A few hours of reading, 400 ideograms, 1,000 useful words, and a conversation guide. This book encompassing many aspects of Japanese life and culture is perfect for business people, engineers and scientists, foreign interns and residents in Japan, university students, tourists, and all those who wish to improve their knowledge in the comfort of their own home. Jean Mathieu, a chemical engineer, and his wife Colette Batsch, a visual artist, developed a passion for Chinese and Japanese ideograms and the Japanese language in general after travelling extensively in Japan. With this book, they set out to rid people of their inhibitions faced with these complex characters, which at first glance appear so abstruse, and to show them that once they have taken their first steps, they will enter a fascinating world filled with excitement and discovery.

The royalties on the sales of this book are donated to the Foujita Foundation, dedicated to promoting the education, training and integration of young people disadvantaged by educational, social or familial issues.