Not being able to memorize kanji is not due to a lack of effort. The scientific reason why you should stop 'writing it 10 times to memorize it' immediately

"If you get it wrong on the kanji test, write it 10 times and hand it in."

Do you have memories of being chased by such homework during your school days?
Or are you telling your children now, "Write it many times to memorize it"?

By the way, when I was a student, I was once told,"You don't memorize kanji with your head. You memorize them with your hands."It turns out that those who struggle end up practicing the most, so those who are not good at Japanese end up tiring their hands first, and it seems likely they will end up hating the subject.
Actually,

many people who worry that they "cannot memorize kanji" are not lacking in effort.
Rather, it is highly likely that they are falling into a"design flaw in learning"that is inefficient for the brain because they are too serious about completing the "number of repetitions."

From the perspective of learning science, I will organize why "writing 10 times" does not lead to retention, and how you can master kanji with minimal effort.

Writing 10 times easily becomes "work" rather than learning

The reason why the instruction to "write the wrong kanji 10 times" is so widespread is simple.
It is because"it is easy to check at a glance whether it was done or not."It is an easy-to-manage system for those providing instruction, but there is a big pitfall for those learning.

First, from about the third time, the brain begins to focus on "how to fill the box" rather than "how to write it."
Writing the same character repeatedly also makes it easier for "gestalt collapse" to occur, where the brain has difficulty recognizing the shape as a character.
The hand learns the movement on the spot, but that is merely temporary short-term memory.

To put it harshly, writing 10 times often functions more as a"penalty for getting it wrong"than as "training to memorize kanji."

The power of "recalling" proven by science is greater than "looking"

In learning science, there is a very important concept calledretrieval practice.Memory is most strengthened when people "recall it on their own without looking at anything and retrieve it from the brain" rather than "repeating it while looking" at something.

While conventional "writing 10 times" tends to be just "copying work" of accurately tracing a model, what is truly effective is proactive training of "hiding the model and writing it."

Rather than placing the model to the side and copying it 10 times, hiding the model and straining your brain once by thinking, "Hmm, how do I write this again?" is overwhelmingly stronger for long-term retention.

What is needed in an actual test is not the "ability to look and copy" but the "ability to recall without anything."
Unless you practice that from the beginning, the worry of "I thought I wrote it, but it didn't come to me during the test" will never be resolved.

"A little when you've forgotten" rather than "a lot on the spot"

Another key to solidifying memory isspaced learning.Many people try to write dozens of times to "make it perfect that day," but the mechanism of memory is more fickle.

Rather than writing 10 times today and finishing it, recalling it with intervals such as"once today, once tomorrow, once in 3 days, once in a week"makes the brain judge that "this is important information necessary for survival."

People who cannot memorize kanji should stop trying to do a large amount at once and try spreading out the"timing of recalling"over several days.
There is no need to fear forgetting.
Rather, the very load of "recalling when you are about to forget" makes the memory stronger.

Treat kanji as "words" rather than just "figures"

If you try to memorize kanji just as complex symbols, you will quickly reach your limit.
People who remember things for a long time save them in their brain as a set ofnot just the shape and stroke order of the character, but also the reading (especially kun-yomi), meaning, and usage examples (by example sentence).

For example, try reading it aloud while doing "air writing" where you write the character in the air with your finger, and bring to mind an example sentence where that kanji is used.
The difference between "au" (meet), "au" (fit), and "au" (encounter) is that it is better to memorize them in phrases like "meet a friend," "the answer fits," and "encounter an accident" rather than as individual characters, as the hooks for recalling them will increase dramatically.

First, calmly analyze 'how you made the mistake'

Before lamenting that you 'cannot memorize kanji,' try observing your incorrect answers carefully for once.
Did you mistake it for another character with a similar shape, is one stroke missing, or are you misunderstanding the meaning of the radical?

There are always individual tendencies in how you make mistakes.
Ignoring that and blindly writing it '10 times anyway' is like telling someone with an unexplained illness to 'just go for a run.'
Once you find the cause of 'why you made the mistake,' you will be able to get it right just by changing your mindset, without having to write it over and over.

What is needed for kanji learning is 'design,' not 'guts'

Try questioning the common belief that 'kanji are something you memorize by writing them many times.'
If you are struggling with kanji learning, it is not because of your ability or perseverance.
You may simply be bound by old methods that do not fit how the brain works.

Stop writing 10 times, and try 'recalling it on your own' once.
Stop cramming today, and try 'testing yourself' again tomorrow.

This small design change should transform your kanji learning from an 'endless penance' into 'training where you can feel certain growth.'

If writing 10 times is imposed as a penalty, you can avoid it by practicing before the test and not making mistakes.
If you use the time you saved by avoiding it for other things, you can expect further academic improvement.

Why not start by testing yourself, collecting the kanji you couldn't write, and looking at how you made the mistakes?