sign this!!!

[sgtkwol]

Haha, you thought this would be spam

Do Japanese use signatures in the same way that we do? Romantic languages can be written in cursive which people distinguish themselves with enlongated/shortened loops, and other small variations. So, do people in Japan sign things to validate who they are?

[Gan]

caligraphy..... cursive japanese writing?

[mandolin]

maybe they use semi-cursive or cursive styles in signatures.

I hope someone can give you a more definitive answer, but in the meantime, I found this site incredibly interesting. Have a look!

[clay]

Actually most documents are 'signed' by stamping their name using a hanko (stamp with the family name). Otherwise people just write their name in kanji.

There are three types of writing styles ranging from the legible (normal) to the illegible (normal Japanese can't read). Gomen, I don't have the names in front of me. But this is mainly for calligraphy art.

[zengargoyle]

here's some info the different styles of Japanese lettering. if i remember correctly, some people have different hanko for different purposes. one is for official use (post office, government stuff and the like) and has to conform to some sort of standard. other hanko (or other types of stamps in general) may use a Tenshotai or Kointai style and be for more personal purposes like signing letters or artwork.

i also seem to recall that while non-citizens may adopt a kanji representation for their name, their official-use hanko has to be in katakana. but that could just be hearsay.

[erik]

I'm a non-citizen, but my hanko is in kanji. I've been using it for 3 years and no-one has said anything, so i guess it's ok!

[sgtkwol]

Thanks for the info. I don't plan on signing anything in Japan anytime soon but e Americans sign so many things to verify that you did something, I just had to know.

[Shibakoen]

Just a note, with all the paperwork I had to fill out when I registered as an alien in Tokyo, I REALLY wished I had a hanko. My hand was numb for 3 days.

[erik]

Hey Purple Heart,

I can't send an image at the moment, and I've been trying to find the kanji used in my name, but it's near impossible. Sorry.

But basically, it is a phonetic translation of my first name. I think it really depends on your name as to whether you want it in kanji or katakana - some look cool one way and not so much the other. Ah, nice to have choices.

[nikonikoniko]

erik wrote:
I'm a non-citizen, but my hanko is in kanji. I've been using it for 3 years and no-one has said anything, so i guess it's ok!

Since hankos are for signature purposes rather than for reading, it's perfectly acceptable and common for foreigners to have kanji for their hanko. Choosing kanji for one's actual name, though, sometimes confuses people and just generally looks strange.

[keatonatron]

My name is kinda long (by Japanese standards anyway: 5 characters in katakana, and 6 for my last name!). I haven't been able to find any good kanji (the shortest was 4 characters just for my first name), so I just got a hanko with katakana.

Before I had a hanko, I had a lot of problems... since hanko are standard fare for signing documents, and even if you don't have one most people's kanji is only 4 characters for their whole name, the box for signing your name is usually.... the size of a hanko stamp. Manually writing 4 kanji in there is pretty simple, but when I had to try and squeeze my 11 katakana characters in there, I never had enough space!!