Special Experience

Kamakura

Create a Personal Seal, Hand-finished by an Artisan at a Longstanding Kamakura Shop [ Basic Plan ]

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イメージ拡大マーク
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Overview

Deeply-rooted traditional Japanese culture is alive and well at Kamakura Hanko, a specialty producer and purveyor of hanko stamps and seals. Learn the fascinating history of this craft and its traditions from third-generation Kamakura Hanko owner Mitsuhiro Tsukino before designing your own personal seal by choosing its material and lettering. These seals, full of craft soul, can legally be registered as certified personal seals in Japan (used in a way akin to signatures in official documents), but they feature such beautiful craftsmanship that you may just want to use them as display pieces instead. You can choose to pick up your completed seal, certificate, and case later on the day of the experience or have it shipped to you.

Key Features

・Learn all about the personal seal culture of Japan in the ancient capital of Kamakura, and witness the craft skills of those who carry on this tradition
・Tsukino provides bespoke counseling on material selection, typeface, and lettering so that you can create a custom seal perfect for you
・Get a gorgeous carrying case for your own hand-finished craft seal in this Wabunka limited plan

*For those interested in creating a top quality Mikkoku seal, check out the Create a Top Quality Mikkoku Seal at a Longstanding Specialty Shop in Kamakura [ Premium Plan ]

Kamakura

from
¥36,000 /person

Private event

1 - 4 participants

30 min

Available in English

Cancel free up to 11 days before

Details

A Specialty Maker of Personal Seals with Heritage Technique

Kamakura Hanko has been hand making high quality artisanal personal seals for 70 years. Mitsuhiro Tsukino is its third generation proprietor, and he along with his wife Chieko are both nationally certified seal engravers. Together, they handle everything from orders to design to engraving by hand.

In their workshop in the back of the store, the Tsukinos carve seals every day

Mass-produced machine-engraved seals, rubber stamps, and self-inking stamps are in wide circulation today because of their low cost and production speed. But those who value custom-made, hand-finished, high quality seals that will last a lifetime continue to choose Kamakura Hanko.

Watch the craftsmanship up close as an expert artisan carves lettering designs to customer requests in exquisitely fine detail

Kamakura Hanko’s personal seals go beyond simple office tools and are valued as works of art. The stamp surface is hand-designed and created with the mikkoku technique. These beautiful, elegant designs are extremely popular with temples and shrines around Japan, who have commissioned Kamakura Hanko to produce their goshuin seals used to commemorate pilgrimages and religious attendance.

An example of one of Kamakura Hanko’s goshuin religious stamps, featuring fine stamp surface lettering and gorgeous traditional exterior Kamakura-bori carving

Kamakura Hanko’s seals have been recognized for their excellence of technique, traditional production methods, and artistry. In 2022 they won the highest level award from NOA (Nippon Omiyage Award). This experience offers a chance to visit the workshop of proprietor Tsukino, one of Japan’s leading artisans of hanko seal making, to consult directly with him on the art and your design.

Japan’s Personal Seal Culture: a Thousand-year Tradition

A walk from Kamakura Station down through the Onari-dori shopping street plunges visitors into a rustic atmosphere, and it is here that one can find the Kamakura Hanko shop front – and through it discover an eye-catching interior filled with fine wood, precious stones, gorgeous colorful cases, and traditional tools.

The Tsukinos have their workshop in the back of the store, and you just might be able to see them working. Mild-mannered and friendly, their day-to-day clientele includes foreign customers and they are accustomed to fielding questions in English, ensuring visitors can feel at ease to ask about anything they don’t understand.

The shop interior is lined with a visually-arresting assortment of base materials and cases for personal seals and stamps

The experience begins with a brief talk from Tsukino about Japan’s tradition of using personal seals. Learn all about this tradition, the role of the city of Kamakura in its history, and the importance of these literal markers of identity used by each and every Japanese person.

“For Japanese people, personal seals are more than just a substitute for a signature or a marker of assent,” says Tsukino. “They’re a partner who is present for major life decisions and who helps make them.” Personal seals continue to be valued even in this era of ever-increasing digitization of payments and contracts, and learning to understand why will give you a deeper appreciation for the significance of having one for yourself.

Enjoy a talk on the history of personal seals at the store counter

The Lore of the Material: Choosing Beauty and Fortune

After the abstract, it’s time to get concrete – moving from history and value to materials, usage cases, and characteristics. You’ll also learn about the traditional spiritual meanings behind them.

Boxwood is the primary material used for Japanese personal seals, as well as for other traditional small person daily implements such as combs, valued for its high density and durability. It is said to represent “a firm and unwavering bond,” making it well suited to the personal seal.

