4 Reasons to Use Your Seal (Hanko)

The Japanese use seals…not the noisy creatures you find at the wharf or in the zoo…but small, about the size of your pinky, seals, sticks, made from wood or marble with your name in Kanji if you are Japanese, in hiragana or katakana if you are a foreigner and in Romaji if it is official.

At one time I think I had a half dozen seals in use…maybe more. One was round; one was oval; one was square. I had them in English to create an official seal, and in hiragana and katagana for other purposes.

The most common uses:

1. to give notices to government offices – marriage/divorce registrations, social security claims and so on.

2. to received deliveries – Japan's version of Fedex, UPS and so on.

3. to express agreement in contracts – apartments, car leases, insurance

4. to get money out of savings – post office, bank, insurance

They are also called hanko or inkan.

How many seals do you have?