Today, I would like to introduce “New Design Guide: Design of Japanese Language,” written by Yasuhito Nagahara.
This book teaches us the design behind Japanese language and its flow to the present day. From the beginning, when there were no characters for Japanese, onwards, the content of this book studies Japanese from various perspective including typeface, text content, paper composition, readership, and printing techniques.
What I found interesting as a person who lives in the present and doesn’t have particular sense, is the close relationship between typeface and content. The book indicates that content related to politics and religion is written in block style, and content related to art, literature, and lifestyle is written in cursive style. The abolishment of using different styles for different purposes and the detailed transition to the current typesetting of Mincho typeface and Gothic typeface are also described.
This book is recommended as an introduction to positioning for any person who is involved in the design of Japanese language, and what Japanese has lost and gained.
Book Information:
New Design Guide: Design of Japanese Language
Author: Yasuhito Nagahara
Publisher: Bijutsu Shuppan-sha
Purchase Information:
https://amzn.asia/d/9Vc98cv
The added and revised edition was released in 2024.
Book Information:
Design of Japanese Language: Visual Culture History Seen from Characters
Author: Yasuhito Nagahara
Publisher: Book&Design
Purchase Information:
https://bookdesign.theshop.jp/items/84839734
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Series archive Recommended Book / Book of the Month
- Book of the Month (November 2024): “There are Characters”
- Book of the Month (October 2024): “Man and Writing”
- Book of the Month (June 2024): “New Design Guide: Design of Japanese Language”
- Book of the Month (April 2024): “Mincho Type: Its Origin and Formation”
- Book of the Month (February 2024): “Stroll with Typography: Observation of Characters on the Road”
- Book of the Month (September 2023): “Shintaro Ajioka’s Typeface Course”
- Book of the Month (July 2023): “Men Who are Possessed by the Type”
- Book of the Month (February 2023) : “The Visual History of Type”
- Book of the Month (December 2022) : “Reading Letters”
- Book of the Month (October 2022): “SANS SERIF”
- Book of the Month (June 2022): “’Typeface’ is Created”
- Book of the Month (March 2022): “Size-specific adjustments to type designs”
- Book of the Month (December 2021): “The Field Guide to Typography: Typefaces in the Urban Landscape”
- Book of the Month (November 2021): “Designing Type”
- Book of the Month (October 2021): “Writing Vertically Creates the Scenery of Words – Why Do We Need Two Japanese Writings in Vertical and Horizontal?”
- Book of the Month (September 2021): “Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana – History of Japanese Notation”
- Book of the Month (August 2021): “Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age”