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This document points to resources for the layout and presentation of text in languages that use the Japanese script. The target audience includes developers of Web standards and technologies, such as HTML, CSS, Mobile Web, Digital Publications, and Unicode, as well as implementers of web browsers, ebook readers, and other applications that need to render Japanese text.
This document points to resources for Japanese script layout and text support on the Web and in eBooks. These requirements provide information for Web technologies such as CSS, HTML and digital publications about how to support languages written using the Japanese script. The information here is developed in conjunction with a document that summarises gaps where the Web fails to adequately support the Japanese script.
The editor's draft of this document is being developed in the GitHub repository Japanese Language Enablement (jlreq), with contributors from the W3C Internationalization Interest Group. It is published by the Internationalization Working Group. The end target for this document is a Working Group Note.
To make it easier to track comments, please raise separate issues or emails for each comment, and point to the section you are commenting on using a URL.
Some links on this page point to repositories or pages to which information will be added over time. Initially, the link may produce no results, but as issues, tests, etc. are created they will show up.
Links that have a gray color led to no content the last time this document was updated. They are still live, however, since relevant content could be added at any time. When the document is updated, links that now point to results will have their live colour restored.
Introduction
Contributors
This document was created by Richard Ishida.
See also the GitHub contributors list for the Japanese Language Enablement project, and the discussions related to the Japanese script.
About this document
This document points to resources for Japanese script layout and text support on the Web and in eBooks. These resources provide information for developers of Web technologies such as CSS, HTML and digital publications, and for application developers, about how to support languages written using the Japanese script. They include requirements, tests, GitHub discussions, type samples, and more,
The document focuses on typographic layout issues. For a deeper understanding of the Japanese script and how it works see Japanese Orthography Notes, which includes topics such as: Phonology, and Characters.
Gap analysis
This document should be used alongside a separate document, Japanese Gap Analysis, which describes gaps in language support for users of the Japanese script, and prioritises and describes the impact of those gaps on the user.
Gap reports are brought to the attention of spec and browser implementers, and are tracked via the Gap Analysis Pipeline. (Filter for Japanese script items)
Related resources
The document Language enablement index points to this document and others, and provides a central location for developers and implementers to find information related to various scripts.
The W3C also has a repository with discussion threads related to the Japanese script, including requests from developers to the user community for information about how scripts/languages work, and a notification system that tracks issues in W3C working groups related to the Japanese script. See a list of unresolved questions for Japanese experts. Each section below points to related discussions. See also the repository home page.
Japanese Script Overview
Four scripts are used, mixed together to write Japanese: kanji (han), katakana, hiragana, and latin. Essentially, Japanese writing is a mixture of an ideographic and a syllabic script. Non-latin letters typically represent a spoken syllable. The character count reflects a typical set of characters needed for everyday reading and writing: there are thousands more kanji characters that could be added for other purposes.
Text can be written horizontally or vertically. The visual forms of characters don't interact, but rotated and alternative glyph forms are needed to enable the switch between directions.
Words are not separated by spaces or any other character. There is no case distinction. The visual forms of characters don't interact.
Kanji characters are mostly derived from the Chinese Han script. They are used for word roots.
The term kana covers two syllabaries that are used with kanji characters to write Japanese.
One syllabary is hiragana, the other katakana. In both cases, the repertoire includes 5 independent vowel sounds, one nasal sound, and the rest are consonant+vowel combinations. There are a small number of additional characters with particular functions, such a katakana lengthening mark, and a few small characters for representing medial glides.
The Latin (romaji) characters and much of the punctuation corresponding to the ASCII range is available in fullwidth sizes that match the dimensions of the kanji and kana.
All topics
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
Text direction
Writing mode
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Vertical Writing Mode and Horizontal Writing Mode • Japanese and Western Mixed Text Composition (including Horizontal-in-Vertical Text Composition)
- Implementing Japanese Subtitles on Netflix: Vertical Subtitles•Tate-chu-yoko
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Bidirectional text
Not applicable.
Glyph shaping & positioning
Fonts & font styles
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- List of system fonts
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Context-based shaping & positioning
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Cursive text
Not applicable.
Letterform slopes, weights, & italics
- Requirements
-
- Implementing Japanese Subtitles on Netflix: Slanted Text
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Case & other character transforms
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Typographic units
Characters & encoding
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes, Characters: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
-
- W3C type samples
- r12a type samples: consonants • vowels
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Grapheme/word segmentation & selection
- Requirements
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tools
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Punctuation & inline features
Phrase & section boundaries
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Characters Used for Japanese Composition • Line Composition Rules for Punctuation Marks • Examples of Items Jutting Out of the Kihon-hanmen • Character Positioning based on Kihon-hanmen • Design Grouping of Characters and Symbols depending on their Positioning
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
-
- W3C type samples
- r12a type samples: phrases • bracketing
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Quotations & citations
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Line Head Indent and Line End Indent • Processing of Spaces between Paragraphs • Adjustment of Processing of Realm in Block Direction • Differences in Vertical and Horizontal Composition in Use of Punctuation Marks
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- Wikipedia: Quotation mark
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Emphasis & highlighting
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Composition of Emphasis Dots
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Abbreviation, ellipsis & repetition
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Inline notes & annotations
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Ruby and Emphasis Dots • Positioning of Jukugo-ruby • Inline Cutting Note (Warichu) • Superscripts and Superscripts • Furiwake Processing
- Implementing Japanese Subtitles on Netflix: Vertical Subtitles • Tate-chu-yoko
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- r12a blog: What’s so difficult about jukugo ruby?
- Use Cases & Exploratory Approaches for Ruby Markup
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Other text decoration & inline features
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Examples of Items Jutting Out of the Kihon-hanmen • Line Gap Arrangement with Ruby and Other Objects
- Japanese Layout Requirements:
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Data formats & numbers
- Requirements
-
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Line & paragraph layout
Line breaking & hyphenation
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Possibilities for Line-breaking between Characters
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- Approaches to line-breaking
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Text alignment & justification
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Line Adjustment • Opportunities for Inter-character Space Reduction during Line Adjustment • Opportunities for Inter-character Space Expansion during Line Adjustment • Paragraph Adjustment Rules
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- Approaches to full justification
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Text spacing
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Positioning of Consecutive Opening Brackets, Closing Brackets, Commas, Full Stops and Middle Dots • Handling of Western Text in Japanese Text using Proportional Western Fonts
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Baselines, line height, etc.
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Lists, counters, etc.
- Requirements
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Styling initials
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Page & book layout
General page layout & progression
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Vertical Writing Mode and Horizontal Writing Mode • Page Formats for Japanese Documents • Specifying the Kihon-hanmen • Block Direction Setting Process of Lines, Paragraphs etc.
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Grids & tables
- Requirements
-
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Footnotes, endnotes, etc
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Processing of Notes
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Page headers, footers, etc
- Requirements
-
- Japanese Layout Requirements: Running Heads and Page Numbers
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-
Forms & user interaction
- Requirements
-
- Orthography Notes: Japanese
- GitHub discussions
- Type samples
- Tests
-
- Exploratory/interactive test results (tbc)
- Exploratory/interactive test repo (tbc)
- Gap analysis
- Specification links
-