Minchō

Minchō kanji

Minchō (明朝) is a style of Japanese typeface commonly used for printed material such as books. The name Minchō literally means "Ming Dynasty". It is a printed variant of the kaisho style of calligraphy originally intended for woodblock printing.

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Mincho is characterized by

square shapes,

thick vertical and thin horizontal lines, and

decorations called uroko (fish scales) at the ends of lines.

The reason for having thick horizonal and thin vertical lines is said to be that the type was carved out of wood with the wood grain running from left to right, and the thick verticals were needed in order to prevent breakages.

Minchō variants

Variants of Minchō include

kyōkashotai used for educational materials for children

shinbuntai used for printing newspapers.

Minchō

Minchō variants

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