Special Experience

Kamakura

Create a Top Quality Mikkoku Seal at a Longstanding Specialty Shop in Kamakura [ Premium 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. This experience provides the opportunity to learn the fascinating history of this craft and the culture associated with it from third-generation Kamakura Hanko owner Mitsuhiro Tsukino before working with the artisan to design your own artistic seal design combining images and lettering – and even practicing some hands-on wood-engraving yourself. Enjoy this luxurious and exclusive Wabunka experience as an opportunity to participate in the creation of gorgeous works of art filled with craft soul, available only at Kamakura Hanko.

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
・In a private space on the second floor, Tsukino works one-on-one with each guest in the experience to come up with an original engraving design
・An exclusive Wabunka plan with an intricate artistic engraving, featuring kamakura-bori lacquer-finished carved decoration on the outside of the seal, delivered with a certificate and beautiful case (approximately 3-6 weeks after the experience)

*For those interested in creating a personal seal, check out the Create a Personal Seal, Hand-finished by an Artisan at a Longstanding Kamakura Shop [ Basic Plan ]

Kamakura

from
¥905,000 /person

Private event

1 - 4 participants

90 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 speed of production. 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 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 learn directly from him and consult with him about your own design using the mikkoku engraving technique.

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

After a tour of the shop, the experience moves to a private room. Enjoy tea and sweets while learning all about the important role of personal seals in Japan’s history and culture through the present day – as they remain an item that every Japanese person owns – through a direct talk from Tsukino himself using instructional materials in English.

Japan’s first bakufu, or samurai government, began in Kamakura, and it along with the many temples and shrines in the city were instrumental in spreading and popularizing these traditions. This makes the history of these personal seals deeply intertwined with the history of Kamakura and Japan overall, and by learning about one you will also learn about the other.

The history of seals, such as the evolution of the ka-o or “flower signature,” which samurai commanders used to represent themselves

Choosing Your Mikkoku’s Size, Shape, and Kamakura-bori Handle Decoration

When you have had a chance to learn all about the cultural context and history of the personal seal tradition, it’s time to begin designing your own mikkoku. The default stamp size in this experience is 24mm square, but a medium 36mm square and a large 45mm square are available as optional upgrades. A round stamp head versus a square stamp head also give the finished piece a distinctly different character. For the medium and large sizes, a variety of handle designs are available. You can also choose the base material that best suits your vision.

Participants can choose their color and pattern preferences based on handling samples, such as this small-sized stamp with a “guri,” or vortex, Kamakura-bori pattern

The handle and pedestal Kamakura-bori patterns are carved by traditional artisans using 8-century-old heritage techniques from the Kamakura period. Kamakura-bori makes use of layer upon layer of lacquer to create a gorgeous gloss finish. Make your choice from samples with motifs including the traditional vortex, flowers, and dragons.

The large mikkoku carving includes a wooden pedestal and craft case to hold the set

Design a Piece Perfect for You, then Experience Engraving

When you have chosen your size and the exterior Kamakura-bori decoration motif, it’s time to design the stamp surface itself. This is a process with a high degree of freedom, where both text and illustrations can be included, so you’re sure to come up with a design full of originality that suits you and what you want to express. Make your choice from various traditional Japanese motifs for the illustrations, or even create a design based on your own photo of a motif or coat of arms you like.

Arriving at the final design by drawing upon elements from a collection of traditional Japanese motifs, and/or your own ideas

Popular choices for text elements include personal names, mottos, and expressions from Zen philosophy. Tsukino can offer suggestions for words or phrases to match the ideas of participants unfamiliar with Japanese. Once you have arrived at a decision for the stamp design, the actual illustrating and engraving is Tsukino’s domain. You can look forward to receiving a digitized copy of the finished stamp impression via email. 

Try your hand at using a chisel for the fine engraving work

This experience also features the opportunity to give engraving a try by your own hand, using practice wood. Experience the feeling of learning this craft under Tsukino’s guidance. Your finished mikkoku piece will be shipped to you approximately 3-6 weeks after the experience.

Finished product samples, showcasing the beautiful, artistic, original engravings possible from a top-tier artisan

A Unique Personal Seal, A Lifelong Partnership

The peak of this experience is sure to be the moment you receive your finished seal in the mail. The masterpiece seal housed within its gorgeous case is already a moving sight to behold, but a closer look reveals an elegant and hand-worked stamp end design of combined illustration and lettering engraved with a precision simply unmatched by any machine production, with fine blade marks serving as unique and distinct telltales of human handiwork.

Small sized mikkoku seals as included in the plan, with a case featuring your choice of pattern

“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. They’re a kind of alter ego, a representation of the self.” Affixing one’s personal seal to a document is an expression of resolution and commitment.

Examples of finished stamp engravings, featuring gorgeous illustrations of dragons, waves, clouds, and text in decorative typefaces

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 a lifetime, and repeated use will gradually produce a charming aging of the colors – leaving you with a one-of-a-kind piece of art that you can cherish 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).

Location

Kamakurahanko
Kamakura City, Kanagawa

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November 2024

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Additional Options

  • For those wishing to change their seal size, please select from the options below.

    Mikkoku with Kamakura-bori (medium size) / person

    JPY 389,400

    0

  • Mikkoku with Kamakura-bori (large size) / person

    JPY 895,400

    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 905000 × 1

JPY 905,000

Price may change after date is selected.

Additional options fee

Interpretation in English

JPY 0

Other

Service fee (5%)

JPY 45,250

Total Price

JPY 950,250

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
¥905,000 /person

Private event

1 - 4 participants

90 min

Available in English

Cancel free up to 11 days before

Things to know

Contact Us

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