Genkō yōshi

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 single Japanese character or punctuation mark. Genkō yōshi may be used with any type of writing instrument (pencil, pen or ink brush), and with or without a shitajiki (protective "under-sheet").

While in the past genkō yōshi was used for all types of manuscript writing (essays, creative writing, news writing and so on), in most cases the advent of the computer means that this is now the preferred medium, although some Japanese word processing software still includes a genkō 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 on genkō yōshi, and essays for school entrance examinations are also written on the paper, making knowledge of the correct way to use genkō yōshi essential.

Some programs of Japanese as a foreign language also require or encourage their adult students to use genkō yōshi for practice or formal assignments or both, as use of the paper helps students to learn correct spacing when writing 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 (each B4-sized sheet of genkō yōshi comprising two pages), but other configurations are also available. Between consecutive columns of squares is a blank space used for writing furigana (ruby characters), bōten (a type of punctuation mark used for giving emphasis) or other marks.

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