Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Is That Little Stamp That Japanese People Use To Sign Papers?
|
Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#861208
Posts: 423 |
|
|||
|
NHK World had a documentary on these (part of the "Japanology" series). One thing I remember from it was that there was a company that made a form of digital hanko for use in offices, so that the offices wouldn't need to print a new copy for every person who needed to sign it, but that there's a tradition that when you're stamping a document that someone else will need to stamp to, you sort of angle the hanko like you're bowing to the next person's space, and people felt so awkward about not being able to do that in the digital version that they added that feature to the digital version.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7580 Location: Wales |
|
|||
|
The clearest example of Hanko use in anime I can think of is the first episode of Sora no Woto. I also can help thinking of the hanko/pettanko joke in Seitokai no Ichizon.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Harleyquin
Posts: 2841 |
|
|||
|
Extremely convenient for situations where confirmation is required after reading or assessing written documentation. Outside of East Asia, a signature would be needed for say signing a pile of documents, but applying the seal means saving time compared to using a signature.
Obviously this isn't applicable to everything requiring written authorisation, but for menial tasks like tally counts or inventory checks the seals are a real time-saver compared to pen and signature. |
||||
|
||||
K.o.R
 Posts: 221 |
|
|||
That surprises me a bit, what with the reputation for doing everything the old-fashioned way Japan has. |
||||
|
||||
leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
|
|||
|
I noticed people in Japan use stamps a lot, and I've seen stamps used as signatures or confirmation here in the United States sometimes, but I didn't know they're generally used instead of signatures in Japan. They're common enough in the United States that everyone accepts stamps as okay though, as long as they're unique to the person signing the document.
That actually explains why stamps are such a recurring element in WarioWare: D.I.Y. (even in the press start screen involves stamping an emblem onto a blank white field). And if anyone's familiar and up to date with Hunter X Hunter, that must be the origin of the Order Stamp ability (the idea that stamps are considered official and, apparently, legally binding), in which the kanji for "human" is stamped onto a puppet or mannequin's forehead and can then come to life. I know the birthrate is declining, but if this is such a work-intensive thing to make one of these stamps, does that mean there are a lot of such businesses out there, and maybe even a chain? |
||||
|
||||
Paiprince
 Posts: 593 |
|
|||
From thinking Japan is the tech mecca to this. Oh, have times have changed. Hanko are convenient, but if you're the type who hoards things around the house, expect them to get lost somewhere. Had an ordeal similar to that while I was living at an aunt's place in Japan and they needed that one specific seal that seemingly disappeared to confirm bank documents. |
||||
|
||||
Greed1914
 Posts: 4426 |
|
|||
|
In my line of work, I see signatures all the time, and I'm always amazed by how often people just use almost unreadable scribbles as a signature since it seems like it would be very easy to forge something that is barely legible. For some documents, the problem is mitigated by having a notary also sign to verify the other person's signature, but having unique stamps that are also registered seems like a more efficient way to do it.
|
||||
|
||||
EricJ2
 Posts: 4016 |
|
|||
I always thought it was, unlike our quick Roman cursive scribble, scribbling 2-4 kanji, of up to 8-10 strokes each, would take a very long time, if you're signing for a package or pizza, and the language had culturally routed in the nobility having "royal seals". But the issue of "forgery" is also an issue (in Juzo Itami's "A Taxing Woman", a Yakuza swindle revolves around having to steal a number of business/government hanko stamps for forged signatures), as it's a lot harder for handwriting analysts to check kanji for its proper signer's style as it would be to check someone's cursive signature in the West. |
||||
|
||||
FlowerAiko
 Posts: 218 |
|
|||
|
This reminds me of how the wealthy used to use wax seals back in olden times, for letters and documents.
|
||||
|
||||
NateSelwyn25
 Posts: 141 Location: Seattle |
|
|||
For some things in the US, it is legal to literally "sign" something with a big X at the space. |
||||
|
||||
|
K.o.R
Posts: 221 |
|
|||
|
The article also mentions forensic examination enabling you to tell forgeries apart etc., but how well does it hold up with smudged impressions and the like? I know our company's official stamp isn't exactly perfect when used (due to imprecise humans) and it's laser-cut.
|
||||
|
||||
|
#hiros7039
Posts: 31 |
|
|||
|
Also known as a "chop". Was common among European nobility and royalty.
You can learn more about it in the Japanology series by the NHK World. You can find the video easily. Misplace your seal stamp for the deliveryman does get to be a recurring trope. First examples seeing name seals is on the paper currency. Last edited by #hiros7039 on Mon Jul 31, 2017 2:53 pm; edited 2 times in total |
||||
|
||||
|
WatcherZer
Posts: 274 |
|
|||
Signet ring, same thing a way of sealing or signing a document that would be difficult to forge and would show if it had been opened and read by the messenger. Most famous example would be the Imperial seal in China that was made out of Jade and was the symbol of office but was lost around the tenth century. Simply possessing it was considered as bestowing the mandate of heaven to lead the country. The emperors all had their own personal seal too (but a little secret is they wernt unique, there were a couple of hundred identical copies of each emperors seal so that bureaucrats could sign documents in the emperors name) but they didn't always simply bear the name, sometimes they were mantras such as 'Self Improvement never ends' of an 18th century emperor which sold about 5 years ago. |
||||
|
||||
|
fathergoat
Posts: 90 |
|
|||
|
As a foreigner without a hanko if I visited Japan would my signature be accepted in place of a stamp? Considering how many westerners visit I would assume it would be allowed. I never really thought about it until reading this article though.
|
||||
|
||||
king 47
 Posts: 264 |
|
|||
Not that hand signatures are secure. I'm a grown-a** adult and I don't have a set signature, because no one really checks signatures. When I sign important documents, I take it more seriously, but my signatures still vary. Regardless, this is very interesting. But I can only imagine carrying a stamp with me to be annoying. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group