Genkō yōshi

(or genkoyoshi) is a type of Japanese paper used for writing.  It is printed with squares.  There are typically 200 or 400 squares on each sheet.  Each square designed to accommodate a single Japanese character or punctuation mark. 
 Genkō yōshi may be used with any type of writing instruments  pencil, pen, or an ink brush.Genkō yōshi is used for vertical writing. On a sheet of genkō yōshi, there is no pre-determined order; there is instead a system of space, which can be designed freely.Ikegami, Yoshihiko. (1991).  The Empire of signs: semiotic essays on Japanese culture, p. 68.

One page of Japanese with 400 characters generally equals 225-250 words in English.  In other words, an essay of about 10,000 words would be the same as  40-45 genko yoshi.University of Tokyo,  Social Science Japan Journal (SSJJ), Call for papers . Retrieved 2012-4-29.

HistoryGenkō yōshi'' came into common use in the  Meiji period. Newspapers and magazines needed to count characters.

References

 Other websites 
 Amherst College,  Genkoyoshi

Category:Japanese paper