# Shojumaru font

> A heavy wedge-stroke display face with small capitals in place of lowercase, modelled on a 1957 film poster.

Shojumaru is a heavy display typeface by Astigmatic whose wedge-shaped strokes mix brush-style poster lettering with conventional letterforms; its starting point was the poster for the 1957 film Sayonara. Shojumaru has one style, with small capitals in the lowercase positions. It is released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1 and suits posters, titles and logos.

## Facts

- Classification: [Display](https://trendhub.net/fonts/category/display)
- Designed by: Astigmatic
- License: SIL Open Font License 1.1 (https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/)
- Styles: 1 (Regular 400)
- Variable font: No
- Glyphs: 373
- Character sets: latin, latin-ext
- Last updated: 2025-09-11
- Official source: https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Shojumaru
- Page: https://trendhub.net/fonts/shojumaru
- Tagged for: Headlines, Posters, Logos, Retro

## About Shojumaru

Shojumaru is a display typeface made of thick, wedge-shaped strokes that taper and flare like marks from a loaded brush. Sharp spurs project from the corners of letters such as A, H and N, bowls are cut with slanted notches, and the letters sit wide and low. Typing lowercase produces small capitals, so every word is set in capital forms of two heights. According to the official notes, the lettering of a poster for the 1957 film Sayonara was the model, and the design blends that brush-wedge genre with more traditional letter shapes instead of following it strictly. The font has one style and 373 glyphs covering Latin and Latin Extended. Astigmatic is credited as the designer; the copyright notice names Brian J. Bonislawsky, trading as Astigmatic.

## License

SIL Open Font License 1.1. Copyright (c) 2012 by Brian J. Bonislawsky DBA Astigmatic (AOETI) (astigma@astigmatic.com), with Reserved Font Names "Shojumaru"

Allowed:
- Use the fonts in personal and commercial work, in print, on the web and in apps.
- Modify the fonts and build new versions from them.
- Redistribute the fonts, on their own or bundled with software, as long as the license text and copyright notice go with them.

Conditions:
- The fonts cannot be sold by themselves.
- A modified version must stay under the same license and cannot use a Reserved Font Name without the copyright holder's permission.
- The authors' names cannot be used to promote a modified version without permission.

Summary only, not legal advice. Full text: https://openfontlicense.org/open-font-license-official-text/

## Where it works

- **Film and event posters**: The model was a 1950s cinema poster, and the wide, heavy letters are sized for a title that fills the sheet.
- **Titles in capitals and small capitals**: Because lowercase keys give small capitals, a title gets a large initial and smaller following letters without extra formatting.
- **Restaurant and product logos**: Spurred corners and flared strokes give a short name a recognisable outline.
- **Game and comic titles**: Dense black shapes with pointed terminals hold up over illustrated backgrounds.

## Things to know

- **No true lowercase**: The lowercase positions hold smaller capitals. Text cannot be set in mixed upper- and lowercase forms.
- **One heavy style**: Shojumaru has a single Regular style and no italic or lighter weight.
- **Reserved Font Name**: The license notice reserves the name Shojumaru, so modified versions need another name.

## FAQs

### Is Shojumaru free for commercial use?

Yes, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1. Shojumaru may be used in personal and commercial projects, modified and passed on, but the font files cannot be sold on their own and a modified version must keep the same license.

### Who designed Shojumaru?

Shojumaru is credited to Astigmatic. The copyright notice names Brian J. Bonislawsky, doing business as Astigmatic.

### Does Shojumaru have lowercase letters?

No. In Shojumaru the lowercase keys produce small capitals, so words appear in capitals of two sizes.

### How many weights does Shojumaru have?

Shojumaru has one weight, Regular 400, drawn very heavy. It is not a variable font.

### Which languages does Shojumaru support?

Shojumaru includes the letters needed for English, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian and other European languages written in Latin script.

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Source: https://trendhub.net/fonts/shojumaru (trendhub)