Sawarabi Gothic is a free Gothic font for Japanese by mshio, on Google Fonts since 2018. It draws 4,470 kanji and the kana, and the English alphabet, in one weight (400).
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 Sawarabi Gothic.
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。
03 / Facts
What it covers
- Kanji
- 4,470
- More than the 2,136 jōyō kanji, fewer than the 6,355 of JIS levels 1 and 2
- Kana
- 188
- Hiragana and katakana, with their voiced and small forms
- Weights
- 1
- One weight, Regular (400)
- Vertical text
- No
- No vertical forms: its marks stay where lines across put them
- Font file
- 1.8 MB
- Its Regular: Google serves it in slices
- Licence
- OFL 1.1
- Free for commercial use
Designed by mshio. On Google Fonts since 2018, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.
LatinIt draws the English alphabet too, as in its name:Sawarabi GothicFonts with Latin like it →
05 / Questions
Questions about Sawarabi Gothic
Answered from its licence and its font file, and each app’s own font list
Is Sawarabi Gothic free for commercial use?
Yes. Sawarabi Gothic 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 Sawarabi Gothic?
FontKind doesn’t host Sawarabi Gothic’s files: it comes free from Google Fonts . On its page there, choose Get font, then Download all, and unzip the file: it holds a single font file. On Windows or a Mac, double-click each font file and choose Install, then restart any app that was open.
Does Sawarabi Gothic have kanji?
Yes: Sawarabi Gothic draws 4,470 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 Sawarabi Gothic on a website?
Through Google Fonts: its stylesheet cuts Sawarabi Gothic into about a hundred small files by character, and a browser downloads only those holding the characters a page shows, never the whole 1.8 MB Regular 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 Sawarabi Gothic reserves no name, your copy may keep it.
Can Sawarabi Gothic set vertical text?
Sawarabi Gothic can, but without vertical forms: its file has no OpenType vert feature, so set vertically, its commas, full stops and small kana stay where horizontal text puts them. A browser turns its brackets itself. For vertical text, these fonts of its style have them: Noto Sans JP, Zen Kaku Gothic New and M PLUS 1p.
Can I use Sawarabi Gothic in a game or an app?
Yes. The SIL Open Font License lets you build Sawarabi Gothic 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 Sawarabi Gothic in Microsoft Word?
Not until you install it: Sawarabi Gothic isn’t one of Microsoft 365’s cloud fonts. Installed, it is in Word’s font menu and PowerPoint’s. For someone who hasn’t installed it, turn on Embed fonts in the file in Word’s save options: its licence allows that.
Is Sawarabi Gothic in Google Docs?
Most likely. Search for Sawarabi Gothic under More fonts in the font menu of Docs; added there, it is in Sheets and Slides too.
Is Sawarabi Gothic in Figma?
Yes: Sawarabi Gothic is in Figma’s font menu, in the browser and the desktop app, with nothing to install.
How many weights does Sawarabi Gothic have?
Sawarabi Gothic comes in one weight, Regular (400). Ask for bold and most apps thicken the letters themselves: a faux bold, not a drawn one.
Does Sawarabi Gothic have English letters?
Yes: Sawarabi Gothic draws all 52 letters of the English alphabet, so a line that mixes Japanese and English can stay in one font.
Who designed Sawarabi Gothic?
Sawarabi Gothic was designed by mshio. It has been on Google Fonts since May 2018.
What fonts are similar to Sawarabi Gothic?
The most used Japanese Gothic fonts besides Sawarabi Gothic are Noto Sans JP, Zen Kaku Gothic New and M PLUS 1p. See every Gothic font for Japanese.