What manuscript paper is for
Genkō yōshi is squared paper, usually printed for vertical writing in columns that are read from top to bottom and from right to left across the page. It is used for school compositions, reading reports, some essay exams and writing practice.
The grid does two jobs. It makes character count visible, which matters when an essay has a length limit, and it forces neat, evenly spaced writing, which is why teachers still use it.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 原稿用紙 | genkō yōshi | Manuscript paper |
| 縦書き | tategaki | Vertical writing |
| 横書き | yokogaki | Horizontal writing |
| 一マス | hito-masu | One square |
| 四百字詰め | yonhyaku-ji-zume | Four hundred squares per sheet: the common size |
Title and name
The first line holds the title, starting a few squares down from the top, commonly three. The second line holds your name, written toward the bottom of the line with one empty square left below the last character. Leave a single empty square between your family name and given name.
The body then begins on the next line. Some teachers ask for a blank line between the name and the body; follow the instruction you are given.
- Line one: title, starting two or three squares down.
- Line two: name, aligned toward the bottom with one square left empty.
- One empty square between family name and given name.
- Line three: the first line of the body, unless told otherwise.
Paragraphs, small kana and the long vowel mark
Every paragraph starts with one empty square. A new paragraph always starts on a new line, even if the previous line has space left.
Small kana take a full square of their own, positioned in the upper right corner in vertical writing. The katakana long vowel mark is written as a vertical line in vertical writing, following the direction of the text.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 段落 | danraku | Paragraph |
| 一マス空ける | hito-masu akeru | Leave one square empty |
| 小さい「っ」 | chiisai tsu | Small tsu: its own square, upper right |
| 長音符 | chōonpu | Long vowel mark: vertical in vertical writing |
Punctuation and the line-start rule
The full stop and comma each take their own square, positioned in the upper right in vertical writing. Question marks and exclamation marks also take a square, and a new sentence after them normally begins after one empty square.
The most tested rule concerns the start of a line. A full stop, comma or closing bracket must never be the first character in a line. When one would fall there, write it in the last square of the previous line together with the final character, or just outside the grid at the bottom of that line.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 句読点 | kutōten | Punctuation: full stops and commas |
| 句点 | kuten | Full stop 。 |
| 読点 | tōten | Comma 、 |
| かぎかっこ | kagikakko | Corner brackets 「」 for quotation |
Dialogue and quotation
Speech is written inside corner brackets, each of which takes its own square. At the end of a quotation, the full stop and the closing bracket share one square, written together.
Most teachers ask for each line of dialogue to start on a new line, with the opening bracket in the very first square and no paragraph indent. The narrative that follows returns to normal paragraph rules.
- Opening bracket: its own square.
- Full stop and closing bracket at the end: together in one square.
- Each speaker's line: a new line.
- Dialogue lines: usually no one-square indent.
- Back to narration: a new paragraph with the indent.
Numbers, dates and letters of the alphabet
In vertical writing, numbers are written with kanji numerals, one per square. Years are often written digit by digit in kanji, such as 二〇二六年. In horizontal writing, Arabic numerals are used, and two digits usually share a square.
Alphabet letters are rare in school essays. When they appear in vertical writing, capital letters take one square each; in horizontal writing, lower-case letters can share a square in pairs.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 二〇二六年 | nisen nijūroku-nen | The year 2026, written digit by digit in vertical text |
| 三月十五日 | sangatsu jūgo-nichi | March 15 |
| 百人 | hyaku-nin | A hundred people |
| 漢数字 | kansūji | Kanji numerals |
Checking a page before you hand it in
A final pass for format takes two minutes and catches most errors: scan the top square of every line for punctuation, check every paragraph start for the empty square, and check small kana and brackets.
Content still matters most, of course. Talking your essay topic through with your AI Sensei in Unihongo's 3D classroom before writing is a good way to find what you actually want to say, and the vocabulary and grammar noted in the session report give you material to use on the page.
- No punctuation or closing bracket at the top of any line.
- Every paragraph starts with one empty square.
- Small kana and punctuation each in their own square.
- Title and name on the first two lines.
- Character count within the limit.