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Genkō yōshi (原稿用紙, "manuscript paper") is a type of Japanese paper used for writing. It is printed with squares, typically 200 or 400 per sheet, each square designed to accommodate a singleJapanese character or punctuation mark.Genkō yōshi may be used with any type of writing instrument (pencil,pen orink brush), and with or without ashitajiki (protective "under-sheet").
While in the pastgenkō yōshi was used for all types of manuscript writing (essays,creative writing, news writing and so on), in most cases the advent of thecomputer means that this is now the preferred medium, although someJapanese word processing software still includes agenkō yōshi template. However,genkō yōshi is still very widely used, especially by students.Primary and secondary students in particular are required to hand in assignments written ongenkō yōshi, and essays for school entrance examinations are also written on the paper, making knowledge of the correct way to usegenkō yōshi essential.
It is also the main form of rule used byTaiwanese students when writingTaiwanese Mandarin, where it is called 原稿紙 (pinyin:yuángǎo zhǐ). In Taiwan, students use the thin vertical column to transcribeBopomofo pronunciation.Some programs of Japanese as a foreign language also require or encourage their adult students to usegenkō yōshi for practice or formal assignments or both, as use of the paper helps students to learn correct spacing whenwriting vertically.
Genkō yōshi is used for vertical writing (although by turning the page sideways it can be used for horizontal writing too), and is most commonly printed in columns of twenty squares, with ten columns per page (eachB4-sized sheet ofgenkō yōshi comprising two pages), but other configurations are also available. Between consecutive columns of squares is a blank space used for writingfurigana (ruby characters),bōten (a type of punctuation mark used for giving emphasis) or other marks.
In the centre of each two-page spread ofgenkō yōshi (between the two sets of ten columns) is a wide blank space, allowing the sheets to be bound or folded.
Prior to theEdo period, handwriting was often calligraphic and written materials often made use of scrolls, which would have made the guidelines printed ongenkō yōshi a hindrance, although paper was sometimes printed with vertical lines designed to keep columns of vertical writing straight.
Genkō yōshi came into common use in the middle of theMeiji period with the rising importance of newspapers and magazines, and the attendant need to count characters precisely.
After Japan’slate-Meiji overseas expansion the square-grid genkō yōshi format spread throughout its colonies and areas of cultural influence:
Whilegenkō yōshi can be used for horizontal writing, it is most commonly used for vertical writing, which is read from right to left. The first page is therefore the right hand side of the sheet. The title is placed on the first column, usually leaving two or three leading blank spaces. The author's name is placed on column 2, with an empty square or two below and an empty square between the given and family names. The first sentence begins on column 3 or 4.
Each paragraph, including the first one, is usually indented by a square. However, when writing quoted text such as direct speech, the openingquotation mark (﹁ or﹃ in vertical writing) is placed in the first square of the column.
Like printed vertical Japanese, full stops, commas, and smallkana are placed in the top right corner of their own square. In Chinese, they are placed in the middle of the square. All punctuation marks, other marks (such as parentheses), and small kana usually occupy their own square, unless this would place them at the top of a new column, in which case they share the last square of the previous column with the character in that square. (This is thekinsoku shori rule.) A full stop followed directly by closing quotation mark are written in one square.[6] A blank square is left after non-Japanese punctuation marks (such as exclamation points and question marks). Ellipses and dashes use two squares.
Furigana andBopomofo are written to the right of the relevant character, in small print.
Words, phrases, and sentences in Western characters (such asRoman letters) except acronyms like USA and NATO are often, but not always, written vertically by turning the page a quarter turn counterclockwise, so that when the page is viewed normally they are sideways. Each square can accommodate two Western characters[citation needed].
Manga artists and other illustrators also use a special type ofgenkō yōshi calledmangagenkō yōshi. This paper is printed withvery light blue lines which do not show up when copied, and there are several varieties, each with a different type of printed grid. These are also available in differentweights andsizes.
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