Hashigo: A Next-Generation Sketch Interactive System for Japanese Kanji

Language students can increase their effectiveness in learning written Japanese by mastering the visual structure and written technique of Japanese kanji.  Yet, existing kanji handwriting recognition systems do not assess the written technique sufficiently enough to discourage students from developing bad learning habits.  In this paper, we describe our work on Hashigo, a kanji sketch interactive system which achieves human instructor-level critique and feedback on both the visual structure and written technique of students’ sketched kanji.  This type of automated critique and feedback allows students to target and correct specific deficiencies in their sketches that, if left untreated, are detrimental to effective long-term kanji learning.