Serif · OFL 1.1 · No. 0137
Is Shippori Mincho free for commercial use?
Yes. Shippori Mincho is licensed under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, so you can use it on commercial websites, in print, logos, apps and products you sell. The one firm limit: you cannot sell the font file by itself.
- 400 Regular
- 500 Medium
- 600 SemiBold
- 700 Bold
- 800 ExtraBold
Specimen served by the Google Fonts CSS API at view time.
What the OFL 1.1 lets you do with Shippori Mincho
Verdicts are our plain-English reading of the SIL Open Font License 1.1; the right-hand column names the clause each one rests on. This is not legal advice.
| Use | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Use it on a website (self-hosted or via the Google Fonts API)Yes. Embedding is explicitly permitted. Self-hosted font files must keep the copyright notice and license; the OFL lets that live in the font file’s own metadata, which Google Fonts files already carry. | yes | Permission & Conditions: “use, study, copy, merge, embed, modify, redistribute”; condition 2 on including the notice and license. |
| Print, packaging, posters, PDFs and other documentsYes. Documents you create with the font are not covered by the OFL’s distribution conditions at all. | yes | Condition 5: “The requirement for fonts to remain under this license does not apply to any document created using the Font Software.” |
| Set a logo or wordmark in itYes. A logo is a document made with the font, so the OFL places no restriction on it. Note that other people can use the same font, and trademark registration is a separate question the font license does not answer. | yes | Condition 5 (documents are outside the license); OFL FAQ on logos and trademarks. |
| Put it on products I sell (T-shirts, mugs, book covers)Yes. Printed or embroidered artwork is a document created with the font, and selling that product is not selling the font. | yes | Condition 5 (documents); condition 1 only forbids selling the font software by itself. |
| Bundle the font file inside an app, game or software I sellYes, with conditions. You may bundle and even sell the font inside software, as long as each copy includes the copyright notice and the OFL text (a license file or the font’s metadata). | with conditions | Condition 2: bundled, redistributed and/or sold with any software, provided that each copy contains the copyright notice and this license. |
| Modify the font (add glyphs, change shapes, subset) and ship itYes, with conditions. Modified versions must stay under the OFL, must not use any Reserved Font Name without written permission, and must not use the authors’ names to promote the modified version. | with conditions | Conditions 3, 4 and 5 (Reserved Font Names, author names, remain under OFL). |
| Sell the font file on its own (or in a font bundle)No. The font, modified or not, may not be sold by itself. You can sell things made with it, or software that includes it, but not the font file as the product. | no | Condition 1: “Neither the Font Software nor any of its individual components, in Original or Modified Versions, may be sold by itself.” |
| Use it in video, broadcast, social posts or adsYes. Rendered text in video, images or ads is output created with the font, which the OFL does not restrict. | yes | Condition 5 (documents created using the Font Software). |
How Shippori Mincho compares in the library
Shippori Mincho is No. 137 of 1,950 families in Google Fonts’ own popularity order and No. 26 of 351 serif families (snapshot 15 Oct 2026). It offers 5 styles, as static files only. Its 3 subsets give it broader script coverage than 42% of serif families. It was added to Google Fonts on 4 Jan 2021 and its files were last updated on 4 Sept 2025.
Which fonts pair with Shippori Mincho?
Computed from metadata, not taste: each body face shares Shippori Mincho’s scripts, has a usable weight range for text and sits close in line-height. How the score works.
- Noto Sans JP for body text — serif heading over a sans serif body gives clear contrast; 3 shared subsets (japanese, latin, latin-ext); Noto Sans JP is variable (wght 100–900). Proof this pair
- Titillium Web for body text — serif heading over a sans serif body gives clear contrast; 2 shared subsets (latin, latin-ext); Titillium Web ships 6 static weights. Proof this pair
- Zen Kaku Gothic New for body text — serif heading over a sans serif body gives clear contrast; 3 shared subsets (japanese, latin, latin-ext); Zen Kaku Gothic New ships 5 static weights. Proof this pair
How do I add Shippori Mincho to a website?
Paste the embed into your <head>, then use the family in CSS. The URL requests the 5 published weights; trim it to the weights you actually use.
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com">
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin>
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Shippori+Mincho:wght@400;500;600;700;800&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> font-family: 'Shippori Mincho', Georgia, serif; To self-host instead (often preferred for privacy, see self-hosting and GDPR), download the files from the specimen page and declare them yourself. The OFL 1.1 allows redistribution with the licence kept alongside:
@font-face {
font-family: 'Shippori Mincho';
src: url('/fonts/shippori-mincho-400.woff2') format('woff2');
font-weight: 400;
font-style: normal;
font-display: swap;
} Shippori Mincho: licence questions
- Can I use Shippori Mincho in a logo?
- Yes. A logo is a document made with the font, so the OFL places no restriction on it. Note that other people can use the same font, and trademark registration is a separate question the font license does not answer.
- Can I bundle Shippori Mincho in an app or game I sell?
- Yes, with conditions. You may bundle and even sell the font inside software, as long as each copy includes the copyright notice and the OFL text (a license file or the font’s metadata).
- Can I sell the Shippori Mincho font file itself?
- No. The font, modified or not, may not be sold by itself. You can sell things made with it, or software that includes it, but not the font file as the product.
- Which scripts does Shippori Mincho support?
- On Google Fonts, Shippori Mincho ships 3 subsets: Japanese, Latin, Latin Extended.
Similar serif families
Sources
- Shippori Mincho on Google Fonts (specimen and download)
- METADATA.pb in google/fonts — licence field: OFL
- Licence file in the family folder · SIL Open Font License 1.1 full text · licence FAQ
- Upstream source repository
- Google Fonts family metadata, fetched 15 Oct 2026