Tategaki

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About this app

Tategaki Vocab brings Japanese writing to your wrist: one word, set vertically from top to bottom the way it has traditionally been written in Japan ("tategaki"). It changes automatically through the day – no tapping, no app, no effort.

Each word comes with its hiragana reading, romaji and a meaning. The collection covers nature, seasons, feelings and everyday life, for example 木漏れ日 (komorebi, sunlight filtering through leaves), 夕焼け (sunset glow) or 一期一会 (once in a lifetime encounter).

THE LOOK
• The word in large Mincho type, the reading beside it, a fine line, and the meaning on the left
• Lacquer-black background with warm text colour, made for OLED displays
• A small red hanko stamp (語) as a detail
• Digital time at the top, always easy to read

YOUR SETTINGS
• Accent colour: vermilion, gold or indigo blue
• Language of the meaning: English or German
• Change interval: every 30 minutes, every hour or every 2 hours

BATTERY-FRIENDLY AND PRIVATE
• Dedicated ambient mode: dimmed text, hanko as an outline, very few bright pixels
• Everything is bundled – no internet needed
• No permissions, no ads, no accounts, no data collection
• No progress tracking, no interaction: just glance and pick up words along the way

GOOD TO KNOW
• Requires Wear OS 4 or newer
• After installing: long-press your watch face, choose "Tategaki Vocab" and customise with the pencil icon
• Words change automatically; the order is shuffled once so similar words don't appear back to back

Fonts: Shippori Mincho, Zen Kaku Gothic New and JetBrains Mono (SIL Open Font License 1.1).

Privacy policy: https://corepilots.github.io/tategaki/datenschutz/
Beautiful Japanese words, written vertically. A different word every hour.
Updated on
Oct 12, 2026

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
  • No data shared with third parties
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  • No data collected
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What’s new

Initial Release