Kagemoji Generator — Japanese Shadow Text

Kagemoji (影文字) is Japanese for shadow lettering. The Japanese Wikipedia entry 影付き文字 defines it as outlined characters (袋文字) with a shadow added, and lists drop shadow as another name for it. Word processors carry it as a text format, and CSS3 specifies text-shadow for the web version of the same effect.

Fukuromoji (袋文字) is the outline itself — hollow characters with a visible edge. Kagemoji adds a shadow behind those characters. The Japanese Wikipedia definition of 影付き文字 builds one on the other: shadow lettering is fukuromoji with a shadow added. This page does both, so you can set the outlines and the shadow on the same piece of text.

The Japanese Wikipedia entry 影付き文字 lists ドロップシャドウ (drop shadow) as another name for it, so a blurred cast shadow is one kind of kagemoji. Long shadow, which runs off diagonally at a fixed angle, and 3D extrude, which gives the letters thickness, are the other two kinds. This page has all three as separate switches.

Yes. Kanji, hiragana, katakana, numbers and Latin letters all work, across twelve Japanese fonts including a dot-matrix face.

Yes, and that is the point. Drop shadow, long shadow and 3D depth are independent switches, so you can layer all three. Kagemoji tools generally make you pick only one.

Yes. Set the background to transparent and the PNG keeps its alpha channel, so it drops onto a photo or a thumbnail.

Yes, and there is no sign-up. The image is drawn in your browser, so the text you type is not uploaded and no credits are used.

A font file gives you glyphs you still have to style. This gives you the finished image, with shadow, outline, colour and depth already applied, ready to save.

It takes the kagemoji you just built as a reference image and re-renders it with real material and lighting. Your characters, your drop shadow, your long shadow and your outlines stay exactly as you set them — only the surface changes. Pick one of 19 directions (metal, neon, glass, puffy 3D, holographic, glitch, graffiti, embroidery and more) or describe your own in a sentence.

The kagemoji maker itself is free and needs no account — it draws in your browser. The AI step runs a real image model, so it uses credits. New visitors get free credits, so you can try it once before signing up.