Zen Old Mincho
Type with Purpose
Good typography guides attention, improves understanding, and makes communication effortless.
The Anatomy of a Typeface
By FontSide · June 2026
Every typeface is a system of decisions — about stroke contrast, x-height, spacing, and rhythm. The best ones feel invisible: you stop seeing the letters and start hearing the voice behind them. That transparency is the hardest thing to design.
A high x-height opens up the counters and makes small text breathe. Tight tracking pulls a headline together; loose tracking gives a caption room to exhale. None of these choices are accidents — they are arguments about how reading should feel.
Uppercase
Lowercase
Numerals
Symbols
Configuration
Select the weights and styles you want to include in your project.
Weights
Package Manager
The recommended way to use fonts in modern web projects.
1. Install Package
pnpm add @fontsource/zen-old-mincho2. Import in App
// Please select at least one weight and style3. CSS Usage
body {
font-family: "Zen Old Mincho", serif;
}Google Fonts CDN
Use Google's CDN to embed the fonts directly via HTML.
HTML <head>
<!-- Please select at least one weight and style -->Fontsource CDN
Skip the build step by adding this directly to your global CSS file.
Global CSS
/* Please select at least one weight and style */Background & Story
Zen Old Mincho is a Japanese mincho (serif) typeface with a classic design. This font family started with the regular (400) weight, and bold and black weights were added due to huge demand. The wide range of weights means while the design is intended for text usage, it also works well in large sizes.
To contribute to the project, visit github.com/googlefonts/zen-oldmincho
Zen Old Mincho はベーシックな本文用の日本語明朝体ファミリーです このフォントファミリーには、はじめは「Regular」の太さしかありませんでしたが、多くの要望にお応えして、他のウェイトも追加しました。使える太さの範囲が広いため、本文用だけでなく、その他さ まざまな場面やメディアでご利用いただけます。
このプロジェクトに参加して貢献したい方は、次の URL をご参照ください。 github.com/googlefonts/zen-oldmincho
Say Hello to our big new Japanese collection with Zen Fonts: Learn about the complex beauty of Japanese fonts
In 2019, Google Fonts started an ambitious project to expand its font library with a variety of typeface designs for Japanese. At that point Google Fonts had fewer than 10 Japanese families, most of which were basic Mincho (serif) and gothic (sans) designs. Since then the collection of Japanese fonts within the library has grown, now with 38 font families from 18 designers, in a variety of styles – from formal text types to fun display fonts. All these Japanese fonts are now live on Google Fonts for anyone to test out and use in any project.
The Zen Fonts collection is the largest set of Japanese fonts on Google Fonts
As part of this larger effort to expand Japanese offerings, Google Fonts collaborated with type designer Yoshimichi Ohira to open his prestigious collection of Zen Fonts typefaces to the public. With 23 Japanese and three Latin fonts in various styles of mincho (serif), gothic (sans serif), maru (rounded), and display styles, the Zen Fonts collection is now the largest set of Japanese fonts in Google Fonts’ expansive library, and is also available in Adobe Fonts. Check out The Story of Zen Fonts - interview with Yoshimichi Ohira to learn more.
To learn more, read:
Say Hello to our big new Japanese collection with Zen Fonts (English)
The Story of Zen Fonts - interview with Yoshimichi Ohira (English)
Zenフォント: 新しい日本語フォントコレクションの登場 - 日本語フォントの複雑な美しさについて - (Japanese)
Zenフォントのおはなし：大平善道さんとのインタビュー (Japanese)
Tags & Moods
Subsets
Install
pnpm add @fontsource/zen-old-minchoDesigned by
Yoshimichi Ohira
Links
License
OFL-1.1