Kana Ascii

Kana ASCII

A skill + npm package combo for learning Japanese characters in the terminal.

The package renders any kana as a dot-grid ASCII drawing. This skill layers teaching on top — stroke order, mnemonics, drills, and context.

The Package

# One-off (no install)
npx kana-ascii あ
npx kana-ascii aiueo        # renders あいうえお in sequence
npx kana-ascii AIUEO        # katakana mode
npx kana-ascii konnichiwa   # converts romaji → kana, shows coverage

# Install globally
npm install -g kana-ascii
kana-ascii --list
kana-ascii --all

Romaji input convention: lowercase → hiragana, UPPERCASE → katakana

Powered by hepburn for romaji conversion.

Programmatic API

import { render, lookup, renderWord, renderAll, list } from "kana-ascii";

render("あ")          // → formatted string (grid + strokes + mnemonic)
render("a")           // → same (romaji lookup)
renderWord("aiueo")   // → array of RenderResult for each kana
lookup("a")           // → raw KanaChar data
renderAll()           // → all supported characters
list()                // → [{ char, romaji, type }, ...]

How This Skill Works

When a learner asks about a character — or any new character is introduced in a lesson — do this:

1. Show the CLI command they can run themselves:

   npx kana-ascii [char or romaji]

2. Draw the character using the dot-grid system (see below) — Claude renders it inline so the learner sees it immediately without leaving the session

3. Teach the strokes with [1] [2] labels and stroke type descriptions

4. Give the mnemonic — vivid, weird, sticky

5. Drill it — ask the learner to describe what they see before moving on

Dot-Grid Drawing System

Draw every character on a 13 wide × 9 tall dot canvas:

. . . . . . . . . . . . .   ← 13 dots wide
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .   ← 9 rows tall
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Stroke characters (pure ASCII, guaranteed monospace):

-  horizontal stroke
|  vertical stroke
/  diagonal (bottom-left to top-right)
\  diagonal (top-left to bottom-right)
(  left curve
)  right curve
~  hook / flick
^  small arch
*  dot / emphasis point
+  crossing point

Label strokes inline: [1] [2] [3] — never ①② (breaks monospace in many terminals).

---

Character Reference

Hiragana Vowels

あ (a) — ah as in father

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - - . . .
. . . . | . . | . . . . .
. . . . | [2] | . . . . .
. . . . - - - - . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . ( . ) [3] . . . .
. . . . . . \ . . . . . .
. . . . . . ~[4] . . . . .

[1] horizontal bar · [2] box enclosure · [3] drop + loop · [4] hook sweep Mnemonic: Someone tied the letter 'a' into a knot. It IS an 'a' in there.

---

い (i) — ee as in see

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . ( . . . ( . . . . . .
. . | . . . | . . . . . .
. . | [1] . | [2] . . . .
. . | . . . | . . . . . .
. . ) . . . ) . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] left stroke (taller) · [2] right stroke (shorter, same hook) Mnemonic: Two eels side by side. 'ee' in eel → 'i'.

---

う (u) — oo as in food (lips flat)

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . ^ . . . . . . .
. . . . . [1] . . . . . .
. . . . ( . . ) . . . . .
. . . . | . [2] | . . . .
. . . . | . . . | . . . .
. . . . ( . . . ~ . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] small arch at top · [2] open oval with hook Mnemonic: Little hat looking up. 'u' = up.

---

え (e) — eh as in get

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - - . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . . | [2] . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . ( _ | [3] . . . . .
. . . \ . . . . . . . . .
. . . .\ . . . . . . . . .
. . . . ~ . . . . . . . .

[1] horizontal cross · [2] vertical drop · [3] left sweep under and out Mnemonic: Person bowing arms wide — elegant.

---

お (o) — oh as in go

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - - . . .
. . ( . . . . . ) . . . .
. . | . . [2] . | . . . .
. . | . . . . . | . . . .
. . | . . * [3] | . . . .
. . ( . . . . . ~ . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] horizontal bar · [2] box enclosure · [3] center dot + swirl hook Mnemonic: A dot orbiting inside a box. 'o' = orbit.

---

Katakana Vowels

ア (A) — ah as in father

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . / . \ . . . . .
. . . . . /[2] \ . . . . .
. . . . . . . . \ . . . .
. . . . . . . . |[3] . . .
. . . . . . . . | . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] top bar · [2] diagonal left · [3] vertical drop right Mnemonic: A roof with a nail through it. Like the letter A.

---

イ (I) — ee as in see

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . \ . . . . . . . . .
. . . .\[1] . . . . . . .
. . . . \ . . . . . . . .
. . . . .\ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . |[2] . . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . . ~ . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] diagonal slash · [2] vertical hook Mnemonic: A leaning post with a hook. Tired 'I' falling forward.

---

ウ (U) — oo as in food

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . * [1] . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . - - [2] - - . . .
. . . . ( . . . ) . . . .
. . . . | . [3] | . . . .
. . . . ( . . . ~ . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] crown jewel dot · [2] horizontal bar · [3] open oval hooks right Mnemonic: A crown with a jewel. Royal 'u'.

---

エ (E) — eh as in get

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . |[2] . . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . - - - [3] - - . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] top bar · [2] center post · [3] bottom bar (longer) Mnemonic: An I-beam from construction. Engineering.

---

オ (O) — oh as in go

. . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . - - - [1] - - . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . . |[2] . . . . . .
. . . . . | . . . . . . .
. . . . . + - - [3] . . .
. . . . . . . . \ . . . .
. . . . . . . . ~ . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[1] top bar · [2] vertical post · [3] right arm swings down and hooks Mnemonic: A cross where one arm breaks off and swings. Open swing.

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Session Flow

1. Learner asks about a character (or lesson introduces one) 2. Show: npx kana-ascii [char] — so they can run it themselves 3. Draw the dot-grid inline 4. Walk through strokes [1] [2] with names and directions 5. Give the mnemonic 6. Ask: "What do you see in this shape?" — let them encode it 7. Drill: "Trace it in the air. What strokes, in order?" 8. Move on only when they can describe it cold

Trigger Phrases

• draw [char] / show me [char] / what does [char] look like
• kana ascii or ascii mode
• npx kana-ascii — user is already using the package
• Any new character introduced during a lesson

Coverage

v0.1.0 of the npm package covers hiragana + katakana vowel rows (10 characters). More added weekly. Run npx kana-ascii --list to see current coverage.

Links

• npm: npmjs.com/package/kana-ascii
• GitHub: github.com/mager/kana-ascii
• Pairs with: mager/beginner-japanese