A hanko (判子) is a seal that is used more or less like a signature in the west. Each hanko is unique and might be used in all sort of different situations.

Since the Japanese society is very bureaucratic, they love to put their personal seal everywhere. It is a bit more inconvenient than using your signature, but it’s easy enough to use. It can be used in a wide range of areas; start a company, sign a lease, verify a document, validate bank related documents, verify that a delivery was received, etc.

With a signature, you know that each time you sign something it will never be completely identical with any other signature you have ever written. This makes a signature a bit more resistant to copying, but it is easy enough to copy a signature by copying the signature through a semi-transparent paper.

The hanko on the other hand, or more technically inkan (the ink impression), is supposed to be identical each time. Even though your name is on the hanko, imperfections will be unique for each hanko and it is, therefore, more difficult to copy. When the hanko is created there is an artistic or random element to make the hanko unique. The “letters” might move a bit around, made a bit off, a little bigger/smaller, etc.

Each person might have a couple of hankos used for different situations. One hanko might be used for very official use and has to be registered at the municipality office and you can get a certificate that verifies one ink-impression is your official mark. This is normally a hanko that you do not use very often, and it might be stored in a secure location.

One might have a separate hanko for use in your bank only. And if you have accounts in different banks then one hanko could be assigned to each bank. This would reduce the likelihood of someone copying your hanko since only your bank would see the hanko impression.

And there are also situations where you have to sign for something that is not important, like receiving a parcel. This could be a hanko with the kanji for your favorite animal and could be stored near your front door so it is easily accessible for your whole family when the postman arrives.

The hanko could be made of different materials, common ones are plastic, ivory, wood or metallic. Prices range from a couple of hundred yen to many thousand yen. It could be mass produced or handcrafted by an artist. They usually last for many years and you can get all sorts of accessories for them, plastic cases, bags, protective cases with or without ink.

(Credits: Photo taken by Haragayato)