other font? If it doesn't, then the font picker functionality doesn't work, otherwise it's a problem with that particular font.

BTW, that exit scenario I only added so you wouldn't need to redo the same operation every time you quit and restart Firefox. If you have the story or review page open in another tab, you simply need to reload that page after selecting a different font.

I just installed the EPSON 教科書体Ｍ on Katsuo's suggestion and I really like it. It's nice and thin and easy to read, but not too thin that it loses substance. Thanks a lot for that link. I've been looking how to change my kanji font for a while, so I'm happy this topic came up.

I do wonder, though, if ClearType is compatible with this font. On the flashcards when the font is large, it is FULL of jaggies. Is it just me? Or does ClearType not want to work with this font, or Japanese fonts in general.

Katsuo Wrote:Experimenting, changing the Serif font to Kyokashou now makes that font appear in the KanjiKoohii review page.

That got me thinking about what the website is specifying for typefaces. So I looked at the source code. The review cards default to a serif if the specified Japanese fonts aren't available. Maybe the webmaster changed the CSS from san-serif when you first made those test settings.

So... I re-tried changing the serif to the Kyokashou setting and it works as long as I have the Greasemonkey script turned on! Hooray! If I turn the Greasemonkey script off it stops working.

woelpad Wrote:Does the sample change if you select any other font? If it doesn't, then the font picker functionality doesn't work, otherwise it's a problem with that particular font.

Here's where it gets weird.

If I'm using the default Firefox font settings, then only 1 of my Japanese fonts (Osaka) and my "Simplified Chinese" fonts (Kai, Song, etc.) change the sample. While the other standard installed Japanese fonts (Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro W3, Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro W6, Hiragino Kaku Gothic Std W8, Hiragino Maru Gothic Pro W4, Hiragino Mincho Pro W3, Hiragino Mincho Pro W6, OsakaMono) and Kyokashou do not change the sample.

When I changed the Firefox font settings to Kyokashou or de-selected "allow pages to choose their own fonts, instead of my selections above" then none of the fonts changed the sample.

If the default settings and Greasemonkey script are on then Osaka works. If I change the default Japanese serif font to Osaka and turn of the Greasemonkey script the website displays in Osaka.

Anyway, the display problem is sort of fixed even if I don't know why.

MethodGT, I tried setting my offline flashcards to use this Kyokashou font and it won't display above 36 pt and it looks jaggy. I'm thinking it's not a scalable (vector?) font.

Thanks all!

Cirion Wrote:MethodGT, I tried setting my offline flashcards to use this Kyokashou font and it won't display above 36 pt and it looks jaggy. I'm thinking it's not a scalable (vector?) font.

Yeah, maybe it isn't. I don't know how to tell by looking at the file though. It says true type like most of the rest of them. Also, when I was testing it out in Word, it looked really good and smooth no matter the size (I got it up to 72). That's why I thought it was the program Firefox, not the font.

Hopefully somebody else who uses this font can say what it's like for them, and maybe give ideas for fixing it, because those jaggies are very annoying.