Comparison

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA vs miwo

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA

Learn to read historical Japanese cursive script (kuzushiji) with this educational app. It offers character learning, contextual reading practice with classic texts, and a community forum for asking questions and connecting with other learners.

Highlights
  • Learn hentaigana and cursive kanji
  • Over 3000 character images
  • Contextual reading practice with Edo period texts
  • Progress tracking with review tests
  • Community message board for questions
  • Connect with other learners
Features
Read full description

Have you ever wanted to read what it says in old Japanese paintings? How about books that describe swords from the Edo period? Reading books from the Edo period or earlier requires the ability to read “kuzushiji” – characters written in a style not used today. KuLA, the Kuzushiji Learning Application, was developed to help people learn kuzushiji effectively on a smartphone or tablet. Using the test and social-media functions in KuLA will make learning difficult characters easy and fun. KuLA has three main sections: -Learn This section is for learning how to read hentaigana (hiragana that are no longer used today) and cursive-style kanji, using over 3000 images of individual characters. Progress can be checked using the review tests. -Read Remembering only the characters isn’t enough for reading actual texts. In this section, kuzushiji can be practiced in context using images taken from books published in the Edo period. This version currently includes Hojoki (An Account of My Hut), Shinpan Nazonazo Sugoroku (New Edition Riddle Sugoroku [an illustrated board game]), and Aramimei Zukushi Koshu (New Sword Inscriptions, Continued). -Connect Did you find characters you can’t read? Why not ask other users?! The Connect section features social-media tools which allow communication with other kuzushiji learners over the internet, such as by posting a question to the message board with attached pictures of difficult characters. Let’s enter the world of classical Japanese literature and documents with KuLA! KuLA was primarily developed in the Graduate Faculty of Letters, Osaka University for the research project “Developing an International Educational Program Related to Japanese Classical books” (Project leader: Professor Iikura Yoichi) and was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research (2015).

About

miwo

This app uses AI to convert handwritten historical Japanese text into modern characters. Simply photograph documents, and the AI will transcribe them, making ancient texts accessible. It's a helpful tool for researchers, students, and anyone interested in historical documents.

Highlights
  • AI-powered Kuzushiji transcription
  • Convert historical Japanese text to modern characters
  • Photograph documents for analysis
  • Edit and correct recognized text
  • Export recognized text as plain text
  • Save and recall recognition results
  • Search Kuzushiji examples
Features
Read full description

くずし字資料を読みたい!でも読めない!「みを」はそんな人を手助けするアプリです。カメラで資料を撮影し、ボタンを押せば、AIがくずし字を現代の文字に変換してくれます。くずし字資料の世界へようこそ。 ROIS-DS人文学オープンデータ共同利用センター(CODH)では、画像に含まれるくずし字を現代の文字に変換する(翻刻する)機能を備えたAIくずし字認識技術を開発しました。この技術が誰でも気軽に使えることを目指して開発したのが、AIくずし字認識スマホアプリ「みを(miwo)」です。 「みを」は『源氏物語』第14帖「みをつくし」にちなんだ名前です。「みをつくし」が人々の水先案内となるように、「みを」アプリがくずし字資料の海を旅する案内となることを目指しています。 【こんな方にオススメ】 ●手元にあるくずし字資料を読みたい方 ●くずし字資料の内容を素早く確認したい方 ●くずし字を勉強したい方 ●くずし字資料の翻刻の下読みが欲しい方 【miwoアプリでできること】 -カメラで撮影した画像や、ネットからダウンロードした画像を対象に、くずし字を認識して現代の文字に変換する(翻刻する)ことができます。 -認識した文字を画像上に表示できます。また文字の位置を表す四角形を表示することもできます。 -認識結果が正しくない場合、文字を修正することができます。 -認識結果をテキストとして出力し、コピーして他のアプリで使うことができます。 -認識結果をアプリ内に保存し、後で呼び出すことができます。 -CODHのくずし字データセットと連携し、アプリ内からくずし字の用例を検索できます。 【注意事項】 -「みを」アプリのAIは、江戸時代の版本から集めたくずし字データを学習しているため、江戸時代の版本に対する精度が比較的高めとなりますが、他の時代の資料や、写本、古文書などでは、精度が低下する可能性があります。 - シミ、虫食い、紙の柄などの資料状態により、また照明、影などの撮影環境により、精度が低下することがあります。 - 石碑や看板などに書かれたくずし字は、現在のところ認識できません。 - 本アプリはユーザ登録不要であり、個人情報は収集しません。また端末の固体識別情報等も収集しません。 - 本アプリから、くずし字認識のためにサーバにアップロードされた画像、およびその認識結果は、サーバには保存しません。 - 本アプリを用いて解読した文書の内容には、個人のプライバシーに関する情報が含まれている場合がありますので、内容を共有/公表する際には第三者の権利を尊重して下さい。 「みを」アプリのより詳しい情報は http://codh.rois.ac.jp/miwo/ をご覧ください。また、ご要望・ご質問・不具合などは、下記のメールアドレスにお問い合わせください。 miwo(at)nii.ac.jp

Screenshots

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA4 screens
miwo4 screens

Verdict

The call

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA and miwo both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 61% of くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA's written reviews are positive against 29% of miwo's. miwo's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA's written reviews are positive against 29% of miwo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA ships an update every 9 months, miwo every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA versus miwo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterくずし字学習支援アプリKuLAmiwo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (13 ratings) — better4.5 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews61.1% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 9 months — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB50 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYuta HashimotoTarin Clanuwat

Customer experience

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive61.1%
Neutral14.8%
Negative24.1%

miwo

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA

No in-app purchases

None

miwo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA free?
くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is miwo free?
miwo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA or miwo?
くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA is rated higher. くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA averages 4.6 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while miwo averages 4.5 from 11 ratings.
Do くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA or miwo have ads?
Neither くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA nor miwo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA or miwo?
くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA ships an update every 9 months, and miwo every 14 months. Most recently, くずし字学習支援アプリKuLA was updated on October 21, 2026 and miwo on October 20, 2026.

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