HGP Mincho B (HGP明朝B) is a professional Japanese serif font designed by Ricoh. It is most famous for its heavy use in the Monogatari
anime series, where it appears prominently in title cards and text inserts. Availability & Download System Bundles
: While not always pre-installed by default on all Windows systems, the
family (including variants like HGS and HGP) is often included with Japanese versions of Microsoft Office
. If you have Office installed, check your font list for "HG Mincho B" or "HGP Mincho B." Official Purchase
: You can license the official font for professional use through retailers like Adobe Fonts hgp mincho b font download
: Users with a Creative Cloud subscription can access similar high-quality Japanese serifs like Hiragino Mincho Heisei Mincho Common Alternatives
If you cannot find a direct download, several free or standard system fonts offer a similar aesthetic:
: A lighter-weight version (HGP Mincho L) that is bundled with almost every Windows installation. Setting this to "Bold" can approximate the look. Shippori Mincho : A free, open-source alternative available via Google Fonts
. It was designed specifically for beauty in long-form text and titles. Hina Mincho : Another free option from Google Fonts that captures an old-fashioned, "cute" Japanese serif feel. Quick Comparison Name Detail Best Use Case High-quality printing and graphic design. Proportional
Best for proportional Latin characters within Japanese text. Sub-Proportional Primarily used for specific UI and narrow layout needs. Do you need help installing HGP Mincho B (HGP明朝B) is a professional Japanese
these fonts on a specific operating system, or are you looking for a free alternative that matches the Monogatari style even closer?
A Catalogue of Typefaces (Fonts) Used in the Monogatari Series
Solution: HGP Mincho B supports vertical writing (tategaki) via OpenType features. In apps like InDesign, set the paragraph direction to "Vertical." In Word, insert a vertical text box. The font will automatically rotate punctuation (、。
If licensing or availability is an issue, consider similar Mincho fonts that are widely available and well-documented:
This is the most critical section for SEO and user safety. Searching for "HGP Mincho B font download" often leads to third-party "free font" websites. Be extremely careful. Alternatives If licensing or availability is an issue,
The HGP font family is proprietary software owned by Ricoh Company, Ltd. (which acquired the printing and font assets of Ryobi). It is typically bundled with Ricoh printers and commercial software.
After installation, verify using the following methods:
| Method | Command/Action | Expected Output |
|--------|----------------|------------------|
| Windows PowerShell | Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts" | Select-String "HGP" | "HGP Mincho B (TrueType)" |
| macOS Terminal | fc-list | grep -i "hgp mincho" | File path to hgpmb.ttf |
| Application test | Type あいうえお in MS Word, select HGP Mincho B | Correct rendering of kana and kanji |
If you need a Mincho-style font for a project without the cost, consider these open-source or freely licensed alternatives:
| Font Name | License | Best For | |-----------|---------|----------| | Noto Serif CJK JP | SIL Open Font License | Full Japanese glyph set, modern design. | | Source Han Serif | SIL OFL | Professional, variable weight, Adobe/Google co-release. | | BIZ UDMincho | MIT License | High readability, includes bold weight. | | IPAMincho | IPA Font License | Classic textbook style, free for commercial use. |
To download these, search for the font name + "GitHub" or visit Google Fonts (Noto fonts only).