As a general rule, artists like to sign their paintings when they are done and are satisfied with their work. Signatures are commonly a name, initials, or a mark of some sort. Japanese artists are the same, and so are most of my sumi-e students. As the artist, you are privileged to be able to sign your artwork in any way you want. The purpose of this unit is to provide information about some common ways others sign paintings, a step toward making your own decision.

Hanko (判子)

The use of a hanko to sign things is almost universal among Japanese. A hanko is a block made of wood, stone, plastic, or other material with a personalized carving on one end. The hanko's carved end is pressed in a pasty substance, usually red colored, and then pressed on paper, transferring the carved image as illustrated below.

The transferred image is called an inkan (印鑑) or inei (印影). Inkan are required on contracts, bank transactions, marriage certificates, tax documents, and a host of other things, formal or informal (letters, etc.). Copies of personal inkan are kept by banks Japanese do business with, and are often registered in government offices. The carved hanko images are supposed to include at least part of the owner's name. There are various styles of carving, many of which are unrecognizable to the uninitiated. Most Japanese have multiple types and sizes of hanko for various uses.

When Japanese artists sign their name on a painting, they write it (with a brush, of course), use a hanko, or both. There is nothing official or formal about such use, so the inkan can be anything. When the names are both written and stamped, the written name is always executed first, and the inkan is always affixed afterward below it. The size of the inkan should be consistent with the size of the painting. A small hanko should be used with a small painting, a large one with a large painting, etc. Whatever size you use, the signature shouldn't dominate the painting. It should be large enough to be seen, modestly, but small enough relative to the painting as a whole that it doesn't draw undue attention to itself. Placement matters. The signature is considered to be a part of the overall composition, so careful consideration should be given to where it is put. These general rules apply whether or not a hanko is used.

What Name to Use

If you are Japanese, Chinese, etc., the name you may prefer to sign your artwork with could be your family's logogram (kanji for Japanese). If you have earned an artist's name, you may prefer to sign with that. My artist's name in kanji is 龍舟 (Ryūshu), so that is how I sign my paintings unless they are minor pieces like my demonstration artwork. In those cases, I usually just write a hiragana ta (た), the first syllable of my name.

It is common for many of my students to opt for a phonetic version of their names using one of the Japanese syllabaries; hiragana and katakana. Since katakana is specifically used in the Japanese language for "guest" words, it is by far the most common choice. I offer assistance for you to figure out what the phonetic version of your name is in R2.4 Signing Your Paintings.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with using your own English name, initials, or whatever else you want. The choice is entirely up to you.