Okay, so this is partially a selfish request on my part, and partially something that I think could benefit the community here.

Stories. Sharing stories is really an inspiration to people who come across that same kanji after you (and even to yourself, when, 万が一, you forget your original story). Like many others, were it not for this site, I never would have gotten through RTK1, much less had the courage to give RTK3 a go.

That said, compared to the RTK1 section, RTK3 is a vast wasteland. A frame will have 2-3 stories at best, and often they aren't so imaginative.

So, I'd just like to unofficially put a request out there - if you're going through RTK3, start making an effort to share your stories! (I often study away from the PC, so not all of mine are on there, but...) I am doing the same, in an effort to build up the stock, so to speak. Even if you've finished RTK3, maybe spend 5 minutes and enter in some of your brilliant stories for the 後輩？

I'm running through this book at a pace of about .75 wans or so, and should be done with it in a couple days, but I know there's gonna be a bunch that will slip through the cracks. I think fleshing out the RTK3 section some will really encourage some of our newer students.

一緒に頑張りましょう！

Unfortunately, I'm limiting myself to 30 new kanji a week for RTK3. I'm only to frame 2230 for now. I will be adding stories as I go along. However, I put my Japanese studies ahead of new Kanji now. Plus, I'm not making new stories for all if the one or two offered exceed what I can do.

As the number of us that finish RTK1 grow, those that move onto RTK3 will increase. Remember that a mere 12 months ago, the RTK1 stories were pretty sparse. Now, some Kanji have 50 or more stories to pick from.

The part that worries me is when I get to the fish and tree section. I get the feeling I'll want to use Anki with photos of the fish and tress to help memorize the Kanji.

Hey, as long as you're making steady progress, that is definitely a good thing. I am more trying to do Japanese on the whole rather than just Kanji, but I found myself with a block of free time and figured I may as well do it (and it is helping, I'm running into a bunch of kanji recently that I used to just sort of give up on).

The tree section is a mess, and the flower section is just about as bad. The fish thing too .. photos of fish and trees and such in Anki may really be the best way to go about that.

I'm going through both books again, mainly to get my schedule set up in Anki. When I reach RtK3 again, I'll probably start writing some better stories, since I pretty much failed last time (that is, I kind of lacked motivation and more or less rushed through the book). I'll make sure to share them on this site when I do.

dihutenosa Wrote:The tree section is a mess, and the flower section is just about as bad. The fish thing too .. photos of fish and trees and such in Anki may really be the best way to go about that.

I fully agree with you, there. I realized that I was unfamiliar with a good 50% of the trees and flowers, even in English.

hknamida Wrote:I fully agree with you, there. I realized that I was unfamiliar with a good 50% of the trees and flowers, even in English.

I'm in the same situation, so that makes me think... How important is it to study those kanji?

I would say that 90% of the flowers in my local area, I just call 'flower'. Same with fish and trees, to a lesser extent. If I was interesting in what a lily looked like, I'd study them specifically.

Does it make sense to spend a lot of time studying words/kanji that you have no intention of ever using, since you already know you don't care about them in your native language?

I'm still very early into learning Japanese, so maybe there are circumstances I don't understand... I could see how many the particular names of many flowers figure largely in the culture or something... But I've never heard anything like that yet. (Obviously, there are a few like cherry blossoms that are very important, but I mean in general.)

wccrawford Wrote:I would say that 90% of the flowers in my local area, I just call 'flower'. Same with fish and trees, to a lesser extent. If I was interesting in what a lily looked like, I'd study them specifically.

That's why a lot of us skip over RTK3 >.>

wccrawford Wrote:How important is it to study those kanji?

I figure they may show up in names, etc.
EDIT: Oh, and of course, bragging rights.

wccrawford Wrote:I would say that 90% of the flowers in my local area, I just call 'flower'.

I consider 植物 the perfect catch-all term for anything that doesn't move much.

I add my stories whenever I feel there's a good one worth sharing. The problem is that I'm adding them as encountered, not in Heisig order. Also, none of my stories from RTK3 have been starred yet, nor have many others', showing how few people actually make it that far. I'll keep plugging away at stories, but it will take a much longer time to get the RTK3 section on par with the RTK1 section. I agree that there are a lot of creative ideas out there which have yet to find there way to the RTK3 boards.

I've been more diligent in adding my RTK3 stories to the site than I was with RTK1. I think it's just a numbers game. There are fewer people doing RTK3, so fewer stories get shared. The fact there are fewer stories, though, is a main motivation to share, just to start building a good collection. Unless I'm borrowing, I share, and let others decide if it's helpful or not.

Re: flower kanji

I was astounded by the average Japanese person's knowledge of flower and tree names. When i taught there, the director of my school said that flower names are on the school curriculum (common ones in grade six). Can anyone confirm this? Anyway, i learned many flower names in Japanese that i never knew in English. I remember in Canada, seeing a flower, and knowing it was "ajisai," and when it was pointed out to me that it was "hydrangea," I thought "Oh, so that's what a hydrangea is! An ajisai!"
Same thing for fish. I had never heard of sea bream in Canada (Ontario, far from the sea); so for me it will always be first and foremost "tai".

All this to say that maybe the flower kanji are not so obscure...

I think for fish, tree and flowers it may be useful if someone has photos to reference. I'll be honest, I don't know what the camellia or catulpa trees looks like. Perhaps knowing that would have helped with those kanji quicker.

Ji_suss Wrote:Re: flower kanji

I was astounded by the average Japanese person's knowledge of flower and tree names. When i taught there, the director of my school said that flower names are on the school curriculum (common ones in grade six). Can anyone confirm this?

All this to say that maybe the flower kanji are not so obscure...

It's not a confirmation, but knowing the names of trees and flowers seems to be something that the Japanese governent wants its citizens to know.

Case in point, if you've ever been to Japan, you'll see little plaques attached EVERYWHERE; trees, flowers, etc. The plaque has the name of the tree/flower/other random vegitation in kanji, then the katakana reading, and then a brief wikipedia-like summary of the origin.

I suppose as kid your curiosity levels are very high, and your brain is like a ball of sticky rice; anything that touches it sticks without even the slightest thought. So imagine being a Japanese kid taking a stroll through the park with your family; your sticky brain and curiosty probably get the best of you, so you stop to examine/ask your parents about each flower and tree you come across, as well as try and read the plaque.

Just my theory, anyway =)