The Bible of Symbols and Ideograms

A Compilation of Contemporary Letter Designs is the work of Katsumi Tsuji, a renowned graphic designer who was very active during the Taisho (1912-1926) and Showa (1926-1989) periods. First published in 1934, it gathers together a multitude of characters, all drawn by hand and in various styles, from art deco to modern.  

Imaginary letters

The graphic designer includes traditional Japanese writing systems, hiragana and katakana, as well as glyphs from the Latin alphabet. The book also contains a host of other symbols and ideograms like special characters straight from Katsumi Tsuji’s imagination. Alongside these are company logos, crests of great Japanese families, prefectural and municipal stamps, and badges from educational establishments. 

A Compilation of Contemporary Letter Designs has become an indispensable work for graphic designers and lovers of lettering styles over the decades. This success led to it being reissued in 2014 by Seigensha. 

A Compilation of Contemporary Letter Designs (2014) by Katsumi Tsuji is published by Seigensha (only available in Japanese and English).