The Compact Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary
"The Standard reference work." —Daily Yomiuri"The Nelson Dictionaryis a big contributor to our ability to study Japanese seriously and…to Japanese–American understanding." —Edwin O. Reischauer"An up–to–date and authoritative guide to modern Japanese Characters." —Library Journal"My copy of this is worn and frazzled, because I use it that often. It has never let me down. If you need a kanji dictionary, but don't relish the idea of lugging around the large & heavy unabridged/cross-referenced version, this is the one to choose. It's easy to use and very informative with helpful charts and indexes. Recommended to any student of Japanese language, from beginner to advanced." —Bookscan