Licences stated clearly
We spell out each font’s licence and whether commercial use is allowed
Official links only
Downloads go to the official site or distributor. Archipela never redistributes fonts
Japanese fonts, explained
Each typeface’s character and best uses, explained plainly — and compared in the real font
Choose a commercial-use Japanese font with confidence
Building a website, a document, a video thumbnail or a social image very often leads to the same question: where do I find a free Japanese font I am allowed to use? This site is a reference that organises free, commercially usable fonts into six categories — Japanese gothic, Japanese mincho, Latin sans-serif, Latin serif, coding faces, and display/handwriting. Each card renders a sample in the actual typeface, so you can compare their character at a glance.
As a rule we list only fonts under licences that permit commercial use, such as the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Every font’s detail page states its licence, category, creator and source, and lets you type your own text and switch weights to preview it on the spot. Download the font files themselves from each font’s official site (Google Fonts, GitHub and other distributors). Archipela never redistributes or hosts font files itself.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Can the fonts listed here be used commercially?
As a rule this site lists only fonts under licences that permit commercial use — most often the SIL Open Font License 1.1, and in some cases Apache License 2.0 or similar. Each font’s detail page states the exact licence, but the terms can change at the font author’s discretion. Always check the licence notice at the source before you actually use a font.
Can I download the fonts from this site?
No. This site is a reference that introduces fonts; it does not distribute the font files themselves. Use the “Download from distributor” button on each font’s detail page to go to the official source such as Google Fonts or GitHub, and download from there. For safety, we recommend always obtaining fonts from the official distributor.
Can the fonts introduced here be used as web fonts?
Fonts distributed through Google Fonts can be used as web fonts with the embed code Google Fonts provides. Some fonts distributed on GitHub — developer-oriented families such as HackGen or PlemolJP — are mainly intended to be installed on a computer. Check each distributor’s documentation for whether and how web use is supported.
Is the listed information and licensing up to date?
We aim to keep the listings as accurate as possible, but font names, weights, licences and download locations can change. Always confirm the latest details at the original distributor before downloading or using a font.