Handle the various materials to get a feel for their weight, texture, and grain

In addition to boxwood, other options include monarch birch, cherrywood, natural black water buffalo horn, and amber (different materials are priced differently). All of Kamakura Hanko’s stamp materials are brand products from Koshu, Japan’s leading personal seal material production region. Due to being produced from natural materials, each one has its own unique look. Feel free to handle them and get a feel for their color, pattern, weight, and texture to find the one best suited to you.

A variety of seal material options – (from left) monarch birch, cherrywood, natural black water buffalo horn, amber

Work Closely with Tsukino to Design a Personal Seal that is Perfectly You

After choosing your material, the next step is the stamp design. Tsukino walks you through the traditional typefaces used in personal seals, as well as how the three different writing systems of kanji, hiragana, and katakana are used. Tensho style calligraphy is the most traditional, and is featured on Japanese yen notes. Reisho is commonly featured in stone engravings at temples and shrines, and the brushwork-like gyosho is also popular. Get a glimpse also of the traditional practice of fortune telling through the written strokes in a name and how it factors into choosing an auspicious personal typeface.

Learn all about traditional personal seal typefaces while examining books of specimens

Choose how to render your name in Japanese script on your personal seal with Tsukino’s thoughtful guidance. Typically, those with names from countries which do not use kanji are advised to use the katakana script, which can be registered officially as a personal seal in Japan. Those with names already in kanji can also opt to use kanji. Seals registered with one’s local government office are used in Japan for major binding agreements, such as when purchasing a home or starting a company.

Tsukino consults with each guest on how to render their name beautifully in stamp form

When the experience is over, choose a protective case for your completed seal. This plan includes your choice of a beautiful standard case with a traditional pattern. An optional upgrade made of top tier Nishijin kimono weave is also available as a paid add-on.

The optional upgrade case of Nishijin weave is an artisanal Japanese masterpiece

A Unique Personal Seal, A Lifelong Partnership

The peak of this experience is sure to be the moment you receive your finished seal – either by pick-up within 3 hours of the experience, or by mail at a later date. The jewel-like look of the seal housed within its case is already a moving sight to behold, but a closer look at its stamp end reveals an elegant and hand-designed typeface engraved with a precision simply unmatched by any machine production, with fine blade marks serving as unique and distinct telltales of human handiwork. Affixing one’s personal seal to a document is an expression of resolution and commitment in Japan, and the seal itself acts as a kind of a talisman or a second, aiding this resolve.

The first time holding your seal, with its meticulous engraving by the Tsukinos, can be a moving moment

You can display your seal together with its craft case as a decorative art piece, or try stamping it to paper using the included ink pad for a better sense of its finish. With proper care, each piece will last for a very long time, and repeated use will gradually produce a charming aging of the colors – leaving you with a lifelong personal seal that you can cherish and use for many years to come.



Kamakura Hanko

A longstanding Kamakura specialty producer of personal seals in operation for three generations. Its proprietors, married couple Mitsuhiro and Chieko Tsukino, are nationally certified seal engravers who conduct their sales face-to-face and focus on hand-crafted seals. Their high level of skill and artistry is attested by a constant stream of orders from individuals and companies seeking high quality seals. Their goshuin stamps created in collaboration with artisans of the city’s famous traditional Kamakura-bori wood engraving technique, can be found displayed at temples and shrines all over Japan, such as at Kamakura’s own preeminent shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. In 2022, Kamakura Hanko won the top award from NOA (Nippon Omiyage Award).

Customer's Voice

お客様の声の写真

Overall the experience and products were excellent.

C.G. Australia

Location

Kamakurahanko
Kamakura City, Kanagawa

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November 2024

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Additional Options

  • For those with a material preference, please select from the options below.

    Monarch Birch (wood)/ person

    JPY 8,800

    0

  • Cherry (wood) / person

    JPY 22,000

    0

  • Natural Black Water Buffalo Horn / person

    JPY 52,800

    0

  • Amber / person

    JPY 80,300

    0

  • For those wishing to upgrade the seal case to Nishijin weave kimono fabric, please select the option below.

    Change case material / person

    JPY 23,100

    0

  • For those wishing to add an observation-only participant, please select the option below.

    Observation only (accompanying a participant) / person

    JPY 0

    0

Experience fee

Number of Participants fee
JPY 36000 × 1

JPY 36,000

Price may change after date is selected.

Additional options fee

Interpretation in English

JPY 0

Other

Service fee (5%)

JPY 1,800

Total Price

JPY 37,800

tax & service fee incl.

Extra charges may apply for the following

  • ・Interpretation / Dependant on experience schedule and language
  • ・Optional add-ons / Souvenirs, delivery, etc.
While your booking is being processed, a temporary authorization hold will be placed on your credit card. Charges occur upon confirmed reservation.

Kamakura

from
¥36,000 /person

Private event

1 - 4 participants

30 min

Available in English

Cancel free up to 11 days before

Things to know

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If you have any questions, please contact us using the form below.
We also accept bookings from corporate clients and travel agencies.