Japanese · Gothic (sans serif)ゴシック体
Murecho
Murecho is a free Gothic font for Japanese by Neil Summerour, on Google Fonts since 2021. It draws 2,345 kanji and the kana, and the English alphabet, in 9 weights, 100–900.
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
01 / Characters
Hiragana, katakana and kanji
The characters Japanese readers learn first, set in Murecho.
Hiragana ひらがな
Each with its sound
- あa
- いi
- うu
- えe
- おo
- かka
- きki
- くku
- けke
- こko
- さsa
- しshi
- すsu
- せse
- そso
- たta
- ちchi
- つtsu
- てte
- とto
- なna
- にni
- ぬnu
- ねne
- のno
- はha
- ひhi
- ふfu
- へhe
- ほho
- まma
- みmi
- むmu
- めme
- もmo
- やya
- ゆyu
- よyo
- らra
- りri
- るru
- れre
- ろro
- わwa
- をwo
- んn
Katakana カタカナ
Each with its sound
- アa
- イi
- ウu
- エe
- オo
- カka
- キki
- クku
- ケke
- コko
- サsa
- シshi
- スsu
- セse
- ソso
- タta
- チchi
- ツtsu
- テte
- トto
- ナna
- ニni
- ヌnu
- ネne
- ノno
- ハha
- ヒhi
- フfu
- ヘhe
- ホho
- マma
- ミmi
- ムmu
- メme
- モmo
- ヤya
- ユyu
- ヨyo
- ラra
- リri
- ルru
- レre
- ロro
- ワwa
- ヲwo
- ンn
Kanji 漢字
Each with its meaning
- 永eternity
- 日sun
- 月moon
- 火fire
- 水water
- 木tree
- 金gold
- 土earth
- 山mountain
- 川river
- 雨rain
- 花flower
- 空sky
- 海sea
- 風wind
- 森forest
- 夢dream
- 愛love
- 心heart
- 道way
- 書write
- 字letter
- 光light
- 春spring
- 夏summer
- 秋autumn
- 冬winter
- 東east
- 京capital
- 語language
02 / Text
As running text
The opening of Miyazawa Kenji’s The Polano Square.
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風、夏でも底に冷たさをもつ青いそら、うつくしい森で飾られたモリーオ市、郊外のぎらぎらひかる草の波。
03 / Weights
9 weights
100–900 · one variable file
- Thin · 100あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- ExtraLight · 200あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Light · 300あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Regular · 400あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Medium · 500あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- SemiBold · 600あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Bold · 700あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- ExtraBold · 800あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
- Black · 900あのイーハトーヴォのすきとおった風
04 / Facts
What it covers
- Kanji
- 2,345
- More than the 2,136 jōyō kanji, fewer than the 6,355 of JIS levels 1 and 2
- Kana
- 189
- Hiragana and katakana, with their voiced and small forms
- Weights
- 9
- 100–900, in one variable file
- Vertical text
- Yes
- Vertical forms of its own, OpenType’s vert
- Font file
- 1.4 MB
- Its variable file: Google serves it in slices
- Licence
- OFL 1.1
- Free for commercial use
Designed by Neil Summerour. On Google Fonts since 2021, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.
LatinIt draws the English alphabet too, as in its name:MurechoFonts with Latin like it →
06 / Questions
Questions about Murecho
Answered from its licence and its font file, and each app’s own font list
Is Murecho free for commercial use?
Yes. Murecho is under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 , which allows commercial use at any scale: print, websites, apps, videos and logos, for clients and in products. What it forbids is selling the font file on its own.
How do I download and install Murecho?
FontKind doesn’t host Murecho’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file: it holds one variable file for every weight, and a static folder with a file per weight: install one set or the other, not both. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open.
Does Murecho have kanji?
Yes: Murecho draws 2,345 kanji, with the hiragana and katakana. That is fewer than the 6,355 of JIS levels 1 and 2, the standard set for Japanese text, so a rarer kanji may come out in another font.
How do I use Murecho on a website?
Through Google Fonts: its stylesheet cuts Murecho into about a hundred small files by character, and a browser downloads only those holding the characters a page shows, never the whole 1.4 MB variable file. To host it yourself, cut it down to the characters your pages use, a step called subsetting, and serve it as WOFF2: the SIL Open Font License allows that, and as Murecho reserves no name, your copy may keep it.
Can Murecho set vertical text?
Yes: Murecho’s file has vertical forms, the OpenType vert feature, so in a vertical line its commas, full stops and brackets, and its small kana, turn and move as they should. On a web page, CSS writing-mode: vertical-rl sets a block vertically; Word, InDesign and Illustrator have vertical text of their own.
Can I use Murecho in a game or an app?
Yes. The SIL Open Font License lets you build Murecho into a game, an app or an e-book, sold or free, with no separate licence to buy, as many paid fonts require. Ship its licence with the font files, and don’t sell the font on its own.
Is Murecho in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Murecho isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. On Windows, its weights beyond Regular and Bold show as fonts of their own, such as Murecho Thin and Murecho Black. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Murecho in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Murecho under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Murecho in Figma?
Yes: Murecho is in Figma’s font menu with all nine weights, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Murecho have?
Murecho comes in nine weights, from Thin (100) to Black (900). Its file is variable: it takes any weight from 100 to 900.
Does Murecho have English letters?
Yes: Murecho draws all 52 letters of the English alphabet, so a line that mixes Japanese and English can stay in one font.
Who designed Murecho?
Murecho was designed by Neil Summerour. It has been on Google Fonts since October 2021.
What fonts are similar to Murecho?
The most used Japanese Gothic fonts besides Murecho are Noto Sans JP, Zen Kaku Gothic New and M PLUS 1p. See every Gothic font for Japanese.