Vertical Text Editor & PDF Maker
Write vertically and export beautiful manuscript PDFs.
Completely local and secure inside your browser.
About
A Japanese culture appreciation tool to let you easily type vertical text and instantly export it to high quality vector-oriented Genkouyoushi (Manuscript Paper) formats in A4 sizes.
How to Use
Type Your Text
Type or paste your text into the editor area at the bottom. The preview updates in real-time as a vertical manuscript grid.
Choose Format & Font
Select your preferred font (Mincho / Gothic) and grid size (400 or 200 characters). Changes reflect instantly in the preview.
Export PDF or TXT
Click "Export Manuscript PDF" to generate an A4 portrait PDF. Use "Save as .TXT" to download a plain text file.
Glossary
- Vertical Writing
- The traditional text direction used in Japanese and Chinese, where characters flow from top to bottom and right to left. Still widely used in novels, poetry, and letters.
- writing-mode
- A CSS property. Setting it to "vertical-rl" (vertical, right-to-left) switches text rendering in the browser to a vertical layout.
- Manuscript Paper
- Pre-ruled writing paper with a fixed number of grids (e.g., 400 characters in a 20×20 layout). This tool uses a similar grid display to make character counting easy.
- Kinsoku Shori (Typesetting Rules)
- Layout rules that prevent characters such as "。", "、", and "」" from appearing at the beginning of a line. Essential for clean typesetting in both vertical and horizontal Japanese text.
- Character Count
- A real-time feature that measures the number of characters in the text. Useful for managing character limits in manuscripts and tracking progress on novels or reports.
- Ruby (Furigana)
- Small phonetic annotations placed above kanji characters to show their reading. In HTML, the <ruby> tag is used, and ruby renders correctly even in vertical text.
- PDF Export
- The ability to export vertical text as a PDF file. Used for creating print-ready manuscripts and verifying e-book-style layouts.
FAQ
- Q.Is my text saved to a server?
- No. All text input, display, and export are processed entirely within your browser. No text data is ever transmitted externally.
- Q.What characters can I type in vertical mode?
- Japanese (hiragana, katakana, kanji), alphanumeric characters, and various symbols are all supported. Alphanumeric characters are automatically rotated 90° clockwise to fit the vertical layout.
- Q.Is the manuscript grid visible?
- Yes. Switching to the manuscript paper grid view lets you write while keeping a visual track of your character count.
- Q.Can I print what I write?
- Yes. You can use your browser's print function to print in a vertical layout. Adjust the paper size and margins to get your preferred layout.
- Q.Is there a character limit?
- There is essentially no technical limit, but very long texts (tens of thousands of characters or more) may increase the rendering load in the browser.
- Q.Can I type vertically on a smartphone?
- Yes. Vertical text display is supported on smartphone browsers. However, due to screen size constraints, using a tablet or PC is more comfortable.
- Q.Can I copy the text and paste it into another app?
- Yes. Although the display is vertical, the text is stored internally as plain text, so you can copy and paste it into other applications.
Use Cases
Fiction & Story Writing
Write short stories, serialized novels, or fan fiction in authentic vertical Japanese style, then export as a print-ready PDF for literary contest submissions.
Haiku, Waka & Poetry
Compose haiku, tanka, or modern poetry in beautiful vertical layout. Export or screenshot for printing and social media sharing.
School Essays & Assignments
Complete school essays and book reports that require manuscript paper format — digitally, without hand-writing. Perfect for Japanese language learners.
Formal Letters & Cards
Draft traditional letters, New Year's greetings, or thank-you cards in vertical format, then print or use as a layout reference.