Genko Yoshi Paper

What is genko yoshi paper?

Genko yoshi (原稿用紙) is the squared manuscript paper that Japanese writing has used for generations. Each character — whether a hiragana, katakana, or kanji glyph — sits inside its own square, so the spacing stays even and the columns line up. Text is written from the top of a column to the bottom, and the columns are read from right to left across the page. The grid keeps every character a consistent size, which is exactly why it is the standard paper for handwriting practice, school compositions, and manuscript drafts.

This generator draws a clean grid of equal squares grouped into vertical columns, with a fine central guide line down each square to help you balance a character or add furigana. Every sheet fills the page edge to edge so you get the maximum writing space.

How to write on genko yoshi

Place one character in each square. Begin at the top square of the right-most column and work downwards; when a column is full, move one column to the left. Small kana (the っ in がっこう, for example) and punctuation marks each take their own square, and a full stop or comma sits in the lower portion of its square. The faint vertical guide down the centre of each cell helps you keep tall kanji centred and gives you a channel for furigana readings written alongside.

What you can customise

• Columns — how many vertical writing columns run across the sheet.
• Rows — how many character squares stack in each column.
• Line colour — the classic green tint, or grey and blue to suit your printer and ink.
• Outer frame — a heavier border around the whole block, like traditional pads.

The squares always stay perfectly square: the tool fits the largest cell that satisfies both your column and row counts within the printable area.

Who uses it

Genko yoshi paper suits anyone learning or teaching Japanese — language students drilling stroke order and character balance, teachers preparing handwriting worksheets, and writers drafting compositions in the traditional manuscript format where editors count characters by the square. Beginners often start with fewer, larger columns for clear practice, while more confident writers raise the column and row counts for a denser, exam-style sheet.

Print tips

Print at 100% scale (not "fit to page") so the squares keep their true proportions, and choose A4 for the most authentic size, since genko yoshi is traditionally an A4-format pad. Grey lines photocopy and scan most cleanly, while the green tint best matches classic printed manuscript paper. The sheet is unbranded in the writing area, with only a small footer line, so the whole grid is free for your characters.