When you live and work in Japan, you have to get a personal stamp/seal—called hanko—for whatever papers/bank stuff/etc that you may need. Whereas in the US you use your signature to verify your identity for any documents or paperwork, in Japan your signature means virtually nothing and your hanko is used instead for verification.
The hanko is a very small piece of wood—maybe two-and-a-half inches long and a half inch in diameter—with your name carved into (well, actually, carved out of) one end of it. Since basically your entire identity in Japan is tied to this little stick, it’s very important you don’t lose it, or you would have to deal with several weeks of headache-inducing bureaucracy.
I thought it wise, therefore, to buy a case for my hanko, and at the store I settled upon what appeared to be a solid silver case. Upon returning home and unwrapping the case from its packaging, however, I discovered that the opposite side, which was unviewable from inside the packaging, had prints of pretty pink flowers all over it! I was bamboozled into buying a girly case!
But it’s a really nice case (it’s got an ink pad right there inside it!) and I’m far too lazy to go return or exchange it, so I guess I’ll stick with it for now.
About Me
My name is Lawrence Denes.After spending 5 years studying Japanese language, culture, literature, and history in St. Louis and Kyoto, I now live in Japan, in a town that most Japanese people have never even heard of, lost amid the rice fields and vending machines.
Please feel free to ask me anything, or send me an email.
