How to Print Japanese Manuscript Paper (Genkō Yōshi): Making 400-Square Sheets and the Rules for Vertical and Horizontal Writing
You want to draft an essay or a book report in Japanese, but there is no manuscript paper at home. In that case you can print your own. This article covers the settings for making 400-square (20 × 20) genkō yōshi on A4 or B4, the difference between vertical and horizontal sheets, what the gaps for ruby are for, and the writing rules specific to manuscript paper, such as paragraphs, punctuation and corner brackets.
Manuscript paper basics: 400 squares means 20 characters × 20 lines
The “manuscript paper” (genkō yōshi) used at Japanese schools and in essay contests is almost always the 400-square kind: 20 characters per line × 20 lines. Shop-bought sheets use B4 paper in landscape, with a folding column called the hashira (“pillar”) down the middle and 10 lines of squares on each side. Folded in half, the sheet becomes B5 size, with 200 squares (10 lines × 20 characters) on the front and back.
Between the lines of squares there is a narrow gap for each line. It is space for furigana (ruby, small reading aids beside kanji) and for characters added while revising. The great advantage of manuscript paper is that you can see at a glance how much you have written: you can count characters directly from the number of sheets and lines.
Settings for 400 squares on A4 or B4
Most home printers only go up to A4, so it is handy to be able to make 400-square paper on A4. In the Printable Graph & Lined Paper tool, choose “Manuscript paper” and use the settings below to get exactly 20 lines × 20 characters.
| Paper | Orientation | Square size | Ruby gap | Margin | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | Landscape | 9 mm | 50% | 15 mm | 20 lines × 20 characters (400 squares) |
| A4 | Landscape | 8.5 mm | 50% | 20 mm | 20 lines × 20 characters (400 squares) |
| B4 | Landscape | 11 mm | 50% | 15 mm | 20 lines × 20 characters (400 squares) |
| A3 | Landscape | 13 mm | 50% | 15 mm | 20 lines × 20 characters (400 squares) |
B4 at 11 mm is close to the size of shop-bought manuscript paper, and A4 at 9 mm is a slightly reduced version of it. For primary school children who want plenty of room, B4 or A3 is best; if ease of printing comes first, A4 is the recommendation. The preview shows “X lines × X characters (X squares)” above it, so you can check while changing the square size and margins.
For a draft with no set length, you can also use 8 mm squares across the whole of an A4 sheet in portrait. That gives 17 lines × 34 characters (578 squares), so you can write a lot on one sheet. Note that this tool's manuscript paper has no central hashira like shop-bought sheets. If you want to fold it in half, it helps to make a light pencil mark every 10 lines. If you want to decide how many characters × lines to set the body text of a booklet or zine from the font size, see converting Q and points and calculating the type area.
Vertical and horizontal sheets, and the ruby gap
- Vertical: the standard for essays, book reports, short essays and other writing for Japanese class. Lines run from right to left, and the ruby gap is on the right of each line
- Horizontal: for science and social studies reports, writing with many English words or formulas, and some university assignments. Lines run from top to bottom, and the gap is above each line
The ruby gap is set as a proportion of the square size. Shop-bought manuscript paper is usually around 30–50%. For essays by younger children who add a lot of furigana, 50% works well; for drafts where you want to fit more in, about 30% increases the number of lines per sheet. Setting the gap to 0 gives a plain grid of squares.
In vertical writing, numbers are as a rule written in kanji numerals (一, 二, 十, 百). In horizontal writing, Arabic numerals are used, and two-digit numbers are generally written two to a square. If the place you are submitting to has its own instructions, follow those.
Basic rules for writing on manuscript paper
Manuscript paper has writing rules that ordinary notebooks do not. The basics taught at Japanese schools are as follows.
- 1
Title on line 1, leaving 2–3 squares at the top
Write the title on the first line, starting 2–3 squares down from the top.
- 2
Name on line 2, leaving 1 square at the bottom
Write your name toward the bottom of the second line, leaving the last square empty. Also leave one square between family name and given name.
- 3
Body text from line 3 (or line 4)
Start the body on the line after your name. Some instructions ask for a blank line between the title and name and the body.
- 4
Indent the first square of each paragraph
At the start of the text, and whenever you break the line to begin a new paragraph, leave the first square empty.
| What you write | Rule |
|---|---|
| Punctuation (。、) | One per square. In vertical writing, write it in the upper right of the square |
| Punctuation or a closing bracket that would start a line | Do not put it in the first square of a line; put it in the last square of the previous line together with the character there (hanging punctuation) |
| Corner brackets (「」) | One per square. Dialogue often starts on a new line |
| A closing bracket followed by a full stop | When they come together as in 。」, put both in the same square |
| Small kana (the small tsu, ya, yu and yo) | One per square. In vertical writing, write them toward the upper right of the square |
| The long-vowel mark | In vertical writing, write it as a vertical line |
| Dashes (――) and ellipses (……) | Use two squares |
In what order to write a book report so you can fill the required number of sheets is covered, with a table for dividing up the characters, in how to write a book report.
Tips for printing
- Light grey, green or orange lines make pencil writing stand out and easier to read
- Print at 100%. If it is scaled down, the 20 × 20 layout stays the same, but the squares get smaller and harder to write in
- If you need many sheets for fair copies, it is quicker to “Save as PDF” once and then print as many as you need
- If there are rules for the manuscript paper you submit (such as a school-specified sheet), those take priority
You can check that it printed without shrinking using the 50 mm scale at the bottom. See why prints come out smaller and how to fix it for details. How to make English four-line and kanji practice sheets is covered in making English four-line and kanji practice sheets.
FAQ
- Can I make 400-square manuscript paper on A4?
- Yes. In the Printable Graph & Lined Paper tool, choose manuscript paper and set vertical, A4 landscape, 9 mm squares, a 50% ruby gap and 15 mm margins to get exactly 20 lines × 20 characters, 400 squares.
- What do I do when punctuation falls at the start of a line?
- Do not write it in the first square of the line; put it in the last square of the previous line together with the character there (hanging punctuation). Closing brackets (」) are treated the same way.
- Where do the title and name go on manuscript paper?
- Write the title on line 1, leaving 2–3 squares at the top, and your name on line 2, leaving 1 square at the bottom. The basic rule is to start the body on line 3, leaving the first square of each paragraph empty.
- What is the gap between the lines on manuscript paper for?
- It is space for writing furigana (ruby) and for adding characters while revising. It is on the right of each line in vertical writing and above each line in horizontal writing.
- How many characters is 3 sheets of manuscript paper?
- With 400-square paper, it is 1,200 characters. However, that includes the indented first square of each paragraph and empty squares after line breaks, so the text itself has fewer characters.
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