Character type
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Find definitions and aki spacing values for Japanese character classes used in Mojikumi composition in Adobe InDesign.
When composing Japanese text, refer to these spacing classifications to understand how Adobe InDesign applies aki (spacing) between different character types and to customize mojikumi settings for your projects.
Mojikumi controls character spacing based on JIS X 4051:1995, grouping characters into spacing classes that determine the space before, after, or between characters during composition.
Yakumono categories
Yakumono refers to punctuation marks and special characters that require spacing adjustments. InDesign organizes Yakumono into three categories:
- Okoshi Yakumono (Opening punctuation)
- Uke Yakumono (Closing punctuation)
- Chuzuki Yakumono (Middle punctuation)
Okoshi Yakumono (Opening punctuation)
Characters that appear at the beginning of quoted text or parenthetical content.
|
|
Examples |
Default aki values |
|
Open Paren |
( 「 『 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
|
Open Bracket |
[ ［ 【 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
|
Open Round Parenthesis |
（ |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
|
Other Opening Punctuation |
〔 〈 《 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
Uke Yakumono (Closing punctuation)
Characters that appear at the end of quoted text or parenthetical content.
|
Character type |
Examples |
Default aki values |
|
Close Paren |
) 」 』 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 50–0%, End: 0% |
|
Close Bracket |
] ］ 】 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 50–0%, End: 0% |
|
Close Round Parenthesis |
） |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 50–0%, End: 0% |
|
Other Closing Punctuation |
〕 〉 》 |
Begin: 50%, Middle: 50–0%, End: 0% |
Chuzuki Yakumono (Middle punctuation)
Characters that appear within sentences to separate elements or indicate pauses.
|
Character type |
Examples |
Default aki values |
|
Kuten (Japanese Comma) |
, |
Begin:0%, Middle:50-0%, End:0% |
|
Kuten (Japanese Period) |
。 |
Begin: 0%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
|
Roman Period |
. |
Begin: 0%, Middle: 0–50%, End: 50% |
|
Middle Dot |
・ |
Begin: 25%, Middle: 25%, End: 25% |
|
Colon |
： : |
Begin: 25%, Middle: 25%, End: 25% |
Character spacing classes
Beyond Yakumono, InDesign defines additional spacing classes for composition:
- Between CJK and Roman
- Contiguous Yakumono
- Paragraph Mojikumi indent
Between CJK and Roman
Controls spacing when Japanese characters appear adjacent to Latin alphabet characters, numbers, or symbols.
|
Situation |
Default aki |
|
CJK character before Roman |
0–25% |
|
Roman character before CJK |
0–25% |
Contiguous Yakumono
Determines spacing behavior when punctuation marks appear consecutively.
|
Combination |
Behavior |
|
Opening + Closing |
Compress to eliminate excess space |
|
Closing + Opening |
Allow minimal separation |
|
Same type adjacent |
Follow individual character rules |
Paragraph Mojikumi indent
Controls indentation at paragraph beginnings and hanging punctuation at line endings.
|
Setting |
Effect |
|
1 em indent |
Standard paragraph indent (full-width character) |
|
½ em indent |
Reduced indent for compact layouts |
|
No indent |
Flush left paragraph alignment |
Aki value interpretation
Aki values express spacing as percentages of a full-width character space:
- Desired: The optimal spacing value that InDesign attempts to apply.
- Minimum: The smallest acceptable spacing when compressing for kinsoku or line justification.
- Maximum: The largest acceptable spacing when expanding for full justification.
Example: For opening parenthesis with values 50% (Desired), 0% (Minimum), 50% (Maximum):
- Displays with ½ character space before it.
- Compresses to no space when preventing line-break violations.
- Expands to ½ character space when justifying lines.
Note
When you compose paragraphs, the Adobe Japanese Paragraph Composer looks at spacing across the entire paragraph and may adjust earlier lines to avoid awkward breaks later. The Adobe Japanese Single-line Composer, on the other hand, processes one line at a time.
Accessing spacing settings
Customize spacing values in Type > Mojikumi Settings to create custom Mojikumi sets based on presets, or adjust individual character class spacing.
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