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Osamu Toriumi

とりのうみ おさむ

Toriumi Osamu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-03-13 （Yuza, Yamagata, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yuza, Yamagata, Japan → Tokyo, Japan (period of work) → Azumino, Nagano, Japan → Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan

Career

Occupations
Typeface designer, Educator, Author
Active Years
1979-
Affiliations
Jiyu-kobo Co., Ltd. (co-founder; former CEO), Kyoto Seika University (Visiting Professor), Musashino Art University (Part-time Lecturer)
Influenced By
Eita Shinohara, Masahiko Kozuka, Kazuo Hashimoto, Tsutomu Suzuki

Education

Tama Art University
Graphic Design Department / Graphic Design Department
Period: 1975-1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: Japan

Awards

Sato Keinosuke Prize
2002
Result: winner
Good Design Award
2005
Organization: Japan Institute of Design Promotion
Result: winner
Tokyo TDC Type Design Award
2008
Organization: Tokyo Type Directors Club
Result: winner
Japan Essayist Club Award
2017
Work: Making Type
Organization: Japan Essayist Club
Result: winner
Yoshikawa Eiji Cultural Award
2024
Organization: Yoshikawa Eiji Cultural Award Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Yu Mincho

1998 Typeface (Mincho)

A central Mincho typeface in Jiyu-kobo's Yu type library. Toriumi was responsible for the kana design and focused on legibility for body text composition.

type for body textkana designlegibility

Hiragino Mincho (kana design)

Typeface (Mincho)

Worked on kana design for the Hiragino Mincho series produced for Dai Nippon Screen (now SCREEN Holdings).

commercial typefacekana

Making Type

2016 Book (non-fiction; design/technical)

A book that summarizes the work, thinking, and processes of typeface design. Set in Yu Mincho R and Bunrei kana.

typeface designtypographycraftsmanship

Making Books: Typeface Design, Letterpress, Handbinding

2019 Book (making/production record)

Documenting the process of creating a poetry collection by Shuntaro Tanikawa by hand, covering typeface design, letterpress printing, and handbinding.

letterpresshandbindingtypeface design

Classroom of Mincho Typefaces: How 150 Years of Mincho in Japan Are Designed

2024 Book (guide/expository)

An introductory guide explaining the history and design of Mincho typefaces in Japan, covering origins and design considerations.

Minchohistorydesign education

Bibliography

  • Making Type (2016)
  • Making Books: Typeface Design, Letterpress, Handbinding (2019)
  • Classroom of Mincho Typefaces (2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, legible kana designdesign focused on body-text typesettingcraftsmanlike, practice-oriented approach
Recurring Motifs
beauty of kanareadability for body textfusion of tradition and modernity

Legacy

Contributed significantly to kana design and the improvement of typefaces for body text in Japanese typography. As co-founder of Jiyu-kobo, involved in development of many foundational typefaces and has trained the next generation of type designers through teaching and private workshops.

Museums

  • The Sea of Letters: Type like Water, like Air (exhibition) Opened in 2022

In Popular Culture

  • Consulted for the manga 'Juhan Shuttai!' (type designers and his 'Ryurei kana' appear in the story)

Quotes

  • For Japanese people, characters are like water and like rice.
    Source: Quote recalled from Masahiko Kozuka during a visit to Shaken (recollection)

Trivia

  • Co-founder of Jiyu-kobo and served as the company's second CEO.
  • Has served as a visiting professor at Kyoto Seika University and part-time lecturer at Musashino Art University.
  • Founded a private school 'Mojijuku' for learning kana design from 2012 and started 'Matsumoto Mojijuku' in 2022.