Font Typesetting Function 11: “JIS78 Character Shape (jp78)”

The character “靱” (jin) used in “強靱” (kyoujin), “靱帯” (jintai), etc. has many variations, and it is an example of a topic that leads to long diatribes from character form fanatics. However, only two types are arranged in the figure.

The left character is probably more familiar to you. The shape of the right character was used in the typesetter dial for a period of time. It was frequently seen in books in the time of typesetting. This character form was used for the 1978 edition of JIS character code standard via typesetting. At the present day, 45 years later, it is possible to generate this version using the Glyph replacement function for OpenType fonts.

Actually, the version of “靱” on the right is my favorite; I would really like to use it someday, but I haven’t had an opportunity. I cannot deny that writing this blog article provides this opportunity….

(mm)