big yellow hardback kanji book?

[yayforjapanese]

There is a big thick yellow hardcover Kanji book, like a dictionary.
It gives somewhat of the origins of each Kanji, how each one came to be the way it is, stroke order, and so on.
It is a well-known 'authoritative work' which was also recommended by Peter in one of his introductory audio lessons.
I think it may be the one shown at 22 seconds into this video;
http://www.japanesepod101.com/2009/01/1 ... and-trees/

Can anyone possibly tell me which one it is, please?
Also, I think I saw it at White Rabbit Press once, but can't seem to find it.
Do you know where it is there, or is there a cheaper place to order it from please?
Arigato gozaimasu!

yayforkanji =>

PS - I also wish to ask what is a good comprehensive 'real print' J-English/English-J dictionary, please? I would prefer a more durable hardcover with normal-size font for this, or possibly a larger size paperback so long as it is not one with real tiny print. Arigato.

[Belton]

Unfortunately I can't access that video.

There aren't many authoritative Japanese - English kanji dictionaries. I know Nelson has a blue cover.

It sounds like Spahn.
http://www.amazon.com/Learners-Japanese ... Bilingual/

It could be this
http://www.kanji.org/kanji/dictionaries/njecd/njecd.htm

I'm not sure either has etymology of characters. Halpern does give original and core meanings.

To be honest I'd go for the more concise Kodansha Kanji Learners Dictionary if you want a kanji dictionary. It's a subset of the second dictionary above. The only complaint is it's use of romaji instead of kana for readings.

A good Japanese Kanji dictionary (imho) is this childrens dictionary
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/403920140X

--edit--
have you considered computer based dictionaries or resources? I find they are easier to search and I use them more often.

[yayforjapanese]

Hi, thank you but I'm not sure if your suggestion is the one I'm thinking of.
I managed to create a screen shot of the book and upload it here;
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8282/image1j.gif

[Belton]

Ah, that's a Japanese character dictionary. Not a Japanese - English one.
Pretty serious (and difficult) I'm surprised it was recommended for learners.

So at the moment I don't know, sorry. If I come up with something I'll post here again.

[Jessi]

Hi everyone-
I can confirm that this is the book:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BE%8B%E8%A7 ... 138&sr=8-2

Apparently there is a newer edition available, but the one Hiroko uses is the one in the link above, which is a few years old.
It's quite comprehensive but is actually geared towards Japanese elementary students - but like Belton said, I'm not sure I would recommend it for Japanese learners.

One kanji dictionary that I have and used a lot is Kodansha's Kanji Learners Dictionary:
http://www.amazon.com/Kodansha-Kanji-Le ... roduct_top
The overuse of romaji is kind of a shame, but the lookup system makes it easy to find the characters you're looking for, and lots of great examples are provided.