Kanji Alive MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you search and explore 1,235 Japanese kanji through any MCP-compatible AI assistant — Claude, ChatGPT, or others.

Quick Start (Hosted Server)

The fastest way to use this is through the hosted server. No installation, no configuration.

In your MCP client (Claude Desktop, claude.ai, ChatGPT, MSTY, etc.), add a new remote MCP server with this URL:

https://kanjialive-mcp-server-production.up.railway.app/mcp

That's it. You can now ask your AI assistant to draw on its knowledge of Kanji alive to answer questions like:

• "Look up the kanji 親"
• "Find kanji that mean 'parent'"
• "Search for kanji with the onyomi reading シン"
• "Show me kanji with the kunyomi reading おや"
• "Get detailed information about the kanji 見, including stroke order and examples"
• "Find all kanji with 5 strokes that are taught in grade 1"
• "Show me kanji that use the 'fire' radical"
• "Find kanji where the radical has 7 strokes"
• "Show me kanji with the radical in the hen (left) position"
• "What kanji are in the AP Exam study list, chapter 3?"
• "Tell me about the 214 traditional kanji radicals"

You can use either romaji or Japanese script — "shin" and "シン" both work, as do "oya" and "おや".

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Local Server (Python, stdio)

If you prefer to run the server locally — for offline use, development, or to avoid the hosted server — there is a Python implementation that communicates over stdio.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 or higher
• uv package manager
• A RapidAPI key (free tier available)

1. Get a RapidAPI Key

1. Visit Kanji Alive API on RapidAPI
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Subscribe to the free tier
4. Copy your API key

2. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/kanjialive/kanjialive-mcp-server.git
cd kanjialive-mcp-server/ka-mcp-local
uv sync

3. Configure Your MCP Client

Add the server to your MCP client's configuration file:

Claude Desktop config location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Kanji Alive": {
      "command": "/path/to/kanjialive-mcp-server/ka-mcp-local/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/path/to/kanjialive-mcp-server/ka-mcp-local/kanjialive_mcp.py"],
      "env": {
        "RAPIDAPI_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/kanjialive-mcp-server with the actual path where you cloned the repository.

4. Restart Your Client

Restart your MCP client for changes to take effect.

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Development

Project Structure

ka-mcp-local/               # Python stdio server
  ├── kanjialive_mcp.py      # Single-file MCP server
  ├── data/japanese-radicals.json
  └── pyproject.toml

ka-mcp-hosted/               # TypeScript HTTP server (see its own README)
  ├── src/
  ├── src/data/japanese-radicals.json
  └── package.json

extras/                      # Development resources
  └── tests/                 # Pytest test suite (102 tests)

Running Tests

# From repository root
uv sync --all-extras

# Run all tests
PYTHONPATH=ka-mcp-local uv run pytest extras/tests/ -v

# Run a specific test file
PYTHONPATH=ka-mcp-local uv run pytest extras/tests/test_validators.py -v

Hosted Server Development

See ka-mcp-hosted/README.md for build, test, and deployment instructions for the TypeScript server.

Advanced Search API Parameters

For developers working on the server or integrating directly, the advanced search tool accepts these filter parameters (all optional, at least one required):

Parameter	Description	Example
on	Onyomi reading (romaji or katakana)	shin or シン
kun	Kunyomi reading (romaji or hiragana)	oya or おや
kem	Kanji English meaning	parent
ks	Kanji stroke count (1-30)	16
kanji	Kanji character	親
rjn	Radical Japanese name (romaji or hiragana)	miru or みる
rem	Radical English meaning	see
rs	Radical stroke count (1-17)	7
rpos	Radical position	hen or へん
grade	School grade level (1-6)	2
list	Study list	ap, ap:c3, mac:c12

API Documentation

• Kanji Alive API Documentation
• RapidAPI Endpoint

Credit

Arno Bosse and Claude Code (Anthropic).

License

This server implementation is provided as-is under a MIT license. The data and media shared via the Kanji Alive API is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0.