Making a Hanko in Japan

Hanko are the personal seals that Japanese use in place of signatures. Sometimes referred to as an inkan or a chop they mostly comprise of a cylindrical length of immovable matter about the size of your little finger, on one of the faces are carved the persons name, usually in intricate kanji (Chinese characters.) They can be made out of anything from plastic to marble, or bamboo to elephant tusk and can range in price from 100 yen to many thousands of yen.

Although it's quite possible to get through life in Japan without ever having to make a hanko and banks, city office, postmen, takkubin drivers are all happy for foreigners, and increasing numbers of Japanese, to sign there comes a point when they can certainly make life easier. For this writer it was when he tried to change over some direct debits at his bank but they refused to accept that his signature was the same as the one he had used three years earlier to open the account, that the crunch came. Below is a guide to various types and uses of hanko in Japan.

NOTE: Many people comment that the hanko is a far too easily abused form of agreement but before passing judgement consider for a moment just how easy it is to copy a signature.

Different Types of Hanko

Hanko, for daily living, basically fall into three categories; Mitomein, ginkoin and jitsuin. And each has it's own function and rules.

Mitomein

This a type of hanko for everyday use. The sort used to receive parcels and post. An almost casual hanko if you like. Usually Japanese would are able to buy one of these pre-made off the shelf. These are the hanko you see outside hanko shops in the glass cabinets. 100 yen shops even sell them! Very often these the engraved surface is made from a self inking rubber like substance so it doesn't require a stamp pad each time you want to use it.

Of course to render a foreign name (see below) you'll have to have one specailly made. Expect to pay a few thousand yen

Ginkoin

This is a much more serious hanko as it controls your dealings with your bank. (As stated earlier it is possible to open a bank account without a hanko, but a hanko can make life easier a few years down the line when your signature doesn't look exactly as it did when you opened the account.) Although there are no restrictions on the design or even the name represented on the ginkoin they do have to made from a hard material so the self inking rubber hankos are unsuitable. The most common material for making a ginkoin is from bamboo. Once made the bank will take an impression of the hanko which will take the place of your signature in all dealings with the bank.

Theorectically it is possible to use any name, or character, you choose on a ginkoin but do you really want to be known as that foreigner who uses a Suziki-san inkan everytime you visit the bank?

Jitsuin

A jitsuin is the most important hanko and is used in property transactions and car purchases. Many Japanese keep their jitsuin under lock and key and fair few of them stow them in safety deposit boxes, such is the importance of the particular seal. The rules for a jitsuin are much stricter with regards to sizing, imprint and diameter. A good hanko shop will be able to advise. Jitsuin are where the choices really come into play, from the choice of material, the design of your name, the style of the case to whether you want it machine cut or carved by hand the choices are yours. Again a hanko retailer,hanko-ya, should be able to advise.

Usually they take upto a week to make and you'll be asked to test run the hanko at the shop to make sure you're happy with the imprint. Use this chance to learn from the experts the correct way of making a crisp, clear imprint!

Next step is to convert this still ordinary hanko into a jitsuin. This is done at your city office. Simple present the hanko to the registration counter, and for a small fee they'll make a impression of the hanko and isue you with a name stamp registration card that can then be used to request copies of the registration certificate in the future.

A note on names

The question a lot of people ask is how should my name be represented on my hanko. Well it all depends on the impression you wish to create, a hanko is seen as the equivalent of your signature so I'd use the most readily accepted rendition of your name in Japan. For most of us that's usually katakana. Beware of trying to find the 'correct' kanji to fit your name, in most cases Japanese will not be able to read it in the manner you wish and you'll need superior Japanese skills to carry off explaning why you chose the particular kanji.

For the mitomein and ginkoin Japanese tend to use only their surnames so I suggest you follow this example.

For the jitsuin the name must match exactly that as appears on your Foreign Resident Registry. This is almost always written in Roman letters (alphabet) and you'll first need to apply at the foreign residents counter to have the katakana rendition of your name accepted. (Another reason for not using kanji is that city office will not accept a kanji translation of your name on your resident registry.)

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