All About Japan

I’m planning to expand this project and organize it into categories step by step.

Digital Fonts vs. Handwriting

You know the fonts used on PCs and smartphones?

In Japan, it's common knowledge that digital fonts often look different from actual handwriting.

I wrote this because international visitors might not be aware of this distinction.

If you come to Japan and see handwritten signs, you might notice the difference!

If you are using Windows 10/11, the font "UD Digital Kyokasho-tai" (UD Digital Textbook Font) is the closest to actual handwriting.

[Web/JPG](This is an explanation by Morisawa, the creator of the font.)

(In the Japanese section on the left half: The left side shows UD Textbook Font, and the top right shows a standard Gothic font.)

To summarize:

UD Digital Kyokasho-tai is designed with a focus on hand movement, adheres to educational curriculum standards, and is inclusive for people with low vision or dyslexia.

...By the way, for the Latin alphabet (shown on the left in the image), the standard digital style is much easier for us to read.

We rarely see handwritten English! lol

In this font, the right side was created to match how Japanese students are taught to write the alphabet by hand.

The character "令" (Rei) shown in the image is a prime example of the gap between font and handwriting. It's the first character of Japan's current era name, "Reiwa."

[Web/JPG](Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga announcing the new era name "Reiwa.")

In this photo, the calligraphy uses a style closer to a digital font. I suspect this was done with globalization in mind, though I’m not a Kanji expert, so there might be other reasons.

To a foreigner, they might look like different characters, but they are the same. Another example: for "さ" (sa), we write it without connecting the strokes—just like in the "Textbook Font"—but for "ち" (chi), we connect them.

But don't worry—as long as you can read digital fonts, you'll be just fine!

Japanese Fonts vs. CJK Fonts

This is more of a personal take. Since Japanese Kanji originated in China, many characters look similar.

The keyword here is "similar," not "identical."

Personally, when I see CJK-unified fonts, I feel like "This isn't quite Japanese," even though I can still read it.

I might be in the minority, though.

I see many YouTubers using CJK-style fonts in their videos.

As a Japanese person, I’d love to see people use fonts specifically designed for Japanese Kanji.

That said, I’m not trying to be loud about it—it’s just a matter of preference.

I just wanted to share this perspective with you all.

To give an analogy for English speakers: imagine if every "a" was written as "à" or "ä." You could still read it, but wouldn't it feel a bit... off?

Of course, CJK fonts are incredibly convenient because they cover multiple languages in one go.

But since I want to read text as "Japanese," I tend to avoid them.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

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Last updated:

2026-04-29 23:23 JST (Japan)

2026-04-29 14:23 UTC (Universal)

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