The “Hiragana”

The Hiragana, are the phonetic character’s that Japanese utilize for writing “domestic”(Japanese) words that they either aren't familiar with, or simply for convenience.

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This chart illustrated the kana that require "sound" changes.

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The Katakana

The Katakana are what the Japanese use to write “foreign” words (to the Japanese). They can (and are) also used as/for “emphasis” (much like a “bold” font is utilized). For my student's purposes, the Katakana are “mostly” going to be used for writing “names” (usually of/for their students), and commonly upon “certificates” and such.
I usually show my student's the “Katakana” before showing them the “Hiragana”. This is mostly because it is rare for the average American to be writing anything in Japanese anyhow (and if they do, it's usually by way of “kanji”, rather than “Hiragana”).
The “use” of the Katakana, is purely “phonetic” (for “names”, and American “words”). The ability to “decipher” a person's name, takes a little practice, and a little experience with the accepted methods of translating those names when using the Katakana. I am going to provide a couple of “charts” I've made that I provide to my students (for this purpose).
The Katakana themselves, were derived from “pieces” of the kanji that their “sounds” came from. For my student's (and our purposes here) I'm don't get into that aspect of the “kana's” history.

The Standard “Katakana” Chart:

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I am also providing a “Sound Change” chart which is used for various inflected, and “odd” (at least to the Japanese language) sounds.

Katakana Sound Change Chart:

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Brushing “1” thru “10”

The First ten numbers are useful for the beginning student to practice many of the basic strokes. I will present them here, with the various “strokes” identified and explained as needed.

Ichi is a single stroke character (“kanji”). The stroke is began with the placement of the “mother dot”, then the brush is motioned to the Right, with a slight rise, when examined closely, one can see that it also “narrows” slightly as it rises. When the stroke has “risen” to about a third of the stroke's height, the “tip” of the brush levels out and continues to the desired “end point”. The “bottom” of the stroke continues in an “arcing” fashion to the end point of the desired length. Once the desired length is attained, the brush will execute a finishing “bounce”

Ni “Two”

Ni is a two stroke kanji. The first stroke, is an “upward curving horses bit” , the second, is “Ichi”

San “Three”

San is a three stroke kanji. The first stroke, is an “upward curving horses bit”, the second is a “rising horses bit”, and the third (bottom) is “Ichi”

Shi “Four”

Shi, is a five stroke kanji. The first stroke is a “Long bow”, the second is a “carpenter's square”, the third is a “rhino horn”, the fourth is a variation on the “bamboo crescent“, and the fifth is “ichi”.

Go “Five”

Go, is a four stroke kanji. The first stroke is a “rising horses bit”, the second is a “Long bow”, the third is a “carpenter's square” and the fourth is “ichi”.

Roku “Six”

Roku, is a four stroke kanji. The first stroke is a “turtle head” dot, the second is “Ichi”, the third is a “pecking bird”(variant), and the fourth is a “plumb stone”(variant).

Nana “Seven”

Nana, is a two stroke kanji. The first stroke, is a “rising horse's bit” (variation), the second is a “floating goose” (variant).

Hatchi “Eight”

Hatchi, is a two stroke kanji. The first stroke, is a “Rhino horn” (variation), the second is a “playing fish” (variation).

Ku “Nine”

Ku, is a two stroke kanji. The first stroke, is a“Rhino horn” (variation), the second, is a “Phoenix wing”.

Ju “Ten”

Ju (or “to”, is a two stroke kanji. The first stroke is “ichi”, the second stroke is a “long bow”.