Genkō yōshi
Genkō yōshi ( Japanese 原稿 用紙 , dt. Manuscript sheets ) are sheets of paper used in Japan for writing with a box grid of mostly 200 or 400 square boxes per side. One box each is used for a character or a punctuation mark. Genkō yōshi can be used with all common writing tools , such as pencil , pen or writing brush , with or without Shitajiki ( 下 敷 き , German writing pad ).
While Genkō yōshi were used in the past for all imaginable written documents or in everyday life, the computer has become the preferred means of correspondence today. However, many programs have Genkō yōshi templates. In addition, manuscript sheets are still used extensively by high school and university students. Sometimes Genkō yōshi are also recommended for learning the Japanese language in order to train the correct character spacing.
shape
If you write vertically, you start at the top right, if you write horizontally at the top left.
1 . The heading is in the first line, with the first three boxes remaining empty.
2 . The name of the author is in the second line, first and last name are separated from each other by an empty box, the last (bottom) box also remains empty.
3 . The text begins on line three. Each paragraph begins with an empty box.
4 . A line is left blank before and after a subheading. The subheading starts in the third box.
5 . Punctuation marks take up their own box unless they occupy the first box on a new line. In this case they are together with the characters in the last box of the previous line.
Usually Genkō yōshi are used for vertical writing ( 縦 書 き , tategaki ), although they can also be used for horizontal writing ( 横 書 き , yokogaki ) when rotated by 90 degrees . A manuscript sheet in B4 format forms a double page with two 10 lines of 20 boxes. Between the rows of boxes (rows) there is space to add furigana ( ruby ). In the middle of the sheet, between the two pages, there is space to fold or bind the manuscript sheets.
Rules of Use
- In general, three boxes are left blank at the beginning of the line in front of the heading and one box before each new section.
- Punctuation marks and brackets take up a separate box (exception: in order not to impair legibility, they must not be in the first box of a line. In this case, the punctuation mark or bracket is written together with the character in the last box of the previous line) .
- If Latin letters are used in the text, there are two letters in each box.
- After the question mark and the exclamation mark, there is an empty box.
- Dotted and solid lines always extend over two boxes.
- When quoting longer passages, one or two boxes can be left empty in front of the quotation.