Core terms and entry pages
These pages explain the basic vocabulary of Japanese seal culture.
Seals may look similar at first glance, but they do not all mean the same thing. Their names and roles change depending on what they represent, who is using them, and how formal the documentary situation is.
This section begins with the basic terms, then moves through personal seals, company seals, and artistic seals.
Personal seals
From everyday acknowledgment to the heaviest formal personal seal.
What Is a Mitomein?
The most familiar everyday personal seal, used for receipt and light acknowledgment.
What Is a Bank Seal?
The personal seal specialized for bank accounts and financial verification.
What Is a Registered Seal?
The heavily formal registered personal seal used in more serious documentary situations.
Personal vs Official Seals
A broader guide to the difference between seals of individuals and seals of institutions.
Company and corporate seals
From the overall structure of company seals to the major corporate seal types.
What Are Company Seals?
An overview of representative, round, square, and bank seals used by Japanese companies.
What Is a Representative Seal?
The heavier company seal used when the corporation acts in a representative capacity.
What Is a Round Company Seal?
The round-form company seal often understood as the more formal seal of the company.
What Is a Square Company Seal?
The square company seal widely used in everyday business paperwork.
Artistic and authorship seals
Seals used not only for identification, but also for artistic completion and authorship.
Read types through history and trust
Once the categories are clear, these pages help place them into a larger cultural structure.
The True History of the Hanko
A full historical arc from East Asian origins to everyday modern Japanese life.
Hanko and the History of Trust in Japan
How seals helped support confirmation, responsibility, and trust across Japanese history.
How Seals Moved from State Power to Daily Life
The larger historical movement from official seal culture into personal and everyday use.