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Like do native Japanese speakers even care about that kind of stuff? People learning Japanese (especially on reddit) seem to be super anal about trying to get perfect stroke ends with hooks and whatnot and will criticize others for not including them or getting them wrong. There's also tons of resources that tell you how to write them using a pen/pencil instead of a brush. But, looking at some written reports from students in Japan, I don't seem to see them very often. It looks more like a a mix of intentionally including them for visual flair + a result of fast writing.

So is does it even matter? Is this just another one of those things that isn't actually necessary but is constantly taught anyway (like regularly using "watashi wa")? Obviously writing "sans serif" hiragana will still be legible, but does it maybe look childish or something to a native speaker?

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    What kind of "stroke ends" here are you talking about? An image or something would help. Because, say, the last stroke direction of わ vs れ mean a lot. Dec 9, 2019 at 5:53
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    Related (duplicate?): Are hiragana letters written with their small nuances?
    – naruto
    Dec 9, 2019 at 16:19
  • @broccoliforest I'm referring specifically to stuff like the hooks at the end of strokes. Like the hook you sometimes see at the end of the first stroke on に, い, etc. Some writing guides very specifically guide you to try to write them (eastasiastudent.net/img/2012/02/hiragana-ni-order.jpg), while others omit them in the stroke guide (japanese-lesson.com/resources/pdf/characters/…). Some sources push for purposefully trying to write the hooks (rather than it just be a natural result of fast strokes), while others indicate its unnecessary
    – markyblack
    Dec 9, 2019 at 23:36
  • @naruto thanks, that's actually very helpful. So basically, its not necessary at all, but understanding WHY the stroke is there will help you read various fonts and writing that write the kana with a single stroke?
    – markyblack
    Dec 9, 2019 at 23:38

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