hanko.works

A seal composed for one name.

hanko.works is a small Japanese company that makes custom seals — hanko, 印鑑 — to order. You type a name; eight designs come back; the one you approve is cut from a single rod of metal in our workshop and posted to you within Japan.

What hanko.works is

A hanko is the seal used in Japan in place of a signature — on a delivery slip, at the bank, at the ward office when you buy a home or register a company. Most are picked from a rack, and a rack stamp shares its face with thousands of others. Ours are composed for the name: an engine lays your characters out in eight designs, from traditional seal-making scripts such as Tensho and Insou to contemporary ones such as Kaku and Wave.

You choose a design, a shape, a size for the use you have in mind, and one of two metals. Nothing is carved until you have approved the exact face on screen, and the face you approve is the one the mill cuts.

Kanji, kana and Latin names are all carved as written. A Latin name stays Latin: we never transliterate it into katakana unless you ask.

  • 印 · InsouInsou
  • 印 · TenshoTensho
  • 印 · ReishoReisho
  • 印 · KaishoKaisho
  • 印 · KoinKoin
  • 印 · KakuKaku
  • 印 · WaveWave
  • 印 · VortexVortex
The eight designs for 印, the character for “seal”

How an order works

  1. 01Compose

    Type the name. Eight designs appear, each marked with the uses it suits — everyday, bank, registered or company seal.

  2. 02Choose

    Pick the design, the shape (round or rounded square), the size the use calls for, and aluminium or titanium.

  3. 03Approve

    Check the face at full size. Nothing is carved before you approve it; the seal enters the carving queue 24 hours after the order is confirmed, and can be cancelled until then.

  4. 04Cut and finish

    Machined from one solid rod, the face milled to a fixed relief, the rim left whole, then deburred and checked under a loupe.

  5. 05Ship

    Posted by Yamato within Japan, free of charge.

If something is wrong with your seal, write to us through the contact form →

Who we are

We are based in Japan and ship only within Japan. The workshop is one room and one bench; the person who cuts your seal is the one who answers your mail, in Japanese or English, within one business day.

hanko.works is run by erni.works, a sole proprietorship in Tokyo. The details the law requires are on the legal disclosure page, together with pricing, payment, delivery and cancellation terms; the owner's name and full address are given on request.

Based in
Japan
Ships to
Japan only, free
Metals
Aluminium and titanium
Prices
From ¥5,000, shipping included
Languages
English and Japanese
Hours
Weekdays 10:00–17:00 JST
Email
hello@hanko.works

Further reading