I’ve been studying Japanese on and off for a few years now and one thing I’ve learned on keeping information locked in is using what you love. I don’t know how many of you have the same issues as I do of never remembering kanji, or just getting the on’yomi and kun’yomi readings mixed up, but I’ve found what works for me is using pictures of things I can personally relate to. Not that the TF ideas don’t work, they just don’t really work for me.

Instead of Anki, I like Mnemosyne a little better for picture studying and it has a great vocabulary set up for cards as well (though I do still use Anki for the majority of my Japanese study). For the kanji practice I use the TF ideas of taking one of the kanji bits to study, i.e. 二人, and link it with a picture I will personally remember because it was something I associate with it, not what TF associates with it. In the case of 二人 I’m a fan of anime, so I use a picture of Kauru and Hikaru from Ouran High Host Club, since twins will stick in my mind better for two people.

If I need help with remembering the readings of the kanji, I just add a second picture with something that sounds similar and remind me of the reading. I still use a picture that means something to me personally, though. This won’t work for everyone, in many cases the TF associations for each kanji will probably make more sense. But, I’ve found that this way works for me, and hopefully for someone else, too.

Good luck everyone and hopefully, with this, kanji will be even a tiny bit easier to remember.