Name seals

—Name seals vs. Signatures

In Japan, name seals (small sticks of wood or plastic with one's name carved onone end) are used in place of signatures. Thus it is important to have one made as soon as possible after arrival in Japan.

—Kinds of seals:

There are two kinds of seals, a registered seal (jitsu-in) and a personal seal (mitome-in).

—How a registered seal is used:

A registered seal is one which has been registered at the city office. It is used when purchasing real estate or an automobile. It is not usually used for ordinary purposes.

—How a personal seal is used:

In comparison with the registered seal, the seal which is used in everyday lifeis called a`personal seal'.
The personal seal is used for the following purposes:

• Openning a savings account at the post office or bank
• Filling in forms at the City Office
• Starting electricity, water, and gas service

—Getting a seal made:

The seal can be ordered at any seal shop (inbanten) in the city (please refer to the list below). Have the shop carve your name in kanji or katakana (the Japanese syllabary used for foreign words). A six character seal costs about 1,000 yen and will take about two days to make. Seals with fewer characters can somerimes be made in about 2 or 3 hours.