By Porter Lang
Start with the short version. A hanko is a name seal, pressed in red ink where a Western form would ask for a signature. There are three everyday kinds, and one of them is treated almost like a passport. Mix them up and you either buy the wrong object or risk using the wrong one. Four sources cover the ground, and they agree on the types and differ on a few details.
The words
Wikipedia says “inkan” is the broad term for seals and “hanko” generally refers to seals used on less important documents. Nippon.com, a news magazine, uses the two words together for the same thing: hanko pressed into red ink to leave an inkan mark. Our reading: in shops and in conversation the words are used loosely, and what matters is the type.
The three types
Jitsuin. The registered seal, the most formal. City office pages say a registered personal seal is used for real-estate and vehicle registration and other very important documents, and that registering it proves it belongs to you. Pages from Yokohama, Hamamatsu, Kasama, Mutsu and Komatsu agree on the practical rules: the impression must fit a square between 8 mm and 25 mm, only one seal per person can be registered, and a seal with no outline around the name cannot be registered. Mutsu also excludes rubber and other easily malleable material. Rules differ a little by municipality, so ask your local office before you order.
Ginko-in. The bank seal. Nippon.com says it is registered with a bank when you open an account. Wikipedia says design rules vary by bank. Ask your bank what it requires.
Mitome-in. The everyday seal for signing for a parcel, a utility payment or an internal memo. Wikipedia calls it moderately formal. Tokyo Weekender, a magazine, says you can own as many as you like, and custom designs are common. The city pages we read describe registration only for the jitsuin. It is usually small and mostly carries the family name, according to Wikipedia.
How a jitsuin is registered
City office pages describe the process. Komatsu, Kasama, Mutsu and Hamamatsu say a registered resident aged 15 or over, including foreign residents, can apply at the office for their address. You bring the seal and identification such as a residence card, and you receive a seal registration card. Kasama and Mutsu charge 300 yen for a first registration. Mutsu says the card is issued on the spot, and Kasama says it can be the same day. You then take the card to the office to get a certificate of seal registration, the document that proves the seal is yours. Wikipedia says the certificate is needed for significant business transactions. Fees and procedures differ by municipality and can change, so check your own office.
The name on the seal has to match your residence record. Hamamatsu says a seal can be registered with the name on your certificate of residence, or a nickname recorded on it. Ota Ward’s page for foreign residents says a name recorded on the residence record is accepted, including a recorded alias or katakana name, while screen names, pen names and kanji not on the record are not. Nippon.com says foreign residents can have seals engraved in the Roman alphabet or in katakana, and that some shops render foreign names in kanji. The shop may offer you a kanji version, but your office may only accept what your record shows.
Why a mass-produced seal is the wrong choice for the registered one
Numazu’s English guide says a seal for registration cannot be mass-produced by machine, and Mutsu excludes rubber. Wikipedia says inexpensive prefabricated seals are widely sold, and that rubber stamps are not acceptable for business purposes. Tokyo Weekender says higher-quality hanko resist ink bleed and last for years, while cheap rubber stamps wear out quickly and are not suitable for registered seals. Our reading: ask your office before buying, because a ready-made seal that anyone else could also own is a poor fit for the registered one.
On materials, Wikipedia lists hard stone as the most common for quality seals, then wood, plastic, metal, deerhorn, soapstone and jade. On 27 October 2025 Japan’s trade ministry designated Tokyo Tebori Insho, hand-carved seals, as a traditional craft. None of our sources describes how a master carves a seal, so we do not.
How to stamp
This part is the gear section. Tokyo Weekender and Selectra agree on the basics, and both say to tap the seal lightly on the red ink pad two or three times, not press hard. Tokyo Weekender adds that pressing hard makes ink bleed between the characters. It describes holding the seal between forefinger and thumb, supported by the middle finger, checking orientation before you press, lowering it slowly and pressing evenly so the impression is square. A seal mat under the paper gives even pressure and stops slipping.
Orientation matters. Selectra warns that an upside-down impression may be refused on official documents.
Care, and what to do if it goes missing
Tokyo Weekender says to keep the seal in its case, store it somewhere cool and dry away from direct sunlight, and wipe off residual ink after each use. It says to keep a jitsuin apart from its registration card and any contracts, to keep a ginko-in apart from your bank book, and to treat registered seals as carefully as a passport.
If a registered seal or its registration card is lost, Kasama’s page says to go to city hall immediately and re-register. Re-registration costs 500 yen there, against 300 for a first registration. Hamamatsu lists a cancellation notice for changing a registered seal. The city pages we read do not say whether to also tell the police, or your bank for a bank seal, so we give no advice on that.
Seal or signature
Whether a seal or a signature is needed depends on the form. Wikipedia says that in 2020 the government sought to reduce seal requirements because they generate paper documents that slow electronic record-keeping, and Nippon.com says many official forms still require a seal, although signatures are gaining acceptance. Ask whoever sets the form.
Where it comes from
Wikipedia says the earliest evidence of writing in Japan is a gold seal dated to AD 57, given to the ruler of a place called Nakoku, and that nobles began using personal seals after AD 750. Nippon.com says the oldest known hanko is a gold-cast stamp given in 57 CE to a Japanese envoy. Our reading: both mean the same object, and the sources do not agree on who received it. Nippon.com also says seals are thought to date to ancient times, around the fifth millennium BCE, which is a statement about seals in general and not about Japan.
Dates in order
- AD 57: oldest known seal, according to Wikipedia and nippon.com.
- After AD 750: nobles use personal seals, according to Wikipedia.
- From 1870: seal use becomes general, according to Wikipedia; nippon.com says an early Meiji-era law created a national registration system.
- 2020: government moves to reduce seal requirements, according to Wikipedia.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia; a news magazine; a lifestyle magazine; and English-language pages from the city offices of Yokohama, Hamamatsu, Kasama, Mutsu, Komatsu, Numazu and Ota Ward for the registration rules. We read no hanko maker’s page. Registration rules differ by municipality, so check your own office.
What we left out
We left out shop and maker names, ink brands, legal advice, and the part of the history that names the donor of the oldest seal. The 300 and 500 yen fees above are two cities’ fees and change by municipality.
Quick answers
What is the difference between jitsuin and mitome-in? According to Wikipedia, a jitsuin is the officially registered seal for legally binding matters, while a mitome-in is an everyday seal for signing for deliveries and memos.
Can foreigners get a hanko? Nippon.com says foreign residents can have a seal engraved in the Roman alphabet or katakana. City pages say a registered resident aged 15 or over, including foreign residents, can register a jitsuin, using the name on the residence record.
How do you use hanko ink? Tokyo Weekender says to tap the seal on the red ink pad two or three times and press evenly, since pressing hard makes ink bleed between characters.
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