Mincho
明朝体 / 19th century– / Style / Type Classification
It regularizes the kaisho skeleton into thin horizontals and thick verticals suited to carving, and with its uroko serifs it still carries the body text of Japanese.
.jpg)
At a glance
Visual cues
- Thin horizontals, thick verticals
- Uroko serifs
- Kaisho-derived skeleton
- Steady text-block color
Best used for
- Setting long Japanese body text at a color that stays readable
- Literary books and annual reports where the page itself must feel trustworthy and formal
Use this style
Take the compact brief into a project or hand the structured version to an AI tool.
Detailed guidance and sourcesProduction rules, reference works, comparisons, research and citation formats
Dictionary entry
- Type
- Mincho for text, hierarchy from weights inside the same family
- Composition
- No tight tracking, open leading, no rivers inside the paragraph
- Material
- Off-white uncoated stock, single black ink that keeps uroko crisp
- Caution
- At small screen sizes the uroko and thin horizontals drop out, so a face chosen for refinement simply becomes hard to read.
- Further study
- Motoki Shōzō / the Tokyo Tsukiji Type Foundry / electrotype matrix making
Related entries
- Japanese Gothic (ゴシック体)Same Type Classification lineage.Compare Mincho and Japanese Gothic
- Letterpress (活版印刷)Shared effects: Trust.Compare Mincho and Letterpress
More from Type Classification
Continue through styles in the same Type Classification family, prioritised by shared effects.
- Old Style Serif (オールドスタイル・ローマン)Shared effects: Trust / Calm.
- Neo-grotesque Sans (ネオ・グロテスク)Shared effects: Trust / Calm.
- Calligraphic Revival (カリグラフィー復興)Shared effects: Calm / Trust.
Browse all Type Classification entries
Cite this entry
The dictionary is meant to be linked to. Take whichever form fits where you are writing.
- Link
- https://indexstyle.org/styles/mincho
- Markdown
- [Mincho — IndexStyle](https://indexstyle.org/styles/mincho)
- HTML
- <a href="https://indexstyle.org/styles/mincho">Mincho — IndexStyle</a>