Distressed Ohku 4 is a bold, very narrow, very high contrast, italic, short x-height font.
Keywords: posters, branding, packaging, headlines, logotypes, expressive, handmade, vintage, lively, dramatic, brush script, handmade feel, vintage texture, display impact, expressive lettering, brushy, textured, inked, slanted, calligraphic.
A slanted, brush-script style with energetic stroke modulation and a distinctly inked texture. Letterforms show pronounced thick-to-thin contrast, with wedge-like entrances and exits that feel pulled by a fast brush. Strokes exhibit slight irregularities and edge breakup, giving a printed-from-ink, slightly worn look rather than clean vector outlines. Spacing is compact and the rhythm is tight, with narrow forms and occasional elongated ascenders/descenders that add bounce in running text.
Best suited to short-to-medium display text such as posters, event promos, product packaging, and branding marks where a handcrafted, inky presence is desired. It can also work for punchy subheads or pull quotes, especially when you want an expressive script with a slightly weathered, tactile finish.
The overall tone is bold and spirited, combining a classic sign-painter/calligraphic feel with a roughened, imperfect finish. It reads as confident and theatrical, with a handmade authenticity that suggests vintage packaging or energetic editorial headlines.
Likely designed to emulate fast brush lettering with visible ink behavior—high contrast, slanted movement, and subtle roughness—so text feels handmade and attention-grabbing. The combination of compact proportions and textured strokes aims for strong impact in display contexts while maintaining a cohesive script rhythm.
Capitals are particularly showy and gestural, providing strong entry points for titles, while the lowercase maintains a quick, cursive flow. Numerals match the brush logic with the same contrast and texture, making them suitable for display settings where character and motion matter more than strict uniformity.