Good research paper about the hanko and or inkan in japan

Introduction

For most of the people and businesses in the world, the written signature is the one generally used in signing of the documents such as passports, letters, contracts, receipts, and others. However, countries like Japan, the Hanko and or Inkan or the commonly called the seal is used aside from the signature. This seal indicates substantial role in the life of the individual who live in Japan. This was used in official transactions and certain documents at work and at home. Many considered that the Hanko and or Inkan originated from China. It is believed that at about 2, 000 years had passed the Chinese emperor presented the golden seal to the Japanese king (Sosnoski, 2013). Then, at about the 15th century, there was the evidence shown that the golden seal was already in used. This golden seal was found in the Kyushu. Today, countries like China, Korea, and Taiwan use this seal specifically in important papers.

Characteristics of Hanko and or Inkan

The Hanko and or Inkan serve similar purpose as the written signature used by most of the people in the realm. The Hanko and or Inkan were possessed by a lot of individuals living in Japan. Others have two of this up to six in number and even more. In the sense, the Hanko and or the Inkan are define and used interchangeably. Thus, the Inkan is the impression of made by the ink and the Hanko is the tangible object used for stamping (Becoming Legally Japanese, 2013). Some Hanko is made from the expensive marble, titanium, and exotic materials like ebony and ivory. A lot of it was made of plastic and wood. Others were made of the synthetics designed of the ebony as well as the ivory.
Every handmade Hanko is consists of characters from Kanji which is about 5, 000 in number; inscribed by the craftsman, thus, making it distinct from any other seals. Sometimes the two Hanko may appear to be similar but when scrutinized have different in stroke length or the shape. Since its size is handy and small, it can be easily placed inside the individual’s pocket along the case. Aside from the size, the shape as well as the kind of materials used will determine the price of the Hanko (Japan-cc, n. d.). The sizes of the Hanko depend on the gender of the owner. Typically, the Hanko is circular in shape. The diameter of it is less than two centimeters and the length is around sixty millimeters. It is very typical that the seal of the women is small compared than that of the men. The colors of accessories holding it, the used characters and fonts, and the name engraved will define whether the owner of the Hanko is a man or a woman.
Most of the official documents like the laws and the constitution in Japan were stamp by the two Hanko from the Emperor and the Prime Minister (Becoming Legally Japanese, 2013). In businesses, the Hanko are often square in shape and larger as compared to the personal seal. The large seal was intended for the business which is considered to be large, old as well as famous. Mitomein or the personal seals and jitsuin or the registered seals are two of the most common Hanko in Japan. The mitomein can be prepared using cheap materials. It can also be handmade and very costly. The jitsuin is designed specifically for only one individual and for the used on the essential loans, contracts as well as on the official documents. The signature of the individual is directly above the jitsuin. It is indeed necessity to show the authenticity certificate when this is used. However, the mitomein is for the use only in the home (Sosnoski, 2013).
There are several differences of using the written signature and the Hanko. Several countries in the Asian continent use the Hanko and or Inkan and almost all of the countries in the American, Middle East, European and even Asian continent use the written signature. One of the differences is the position of the Hanko and signature in certain document.
Usually, the signature is place or written above the name while the Hanko is placed or stamped close to the name approximately at the half of the character to the complete character space (Sosnoski, 2013). However, if the writing is horizontal then the stamp position is below and if the writing is vertical then the position is on the right side. One more difference is the usage with regard to the amount of the ink. The Hanko and or Inkan uses ink in the stamp pad in order to make the impression. On the other hand, pen with ink inside is used for the written signature. The whole seal is used when stamping the Hanko and or Inkan even on corrections or mistakes. But, the written initial is required in order to correct the mistakes and other errors.
Furthermore, just like the password the individual has for mobile phones, email addresses, and internet banking, the Hanko is important. The individual cannot access the information, cannot open an account in the bank and others without using it. The Hanko is needed to be registered in the ward office or city hall. There comes a time that the evidence of the registration is required to be presented. The registration proves that the individual is the owner of the Hanko.
However, there is the need for the individual to report the destroyed, stolen and lost Hanko. In the long run, the owner of the Hanko needs to register again using the new seal and ensure that the new seal is almost similar to the old one. Only the trained eyes can see the difference between these seals or Hanko and or Inkan. Thus, Hanko and or Inkan are significant in Japan’s culture. It is used in any transaction whether personal, businesses or legal in everyday life. This also serves as the identity of every individual living in Japan.

References

Sosnoski, D. (Ed.). (2013). Introduction to Japanese culture. United States of America: Tuttle Publishing.
Becoming Legally Japanese. (2013) All about Japanese Inkan/Hanko/chops/seals. Retrieved from http://www. turning-japanese. info/2013/08/all-about-japanese-inkanhankochopsseals. html? q= hanko+or+inkan
Japan-cc. (n. d.). Japanese Hanko Stamp. Retrieved from https://japan-cc. com/hanko. htm.